Viasat believes 'cyber event' is disrupting its satellite-internet service in Ukraine

California-based Viasat announced on Monday that it believes "a cyber event" disrupted its satellite internet service in Ukraine.

"Viasat is experiencing a partial network outage — impacting internet service for fixed broadband customers in Ukraine and elsewhere on our European KA-SAT network," the company told CNBC.

The Viasat outage began on Feb. 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine.

Elon Musk, CEO of Viasat rival SpaceX, said his company's service is "active in Ukraine," with "more terminals en route" to provide internet access to the country.

© Provided by CNBC A Viasat Inc. logo seen displayed on a smartphone and in the background.

Michael Sheetz 

CNBC

Viasat said Monday that it believes "a cyber event" disrupted its satellite-internet service in Ukraine, with an ongoing outage under investigation.

"Viasat is experiencing a partial network outage — impacting internet service for fixed broadband customers in Ukraine and elsewhere on our European KA-SAT network," the California-based company said in a statement to CNBC.

"We are investigating and analyzing our European network and systems to identify the root cause and are taking additional network precautions to prevent further impacts while we attempt to recover service to affected customers."

The outage began on Feb. 24, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, according to the company, which said it notified "law enforcement and government partners," adding it has "no indication that customer data is involved."

It is unclear how many customers Viasat has in Ukraine, and the company declined to say how many are being affected.

Shares of Viasat were up 3.5% in midday trading Monday at about $45.

SpaceX says it is sending dishes to Ukraine

© Provided by CNBC A Starlink user terminal, also known as an antenna or satellite dish, on the roof of a building.

Viasat operates large satellites in geosynchronous orbit — meaning they are stationary at a point about 35,000 kilometers from Earth to maximize coverage area.

That's the traditional method of providing broadband service from space, but a number of companies are pouring funds into developing networks in low-Earth orbit that utilize hundreds or thousands of satellites — such as SpaceX's Starlink.

On Sunday, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced his company's service is "active in Ukraine," with "more terminals en route" to provide internet access to the country. Musk's tweet came in response to a request for Starlink support from Ukraine digital minister Mykhailo Fedorov.

Musk did not specify how many terminals — or ground antennas that connect users to the network — were being sent or when they would arrive.

SpaceX has launched 2,000 Starlink satellites to date. The company's service has around 145,000 users as of January, who pay $99 a month for the standard service or $500 a month for a premium tier.

Elon Musk’s promised Starlink terminals have reached Ukraine, according to official

Mitchell Clark and Loren Grush 

SpaceX sent a truck full of Starlink user terminals to Ukraine, according to an image tweeted by the country’s vice prime minster, who had asked CEO Elon Musk for assistance during Russia’s invasion. Over the weekend, Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted at Musk, asking him to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations. In response, Musk said that the satellite internet service had been activated for the country and that more terminals were on their way. Today, it seems that promise has been fulfilled, with Musk responding to Fedorov’s latest tweet, “You are most welcome.”

'

© Image: Mykhailo Fedorov

As fighting continues in Ukrainian cities, there have been concerns that there could be cyberattacks on critical internet infrastructure, which could make it harder for news to leave the country or for people to contact loved ones. These fears were heightened following some partial outages that occurred last week.

© Source: Twitter Fedorov’s tweet on Monday announcing that the dishes had arrived.

© Source: Twitter Fedorov’s tweet over the weekend, requesting Musk’s aid.

In order to tap into the Starlink system, consumers must have a user terminal — a white flat dish that SpaceX sells directly to customers. With a clear view of the sky, the dishes can send and receive signals from any active Starlink satellites that are overhead. It’s these terminals that have been shipped to Ukraine, though it’s unclear from the photo how many there are.

Much of the infrastructure that powers satellite internet exists in space, though there is still plenty of equipment on the ground. In order to provide internet access, satellites must be able to communicate with gateways, fixed ground stations on Earth that are connected to existing fiber-optic cables.

There’s still a possibility of technical issues or cyberattacks on satellite internet like Starlink — another satellite ISP says it’s experiencing disruptions in the country thanks to a “cyber event,” according to a CNBC report.

Starlink is SpaceX’s ambitious internet-from-space initiative, aimed at launching tens of thousands of satellites to low Earth orbit to provide broadband Internet coverage to the ground below. So far, the company has nearly 2,000 active satellites in orbit. In January, SpaceX claimed during a launch livestream that it had 145,000 active users, and Musk implied in a February tweet that SpaceX has more than 250,000 user terminals in production.

Now that the dishes have arrived in Ukraine, it’s unclear exactly how they will be used or distributed, though one Twitter user posted a screenshot claiming to be using the service in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. The antennas do need unimpeded access to the sky, which may be difficult in a warzone. Additionally, the locations of SpaceX’s gateways aren’t explicitly public info, but internet sleuths on Reddit have found some, including one in Ukraine’s neighbor Poland.

Despite many customers having their Starlink orders delayed in the past year, some members of the Starlink subreddit have said they’d be willing to wait longer if it could help people in Ukraine. Others have asked if they’d be able to send their personal terminals to the country. It’s debatable how practical (or even feasible) these goodwill gestures would be, but it’s another example of people being willing to come together to support Ukraine.

Elon Musk deploys Starlink to keep Ukraine connected to the internet

MobileSyrup 

Amid Russia’s ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine, reports coming out of the on-defence country suggest that constant attacks have caused internet outages in some parts of the nation, disabling the country from staying connected with the rest of the world.

© Provided by MobileSyrup Elon Musk deploys Starlink to keep Ukraine connected to the internet

Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov requested SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to provide Ukrainians access to Starlink’s internet connection.

Later the same day, Musk replied to Fedorov’s appeal, stating “Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route.”

It’s worth noting that Starlink satellites don’t just magically beam internet to your phone or computers. Users need to have a receiving dish along with a Starlink router to access the internet.

In a follow-up tweet, Fedorov clarified that Starlink terminals (dish) are currently on their way to Ukraine, and thanked Musk for the aid and for supporting the distraught nation. In addition, the country’s official Twitter account also thanked the billionaire for the support.

In other Starlink-related news, CEO Musk recently announced a new Starlink high-performance antenna and Premium package with speeds ranging between 150-500 Mbps.

Source: @FedorovMykhailo

Ukraine gets Starlink internet terminals - and friendly warning about safety

(Reuters) -Ukraine on Monday said it had received donated Starlink satellite internet terminals from SpaceX, but an internet security researcher warned these could become Russian targets.

© Reuters/DADO RUVIC Illustration shows Starlink logo and Ukraine flag

"Starlink — here. Thanks, @elonmusk," Ukraine's vice prime minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted, days after asking SpaceX's billionaire chief executive officer Elon Musk for help. Fedorov's tweet included a picture of the back of a military-looking truck, loaded with terminals.

Musk tweeted back, "You are most welcome".

The terminals look like home satellite television dishes and can provide relatively fast internet service, by residential standards, by connecting to a fleet of satellites in low orbit.

But John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab project, took to Twitter to warn the terminals could become Russian targets.

"Re: @elonmusk's starlink donation. Good to see. But remember: if #Putin controls the air above #Ukraine, users' uplink transmissions become beacons ... for airstrikes," he tweeted.

"#Russia has decades of experience hitting people by targeting their satellite communications," he added in a series of 15 tweets detailing the risks. (https://bit.ly/35BEFs2)

Musk said on Saturday that Starlink is available in Ukraine and SpaceX is sending more terminals to the country, whose internet has been disrupted due to the Russian invasion.

Fedorov thanked Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States for helping to swiftly approve the activation of Starlink in Ukraine.

One of the challenges is to install end-user terminals, which require a clear view of the sky to connect to Starlink, Tim Farrar, a consultant in satellite communications said.

As high-rise buildings can block the service, one has to go to the top of the highest building nearby to set up the antenna, he said. "That's a fairly vulnerable place to be."

"It is not going to be something that can offer a replacement for terrestrial internet on a large scale," he said.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru and Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Musk activates free Starlink internet service in Ukraine

Megan Cerullo 

SpaceX founder and billionaire Elon Musk is providing free satellite-based internet service in Ukraine through his company Starlink, as Russia invades the nation and causes power outages

.

© Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images Tesla Gigafactory - Elon Musk

Starlink is a growing network of small satellites that SpaceX has been building out since 2018 to supply broadband internet access around the globe. On Monday, the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and minister of digital transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, tweeted that a truck full of Starlink terminals had arrived on Ukraine soil, after he had requested them.

Fedorov had appealed to Musk in a tweet Saturday, asking him to extend Starlink's high-speed broadband internet services to the besieged country, rhetorically noting that "while you try to colonize Mars — Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space — Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people!"

Musk apparently obliged, tweeting Saturday that Starlink service was active in Ukraine and also agreeing to send more Starlink terminals to expand the country's bandwidth.

"Starlink service is now active in Ukraine. More terminals en route," Musk tweeted.

Invading Russian troops have disrupted Ukraine's internet infrastructure, making service unreliable and spotty in parts of the country.

The Starlink service, which its website bills as being "ideal for rural and remote communities" and other locales where internet connections have historically been unavailable, is expected to be more reliable than land-based systems that are currently out of service.

One Starlink terminal costs $499. The system was recently used to restore communications in remote villages in Tonga after a volcanic eruption triggered a tsunami, cutting off internet service

Ukraine conducts successful test of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet system

By Simran Kashyap | Published: Tuesday, March 1, 2022,  Kyiv, 

Speeds reached over 200 megabits per second. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk provided Ukraine with the system to make sure that Russian forces aren't able to take down Ukraine's internet connectivity. Responding to a request from Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Twitter that his satellite-based internet system Starlink is now active in Ukraine and that there are more terminals en route. 

Fears of Russian targeting as mysterious symbols come up on Ukraine buildings 

 Musk made the announcement on Twitter after Ukraine's minister of digital transformation tweeted that while Musk tries to "colonize Mars," Russia is trying to occupy Ukraine. 

The minister called on Musk to provide his country with Starlink stations, the AP story stated. "Starlink service is now active in Ukraine," Musk said in a tweet. "More terminals en route." 

The tweet came some 10 hours after Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov urged Musk to provide Starlink services to Ukraine, days after it was invaded by neighboring Russia. Ukraine crisis: What stranded Indians should do to keep themselves safe? 

Ex-army chief tells "While you try to colonize Mars -- Russia try to occupy Ukraine! While your rockets successfully land from space -- Russian rockets attack Ukrainian civil people! We ask you to provide Ukraine with Starlink stations," Fedorov tweeted at Musk.

 He also called on the billionaire "to address sane Russians to stand" against their government's invasion. 

Internet monitor NetBlocks said Ukraine has seen a "series of significant disruptions to internet service" since Thursday, when Russia launched military operations in the country. 

Second round of talks between Russia-Ukraine may take place on March 2 Starlink operates a constellation of more than 2,000 satellites that aim to provide internet access across the planet. The company on Friday launched a further 50 Starlink satellites and many more are slated to be put into Earth's orbit.

Americans charged after crossing southern Alberta border with prohibited, allegedly undeclared firearms

Two Americans have been charged with multiple firearms offences after allegedly failing to declare guns when crossing the Coutts border

Author of the article: Michael Rodriguez
Publishing date: Feb 28, 2022 •

Two Americans entering Canada at southern Alberta's Coutts border crossing in early January have been charged with several firearms offences. PHOTO BY CBSA
Article content

Two Americans entering Canada at southern Alberta’s Coutts border crossing in early January have been charged with several firearms offences.

Alaskans Adam Peter Brown, 39, and Bethany Ann Brown, 42, were headed north in a motorhome on Jan. 3 when border agents pulled them aside for a search. Officers found two prohibited assault-style rifles, four prohibited nine-millimetre handguns and one restricted .45-calibre handgun, which the Canadian Border Services Agency alleges the travellers did not declare. The CBSA seized the guns, as well as 11 prohibited high-capacity magazines.

The Browns are each charged with five offences: smuggling, making false statements, possessing a prohibited or restricted gun with ammunition, failing to follow firearms storage regulations and unauthorized possession of a firearm.

Two Americans entering Canada at southern Alberta’s Coutts border crossing in early January have been charged with several firearms offences. PHOTO BY CBSA

“Canada Border Services Agency officers remain on alert to seize smuggled firearms at the border. This is a top priority for the agency and an important way we contribute to Canada’s public safety, protecting the communities we serve,” said Ben Tame, the director of CBSA operations in southern Alberta.

The Browns are scheduled to appear in court in Lethbridge on March 1. They are currently out of custody on a promise to appear in court.

The incident happened weeks before a blockade at the Coutts border crossing stifled traffic for nearly three weeks, where several people were arrested and charged with firearms offences. The CBSA did not note any correlation between the two events.

'Enough is enough:' University of Alberta students host rally supporting Ukraine

Before about 150 people in the university's main quad, Natalie Hanas, one of the event's organizers, condemned the Russian Federation's invasion
Author of the article:Hamdi Issawi
Publishing date:Feb 28, 2022 • 3 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation

Edmontonians take part in a rally in support of Ukraine, organized by the Ukrainian Students' Society (USS) at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, on Monday Feb. 28, 2022. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

University of Alberta students made a heartfelt appeal to stand with Ukraine at a rally Monday as the eastern European country closed the fifth day under Russian attack.

Before about 150 people in the university’s main quad, Natalie Hanas, one of the event’s organizers, condemned the Russian Federation’s invasion and urged the audience as well as the greater community to support Ukraine by asking Members of Parliament to take immediate action.

“This needs to end, and enough is enough,” Hanas said. “We must stand with Ukraine today and every day.”

As students returned to in-person classes this semester, Hanas, president of the Ukrainian Students’ Society, said the demonstration serves to “remind the world of the injustice faced by Ukrainian citizens,” and called on supporters to stem misinformation by sharing verified news about the war and asking MPs to increase sanctions against Russia.

Alla Nedashkivska, chair of the university’s modern languages and cultural studies department, also addressed the audience, urging supporters to overtake Ottawa’s promise to match up to $10 million in Canadian Red Cross donations for Ukrainian aid.

Edmontonians take part in a rally in support of Ukraine, organized by the Ukrainian Students’ Society (USS) at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, on Monday Feb. 28, 2022. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

“Let’s ensure that every wounded Ukrainian soldier has the medical aid they need and deserve,” she said, “and let’s ensure that every Ukrainian baby born in a bomb shelter has the life they deserve.”

She also urged supporters to call on the Canadian government to provide military aid and equipment to aid Ukraine and noted that her department is doing its own part to combat misinformation about the war by sharing the truth about it through conferences, seminars, research and the like.

“The world sees the truth and sees who is the aggressor,” she said. “The world also sees that Ukraine and Ukrainians are fighting for freedom.”

Kalie Keays, a University of Alberta student studying psychology and Ukrainian folklore, attended the rally in solidarity. Having joined a similar event on Sunday, she believes these rallies show the people of Ukraine “that they’re not alone, and they have support all over the world.”

Like her friends, teachers and a roommate, Keays said she also has family in Ukraine, which brings the war closer to home.

“They’re struggling, and I just want to do my best to support them,” Keays said. “It really affects all of us.”

But rallies like these also offer a sense of comfort, she added.

Edmontonians take part in a rally in support of Ukraine, organized by the Ukrainian Students’ Society (USS) at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, on Monday Feb. 28, 2022. PHOTO BY DAVID BLOOM /Postmedia

“Seeing everyone gathered together and hearing all the people speaking in Ukrainian just really felt like home for me,” she said. “It felt like we’re all coming together for one thing that we all really care about.”

On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will be sending anti-tank weapons and “upgraded ammunition” to Ukraine, and banning crude oil imports from Russia.

He also asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), an arms-length regulator, to review the presence of Russia Today, a Russian state-sponsored network, on Canadian airways because “there is a significant amount of misinformation circulating from Russia,” Trudeau said.

— With files from Postmedia
hissawi@postmedia.com

Editorial: Madu should be ejected
Edmonton Journal Editorial Board

Kaycee Madu did not interfere with the administration of justice when he phoned Edmonton’s police chief over a traffic ticket, says an investigation released Friday.

© Greg Southam/Postmedia Premier Jason Kenney with then Justice Minister Kaycee Madu.

But it wasn’t for lack of trying. “Did Minister Madu attempt to interfere with the administration of justice? He did,” wrote retired Justice Adele Kent.

That one sentence should spell the end of Madu’s time in cabinet.

Yet, despite the report’s conclusions, Madu remains in cabinet; Kenney shuffled him late Friday to labour and immigration after having “stepped back” from the justice ministry when the story came to light in January. It’s an inadequate response for such a serious abuse of office.

While the report acknowledges Madu’s concerns about racial profiling by police deserve serious recognition, as does his concerns over actions of some police, such as the Lethbridge Police Service, “it does not absolve the minister from responsibility.” In fairness, Madu has also been on the forefront on the issue of racial profiling by police and he has pushed to end “carding” in Alberta.

However, Madu’s attempt to circumvent the rule of law is as grievous a matter as if he succeeded. One only has to thumb through the Criminal Code to see that attempted offences are serious matters in their own right.

To his credit, Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee did not consider ripping up a $300 distracted driving ticket Madu received on March 10, 2021. That does not excuse Madu from calling to discuss the ticket in the first place.

For Alberta’s chief law officer of the Crown tasked with upholding the administration of justice to be found attempting to subvert it is not only a serious breach of protocol and ethics. It also undermines public confidence in the legal system’s integrity.

Kenney, when asked Saturday if it’s acceptable for a cabinet minister to interfere in this way, denied the report concluded that interference occurred. That’s a grossly selective interpretation of the facts. Kenney is downplaying the whole affair as just a matter of bad optics — ignoring the finding that Madu tried but failed to obstruct the legal process, including playing the do-you-know-who-I-am card to the ticketing officer and phoning the chief. What’s important is that Madu tried to interfere with the justice process. Full stop.

While Kenney has a political need to keep a prolific Edmonton MLA such as Madu in his inner circle, Kenney too has a responsibility to keep public faith in the integrity of Alberta’s justice system and in his government.

A simple cabinet shuffle down the front bench to labour and immigration, no matter the politics involved, will not suffice; Madu should be ejected from cabinet.

Local editorials are the consensus opinion of the Journal’s editorial board, comprising Colin McGarrigle, Dave Breakenridge and Bill Mah.

T. rex may have had 2 equally terrifying sibling species, new research suggests

Few dinosaurs exude the same mystique as Tyrannosaurus rex, but the tyrant lizard king that once roamed across North America might have been misunderstood.

© Gabbro / Alamy Stock Photo The fossil skeleton of famous "Sue" the T. rex is shown at Chicago's Field Museum. The fossil is named after collector Sue Hendrickson, who discovered it in 1990.

By Katie Hunt, CNN 

A new analysis of the bones and teeth of 37 T. rex specimens suggests that the dinosaur might need to be regrouped into three separate species -- with the fearsome predator that lived 90 million to 66 million years ago potentially getting two sibling species: tyrant lizard queen and tyrant lizard emperor.

The study, published in the journal Evolutionary Biology, said it had long been recognized that the "stoutness" of adult Tyrannosaur skeletons varied considerably. This had been explained by sex differences -- with female T. rex perhaps more petite than their male counterparts. Alternatively, it could be explained by developmental stages, or simply individual variation in traits.

Other differences include its banana-size teeth -- some T. rex jaws have a single D-shaped incisor that is substantially smaller than the next tooth, while others have two of these smaller D-shaped teeth.

The researchers compared the length and circumference of the femur, or thigh bone, of 24 T. rex specimens. They also measured the base of the teeth or space in the jaw to understand if 12 of the dinosaurs had one or two slender incisor teeth. The study team's conclusion was that T. rex was not a single, unchanging dinosaur but may have had two equally terrifying sibling species.

"All three species were 6-7 tonnes with similar skulls and bodies. It would be like the difference between being attacked by a lion or tiger. Not much," said study author Gregory Paul, the author of "The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs."

The differences were "subtle," similar to how "skeletons of lion (Panthera leo) and tiger (Panthera tigris) are hard to tell apart even among experts," he said.

Fossil variation vs. distinct species

However, other paleontologists disagreed with the findings.

"I understand the temptation to divide T. rex into different species, because there is some variation in the fossil bones that we have. But ultimately, to me, this variation is very minor and not indicative of meaningful biological separation of distinct species that can be defined based on clear, explicit, consistent differences," said Steve Brusatte, professor and Personal Chair of Palaeontology and Evolution at the University of Edinburgh's School of Geosciences, via email.

"Dividing T. rex into three species based on measurements from 38 bones just isn't a strong enough case for me."

Thomas Carr, an associate professor of biology and director of the Carthage Institute of Paleontology at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, said the features identified by the researchers "represent meaningless variation, not biological signal." A study he conducted on variation in T. rex skeletons published in 2020 did not reveal different species.


'T. rex to me'

The study authors said the more robust Tyrannosaurs in their sample outnumbered the "gracile" or slender ones 2 to 1, and such a large disparity could not be explained by the small sample size, nor could it be a sex-based difference, which would result in a more even split.

The variation in leg bones was also unrelated to developmental stages, they added, because the more robust femurs were found in some juvenile dinosaurs two-thirds the size of an adult, while the slender leg bones were also found in some full adult-size specimens.

When it came to teeth structure, specimens with one incisor tooth were correlated with often having more slender leg bones -- although they only had leg bone measurements for 12 dinosaurs.

While the authors conceded that the data "do not meet the ideal proof" of three separate species, they said their study indicated there were three recognizable "morphotypes" within the Tyrannosaurs they studied.

These were the already famed Tyrannosaurus rex (tyrant lizard king) with robust features and one smaller incisor; another stout dinosaur sporting two incisor teeth, which the researchers called Tyrannosaurus imperator (tyrant lizard emperor), and a third, more slender Tyrannosaur they named Tyrannosaurus regina (tyrant lizard queen).

"The full expectation is that these new taxa will be tested and, if necessary, accordingly revised as additional specimens and analysis come to light," the study said.

Placing animals that went extinct tens of millions of years ago into strictly defined categories is inevitably challenging, but the authors said they hoped their work would frame and focus future research. But Brusatte at the University of Edinburgh said he was unconvinced.

"Fundamentally this comes down to the age-old debate about lumping vs. splitting when classifying species. It's hard to define a species, even for animals today, and these fossils have no genetic evidence that can test whether there were truly separate populations.

"Until I see much stronger evidence, these are all still T. rex to me, and that's what I'll be calling them."

Al Franken Says Trump Re-Election Will Spell End for U.S. Democracy: 'It'll Be a Dictatorship'

Al Franken, the comedian, former U.S. senator and dedicated podcaster, has laid out a dire future for the country while revisiting the topic of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

© Provided by TheWrap al franken

Jeremy Bailey

Franken, speaking on The Al Franken Podcast, broached the topic in trademark form, sarcastically looking back at the Trump administration's early fumbling of the inauguration's crowd size and Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway's references to "alternative facts" — before he looked into the future, which he predicts will be bleak.

"And by the way, when you say kids will look up and see Donald Trump's picture as president, they'll see Donald Trump, then they'll see [Joe] Biden, and then they'll see Donald Trump again," Franken said. "And he'll still be president when these kids are in school.

"Because, that's it. It's over. It'll be a dictatorship. It'll be an authoritarian regime. We won't have a democratic election. It'll be like Hungary, and it'll all be fraud."

Trump has not committed to running in 2024 but has continued to weigh in on hot-button political issues through statements released to the media (he is banned from Twitter) and in speeches such as Saturday's, when he defended his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin while calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "a brave man" amid a stout effort by his country to resist invading Russian forces.

Franken, meanwhile, has not ruled out a return to the U.S. Senate despite his 2017 resignation.

The former Minnesota Democrat and "Saturday Night Live" alum launched his podcast a year after resigning under pressure in December 2017, after several women accused him of inappropriate physical contact, including kisses. Franken has said he regrets the decision to quit, blaming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

"I wanted due process, but I had 36 colleagues and a majority leader who wouldn't give it to me, so it was impossible. But you do have some regrets," he told The Republican. "It was a very weird, tough situation at that moment … I love the Senate. I love the work that I did."

Franken has since returned to comedy, including a stand-up tour that attempted to "make a difference satirically," he said.

"Because I believe comedy and satire is a very valid way -- and sometimes almost a more productive way -- of affecting public opinion," Franken said.

Scientists uncover the largest crater on Earth under 100,000 years old

A crescent-shaped crater in Northeast China holds the record as the largest impact crater on Earth that formed in the last 100,000 years.

© Provided by Live Science Satellite photo of a newfound impact crater in northeast China

Nicoletta Lanese 

Prior to 2020, the only other impact crater ever discovered in China was found in Xiuyan county of the coastal province of Liaoning, according to a statement from the NASA Earth Observatory. Then, in July 2021, scientists confirmed that a geological structure in the Lesser Xing'an mountain range had formed as a result of a space rock striking Earth. The team published a description of the newfound impact crater that month in the journal Meteoritics and Planetary Science.

The Yilan crater measures about 1.15 miles (1.85 kilometers) across and likely formed about 46,000 to 53,000 years ago, based on radiocarbon dating of charcoal and organic lake sediments from the site, the NASA statement says. Researchers collected these sediment samples by extracting a drillcore from the center of the crater, Forbes reported.

Related: Crash! 10 biggest impact craters on Earth

Beneath more than 328 feet (100 meters) of layered lake and swamp sediments lay a nearly 1,000-foot-thick (320 m) slab of brecciated granite, which is granite made up of many rocky fragments cemented together in a matrix, the team found. This rock bears telltale scars of having been struck by a meteorite.

For example, fragments of the rock show signs of having melted and recrystallized during the impact, as the granite rapidly heated and then cooled off. Other fragments of the rock escaped this melting process, and instead contain "shocked" quartz that shattered in a distinct pattern when the space rock crashed down, according to Forbes.

The team also uncovered teardrop-shaped glass fragments and pieces of glass pierced with tiny holes made by gas bubbles; both of these features also indicate that a high-intensity impact took place there, according to the NASA statement.

A portion of the Yilan crater's southern rim is missing, so the geological structure looks crescent-shaped from above, the Global Times reported. Such crescent-shaped impact craters are relatively rare on Earth, Chen Ming, one of the authors of the article and a research fellow from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, told the Global Times. In October 2021, the Landsat-8 satellite captured a striking snapshot of the crater's northern rim, and scientists are now investigating how and when the southern rim disappeared, according to the NASA statement.

The so-called Meteor Crater in Arizona previously held the record for largest impact crater less than 100,000 years old; it's about 49,000 to 50,000 years old and measures 0.75 miles (1.2 km) in diameter. The Xiuyan crater, by comparison, measures 1.1 miles (1.8 km) across, but its age is unknown, Forbes reported.

Originally published on Live Science.

Russia threatens retaliation after 'hostile' Ottawa protest

National Post Staff

After hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Ottawa on Sunday to show their support for Ukraine, Russia’s foreign ministry demanded that Canada keep its diplomats safe — and threatened retaliation if they failed to do so.

© Provided by National Post A large group of people gathered outside the Russian Embassy in Sandy Hill, Ottawa to stand united with Ukrainians and protest the Russia invasion of Ukraine, Sunday, February 27, 2022.

The protesters, who then made their way to city hall, were called hostile in a statement by Russia’s foreign ministry. Russia called in Canada’s ambassador to Moscow to lodge a formal protest, Reuters reported.


Russia’s foreign ministry also said the country reserves the right to take action if Ottawa does not keep its diplomatic staff safe.

As well as the Ottawa embassy, it said Ukrainian supporters were also protesting outside two other consulates.

Crowds of protesters gathered outside the Russian consulate office on Saturday in Montreal. A group of people also gathered outside of Toronto’s Russian consulate office on Saturday in support of Ukrainians.

A larger gathering of Ukraine supporters was held in Toronto on Sunday, where Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has Ukranian roots, addressed the crowd.

“I want all these oligarchs to understand, and the Russian people, that Russia has a choice. If Russia continues this barbaric war, the West is united, the West is relentless, we will cut the Russian economy off from our own.”

Freeland went on to praise the brave leaders of Ukraine for taking a courageous stand. “They need weapons to fight that fight. I’m so proud that Canada sent lethal aide before this war started, and with our allies are going to continue supporting that Ukrainian war effort.”

Over the weekend Canada banned Russian commercial airlines from its airspace, and backed Western allies in widespread banking and economic sanctions against Russia. Canada also took steps to remove state-owned broadcaster Russian Today (RT) from its airwaves.

Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. said late Sunday that RT will no longer be available to their customers.

Canada is also cautioning its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Russia.

On Monday, Russia also complained to the U.S. ambassador to Moscow over what it described as “hostile” protests near its diplomatic facilities in the United States and told Washington to ensure the safety of its staff, Russia’s foreign ministry said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the comments to U.S. ambassador John Sullivan at a meeting in Moscow. They also discussed other bilateral issues, the foreign ministry said.

With additional reporting from Reuters and Bloomberg

ROFLMAO KETTLE CALLING POT BLACK
Donald Trump takes aim at Justin Trudeau, accuses him of undermining democracy
Michelle Butterfield 

Former U.S. president Donald Trump has taken aim at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, telling his supporters that if they want to fight for democracy abroad, “they should start with the democracy that is under threat right next door, a place called Canada.”

© Getty Images Speaking to a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) crowd Saturday night, Donald Trump accused Justin Trudeau of "woke tyranny."

Speaking to a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) crowd Saturday night, Trump accused Trudeau of "woke tyranny."

“The radical left is trying to replace American democracy with woke tyranny,” Trump told his supporters in Orlando, Fla.

“They want to do the same thing to America that Trudeau has been doing to Canada — and much, much worse," he continued, bringing the audience to its feet.

His accusations come at a time when truckers are making their way across the United States in their own "Freedom Convoy"-style protest.

Video: ‘He understood that I didn’t play games. This wouldn’t have happened:’ Trump on Putin

“A line has been crossed: you are either with the peaceful truckers, or you are with the left-wing fascists and that’s what’s been happening,” Trump continued.

Trudeau was the first Canadian prime minister to invoke the Emergencies Act, granting the government unprecedented powers to remove the occupation of truckers and protestors that set up camp in downtown Ottawa in late January and stayed for weeks.

Trudeau's decision to invoke the act has caused consternation with some of America's conservative pundits, who have said what's happening with their northern neighbour deserves more attention than the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“We have a crisis at the southern border, a fascist up north literally reenacting empower Palpatine’s speech, and instead of *that*, we are supposed to care about a turf war over some street corners in the Far East,” far-right personality Mike Cernovich tweeted on Sunday, comparing Trudeau to the sadistic and self-serving Star Wars emperor.

Republican congresswoman Lauren Boebert also came under fire over the weekend for comparing the situation in Ukraine to the clearing of the truckers' protest.

"We also have neighbours to the north who need freedom and who need to be liberated," she said in an interview with Fox News personalities Kayleigh McEnany and Pete Hegseth, during their coverage of the CPAC on Sunday.

Boebert made the comments after Hegseth called Trudeau an “autocrat” for dismantling the Ottawa occupation.

She also said that President Joe Biden is "jealous" of the control that "tyrant Trudeau" has.

Read more:
‘Very unlikely’ assets of most small-time donors to Freedom Convoy would be frozen, MPs told

Bruce Heyman, former U.S. ambassador to Canada under Barack Obama, said the congresswoman’s remarks were “reckless, dangerous and [crossed] every line of diplomacy and decency. Boebert would have been expelled from the Republican party before Trump but [is] now the darling of CPAC.

“Canada is our best friend, best trading partner, closest ally and should be treated as such,” he tweeted.

Trudeau has not yet publicly responded to any of the remarks or accusations made by Trump.

Over the past week, Trump has publicly praised the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose armed forces continue to pummel Ukrainian cities, according to multiple videos and accounts from the ground in Europe.

As invading Russian troops battled with Ukrainian forces, Trump described Putin as “smart.”

“Of course he’s smart,” Trump said in his remarks Saturday, doubling down on praise of the Russian leader that many other Republicans have avoided after the invasion. “But the real problem is our leaders are dumb. Dumb. So dumb.”

-- With a file from The Associated Press

A new way to control atomic interactions

by Adam Hadhazy, Stanford University

Image of the vacuum chamber on the optical table where the Stanford research team used precisely delivered light and magnetic fields to program a straight line of atoms into treelike shapes, a twisted loop called a Möbius strip and other patterns. Credit: Monika Schleier-Smith

In a new study, Stanford researchers demonstrate how to manipulate atoms so they interact with an unprecedented degree of control. Using precisely delivered light and magnetic fields, the researchers programmed a straight line of atoms into treelike shapes, a twisted loop called a Möbius strip and other patterns.

These shapes were produced not by physically moving the atoms, but by controlling the way atoms exchange particles and "sync up" to share certain properties. By carefully manipulating these interactions, researchers can generate a vast range of geometries. Importantly, they found that atoms at the far ends of the straight line could be programmed to interact just as strongly as the atoms located right next to each other at the center of the line. To the researchers' knowledge, the ability to program nonlocal interactions to this degree, irrespective of the atoms' actual spatial locations, had never been demonstrated before.

The findings could prove a key step forward in the development of advanced technologies for computation and simulation based on the laws of quantum mechanics—the mathematical description of how particles move and interact on the atomic scale.

"In this paper, we've demonstrated a whole new level of control over the programmability of interactions in a quantum mechanical system," said study senior author Monika Schleier-Smith, the Nina C. Crocker Faculty Scholar and associate professor in the Department of Physics in Stanford's School of Humanities and Sciences. "It's an important milestone that we've long been working towards, while at the same time it's a starting point for new opportunities."

The study published Dec. 22 in the journal Nature.

Two graduate students, Avikar Periwal and Eric Cooper, as well as a postdoctoral scholar, Philipp Kunkel, are co-lead authors of the paper. Periwal, Cooper and Kunkel are researchers in Schleier-Smith's lab at Stanford.

"Avikar, Eric and Philipp worked tremendously well together as a team in running the experiments, devising clever ways of analyzing and visualizing the data and developing the theoretical models," said Schleier-Smith. "We're all very excited about these results."

"We chose some simple geometries, like rings and disconnected chains, just as proof of principle, but we also formed more complex geometries including ladder-like structures and treelike interactions, which have applications to open problems in physics," Periwal, Cooper and Kunkel said in a group statement.

Syncing up atoms on command

Periwal, Cooper, Kunkel and colleagues performed experiments for the study on apparatuses known as optical tables, a pair of which dominate the floorspace in Schleier-Smith's lab. The tables are inset with intricate arrays of electronic components strung together by multicolored wires. At the heart of one optical table is a vacuum chamber, consisting of a metallic cylinder studded with porthole windows. A pump expels all air from this chamber so that no other atoms can disturb the small bunches of rubidium atoms carefully placed inside it. The Stanford researchers beamed lasers into this airless chamber to trap the rubidium atoms, slowing the atoms' movement and cooling them down to within whiskers of absolute zero—the lowest temperature theoretically possible where particle movement comes to a virtual standstill. The extremely cold realm just above absolute zero is where quantum mechanical effects can dominate over those of classical physics, and thus where the atoms can be quantum mechanically manipulated.

Shining light through the bunches of atoms in this way also serves as a means of getting the atoms to "talk" to each other. As the light strikes each atom, it conveys information between them, generating patterns called "correlations" wherein every atom shares a certain desired quantum mechanical property. An example of a quantum mechanical property is the total angular momentum, known as the spin of an atom and which can have values of, for example, +1, 0 or –1.

Researchers at Stanford and elsewhere have correlated atomic networks before using systems of laser-cooled atoms, but, until recently, only two basic kinds of atomic networks could be made. In one, called an all-to-all network, every atom talks to every other atom. The second kind of network operates on what's known as a nearest neighbor principle, where laser-suspended atoms interact most strongly with adjacent atoms.

In this new study, the Stanford researchers debut a far more dynamic method that conveys information over specific distances between discrete groups of atoms. This way, spatial location does not matter, and a vastly richer set of correlations can be programmed.

"With an all-to-all network, it's like I'm sending a worldwide bulletin to everyone, while in a nearest-neighbor network, it's like I'm only talking to the person who lives next door," said Schleier-Smith. "With the programmability that we have now demonstrated in our lab, it's like I'm picking up a phone and dialing the exact person I want to talk to located anywhere in the world."

The researchers succeeded in creating these nonlocal interactions and correlations by controlling the frequencies of light shone at the trapped bunches of rubidium atoms and varying the strength of an applied magnetic field in the optical table. As the magnetic field strengthened in intensity from one end of the vacuum chamber to the other, it caused each bunch of atoms along the line to spin a bit faster than the prior, neighboring bunch. Although each atomic bunch had a unique rotation rate, every so often, certain bunches would nonetheless periodically arrive at the same orientation—rather like how a row of clocks with progressively faster-spinning hands will still momentarily read off the same times. The researchers used light to selectively enable and measure interactions between these momentarily synced-up atomic clouds. Overall, using a straight line of 18 clouds of atoms, the researchers could generate interactions between clouds at any specified set of distances along the line.

"The ability to generate and control these kinds of nonlocal interactions is powerful," Schleier-Smith added. "It fundamentally changes the way information can travel and the quantum systems we can engineer."

Benefitting from versatile control

One of the many applications of the Stanford team's work is the crafting of optimization algorithms for quantum computers—machines that rely on the laws of quantum mechanics for crunching numbers. Quantum computing has applications in artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, financial modeling, drug development, climate change forecasting, logistics and scheduling optimization. For example, quantum computer-tailored algorithms could efficiently solve scheduling problems by finding the shortest possible routes for deliveries, or optimal scheduling of university classes so the greatest number of students can attend.

Another highly promising application is testing out theories of quantum gravity. The treelike shapes in this study were expressly designed for this purpose—they serve as basic models of space-time curved by a hypothetical new concept of gravity based on quantum mechanical principles that would revamp our understanding of gravity as described in Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. A similar approach can also be applied to investigate the light-trapping, ultra-dense cosmic objects called black holes.

Schleier-Smith and colleagues are now working on showing that their experiments can produce quantum entanglement, where quantum states among atoms are correlated in a manner that can be harnessed for applications ranging from ultraprecise sensors to quantum computation.

"We made a lot of progress with this study and we're looking to build on it," said Schleier-Smith. "Our work demonstrates a new level of control that can help bridge the gap, in several areas of physics, between elegant theoretical ideas and actual experiments."Chaining atoms together yields quantum storage

More information: Avikar Periwal et al, Programmable interactions and emergent geometry in an array of atom clouds, Nature (2021). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04156-0

Journal information: Nature 

Provided by Stanford University 

Kilonova afterglow potentially spotted for first time

by Amanda Morris, Northwestern University

An artist’s conception illustrates the aftermath of a 'kilonova,' a powerful event

 that happens when two neutron stars merge. Credit: NASA/CXC/M. Weiss

For the first time, Northwestern University-led astronomers may have detected an afterglow from a kilonova

A kilonova occurs when two neutron stars—some of the densest objects in the universe—merge to create a blast 1,000 times brighter than a classical nova. In this case, a narrow, off-axis jet of high-energy particles accompanied the merger event, dubbed GW170817. Three-and-a-half years after the merger, the jet faded away, revealing a new source of mysterious X-rays.

As the leading explanation for the new X-ray source, astrophysicists believe expanding debris from the merger generated a shock—similar to the sonic boom from a supersonic plane. This shock then heated surrounding materials, which generated X-ray emissions, known as a kilonova afterglow. An alternative explanation is materials falling toward a black hole—formed as a result of the neutron star merger—caused the X-rays.

Either scenario would be a first for the field. The study was published today (Feb. 28), in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

"We have entered uncharted territory here in studying the aftermath of a neutron star merger," said Northwestern's Aprajita Hajela, who led the new study. "We are looking at something new and extraordinary for the very first time. This gives us an opportunity to study and understand new physical processes, which have not before been observed."

Hajela is a graduate student at Northwestern's Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA) and in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences.

On Aug. 17, 2017, GW170817 made history as the first neutron-star merger detected by both gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation (or light). Since then, astronomers have been using telescopes around the world and in space to study the event across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers observed X-ray emissions from a jet moving very close to the speed of light produced by the neutron star merger. Starting in early 2018, the jet's X-ray emission steadily faded as the jet continued to slow and expand. Hajela and her team then noticed from March 2020 until the end of 2020, the decline in brightness stopped, and the X-ray emission was approximately constant in brightness.

This was a significant clue.

"The fact that the X-rays stopped fading quickly was our best evidence yet that something in addition to a jet is being detected in X-rays in this source," said Raffaella Margutti, astrophysicist at the University of California at Berkeley and a senior author of the study. "A completely different source of X-rays appears to be needed to explain what we're seeing."

The researchers believe a kilonova afterglow or black hole are likely behind the X-rays. Neither scenario has ever before been observed.

"This would either be the first time we've seen a kilonova afterglow or the first time we've seen material falling onto a black hole after a neutron star merger," said study co-author Joe Bright, also from the University of California at Berkeley. "Either outcome would be extremely exciting."

To distinguish between the two explanations, astronomers will keep monitoring GW170817 in X-rays and radio waves. If it is a kilonova afterglow, the X-ray and radio emissions are expected to get brighter over the next few months or years. If the explanation involves matter falling onto a newly formed black hole, then the X-ray output should stay steady or decline rapidly, and no radio emission will be detected over time.

"Further study of GW170817 could have far-reaching implications," said study co-author Kate Alexander, a CIERA postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern. "The detection of a kilonova afterglow would imply that the merger did not immediately produce a black hole. Alternatively, this object may offer astronomers a chance to study how matter falls onto a black hole a few years after its birth."Astronomers find x-rays lingering years after landmark neutron star collision

More information: The emergence of a new source of X-rays from the binary neutron star merger GW170817, arXiv:2104.02070 [astro-ph.HE] arxiv.org/abs/2104.02070

Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Letters , Astrophysical Journal 

Provided by Northwestern University