World
Russian leadership’s unhinged behavior could cross red line in space partnership, former astronaut says
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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may put an finish to its partnership with the U.S. and different international locations in house, in keeping with former astronaut Terry Virts.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “appears to be bent on destroying his personal house trade,” Virts, a former commander of the Worldwide House Station, advised Fox Information.
“There’s simply not plenty of enterprise that’s going to be taking place for the Russian house company within the coming a long time due to Putin’s evil conflict that he’s waging,” Virts mentioned.
He pointed to an absence of innovation in Russia and mentioned that Putin has used oil and fuel cash to counterpoint his cronies slightly than develop corporations like SpaceX and Blue Origin within the U.S.
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The U.S. relied on Russia for rides to and from the house station after the retirement of the house shuttle program in 2011. Launches on American soil resumed in 2020 by a partnership between NASA and SpaceX.
“We do not have that dependence anymore,” mentioned Virts. “However there’s one other dependence, if you’ll, between Europe and Russia. The Europeans companion with the Russians.”
Seven individuals at the moment stay aboard the Worldwide House Station (ISS), together with 4 People, two Russians, and one German.
Operations have continued as regular as Putin wages conflict on the bottom in Ukraine, in keeping with NASA.
Nevertheless, Virts mentioned the true concern is the top of the Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin.
“He simply threatened that the house station may de-orbit on American or European soil. He mentioned it would not fly over Russian soil, so we needn’t fear about it,” mentioned Virts, referencing a sequence of tweets from Rogozin final month.
“His habits has been very erratic lately, like Putin” Virts advised Fox Information. “I do not assume something unhealthy goes to occur. I hope we will preserve our partnership, however the issues that Putin has been doing are so dramatically over the pink line.”
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NASA advised Fox Information in a press release: “NASA continues working with all our worldwide companions, together with the State House Company Roscosmos, for the continued secure operations of the Worldwide House Station. No adjustments are deliberate to the company’s help for ongoing in orbit and floor station operations.”
Virts mentioned: “The overriding crucial for NASA and the Russian house company—we will not give the crew conflicting instructions. We won’t put them at odds with one another.”
“We must be adults down right here on Earth and make it possible for we do not put the crew in that state of affairs,” Virts continued. “I do know that NASA’s not going to try this … and I hope that the Russians have the identical philosophy.”
Virts commanded the house station in 2014 when Russia invaded Crimea. He mentioned throughout that point, he made a degree to eat dinner together with his Russian colleagues each evening.
“‘Politics is politics,’ is how we might begin at each assembly, and ‘let’s simply depart what’s taking place on Earth on Earth, as a result of we’re simply attempting to remain alive in house,’ that was our major aim” mentioned Virts. “So, I’d anticipate that they are being very skilled, very pleasant with one another.”
Isabelle McDonnell contributed to this report.
World
Max Christie is getting a 4-year, $32 million deal to return to the Lakers, an AP source says
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Promising wing Max Christie is returning to the Los Angeles Lakers with a four-year, $32 million contract, a person with knowledge of the deal tells The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Sunday because the Lakers haven’t announced the deal for their former second-round draft pick. ESPN first reported it.
The 21-year-old Christie has averaged 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.8 assists while playing inconsistently during his first two NBA seasons, but the Lakers clearly believe in his potential.
The Michigan State product is a career 37.8% shooter on 3-point attempts, and he showed promise as a three-and-D wing during his stretches in the Lakers’ rotation last season, including seven starts.
New Lakers coach JJ Redick mentioned Christie prominently when he spoke of the team’s promising young talent ripe for development during his introductory news conference last week.
Even with two years of NBA experience, Christie is two years younger than Dalton Knecht, the Lakers’ first-round draft pick last Wednesday.
Christie’s brother, Cam, was drafted by the Los Angeles Clippers last week.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
World
Macron on edge as France’s right-wing National Rally party gains momentum in first round of elections
France’s right-wing National Rally party on Sunday made considerable gains in the country’s first round of elections, putting the centrist President Emmanuel Macron and his supporters on edge.
Early projections suggest that the National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen, stands a good chance of winning a majority in the lower house of parliament for the first time, with an estimated one-third of the first-round vote, nearly double their 18% in the first round in 2022.
French polling agencies indicated that Macron’s grouping of centrist parties could finish a distant third in the first-round ballot. Their projections put Macron’s camp behind both the National Rally and a new left-wing coalition of parties that joined forces to keep Le Pen”s anti-immigration party from potentially forming the most conservative government since World War II.
Still, the election’s ultimate outcome remains uncertain, and the decisive final vote will happen next Sunday, July 7.
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Earlier this month, Macron dissolved parliament and called for a surprise vote after the National Rally clobbered his party in the European Parliament election. The move was seen as a risky gamble that French voters, complacent about the European election, would be motivated to back moderate forces to keep the National Rally out of power.
Many French voters are frustrated about inflation and other economic concerns, as well as the leadership of Macron, who is seen as arrogant and out of touch. Le Pen’s anti-immigration National Rally party has tapped that discontent, notably via online platforms like TikTok, and led in pre-election opinion polls.
Voters in Paris had issues from immigration to the rising cost of living on their minds as the country has grown more divided between the right-wing and left-wing blocs, with a deeply unpopular and weakened president in the political center.
Le Pen called on voters to give the National Rally an “absolute majority” in parliament. She said a National Rally majority would enable the right to form a new government with party President Jordan Bardella as prime minister to work on France’s “recovery.”
“Following historic victories for conservatives in the EU elections a few weeks ago, France today reaffirmed the drastic shift we are seeing in Europe away from the failed left-wing playbook in favor of a common-sense conservative agenda centered around lower taxes, a crackdown on illegal immigration, and support for freedom of speech,” Matt Mowers, EU-US Forum founding board member and former State Department official, told Fox News Digital. “Today’s results serve as another major message to bureaucrats in Brussels – Europeans want conservative policies and leaders.”
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Turnout on Sunday stood at an unusually high 59% three hours before polls closed – 20 percentage points higher than turnout at the same time in the last first-round vote in 2022.
The first polling projections emerged after final polling stations closed. Early official results were expected later Sunday.
The second round of voting next Sunday will be more decisive, but questions will still remain about how Macron will share power with a prime minister who is hostile to most of his policies.
In the scenario of a National Rally victory, Macron would be expected to name the party’s president, 28-year-old Jordan Bardella, as prime minister in an awkward power-sharing system known as “cohabitation.” While Macron has said he won’t step down before his presidential term expires in 2027, cohabitation would weaken him at home and on the world stage.
The results of the first round will give a clear picture of voter sentiment, but not necessarily the overall makeup of the next National Assembly. Predictions are difficult because of the complicated voting system, and because parties will work between the rounds to make alliances in some constituencies or pull out of others.
Bardella, who has no governing experience, said he would use the powers of prime minister to stop Macron from continuing to supply long-range weapons to Ukraine for the war with Russia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen announces her re-election
Le Pen’s success in Hénin-Beaumont underscores her enduring influence in the region, where she has consistently garnered strong support
Marine Le Pen, the prominent leader of the French far-right National Rally (RN) party, has announced that she has been re-elected in the first round of the parliamentary election in her stronghold constituency of Hénin-Beaumont.
According to initial results, the three-time presidential candidate won with over 58% of the vote, against nearly 26% for New Popular Front candidate Samira Laala.
In a speech following her victory, Le Pen emphasized the importance of the upcoming second round. “Nothing is certain: the second round is decisive. In order to give Jordan Bardella an absolute majority in the National Assembly and for him to be appointed Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron in eight days’ time, I invite you to renew your vote,” she urged her supporters.
Le Pen’s success in Hénin-Beaumont underscores her enduring influence in the region, where she has consistently garnered strong support. Le Pen was a candidate in the 11th constituency of Pas-de-Calais, where she has been elected since 2017.
The first-round victory is a significant step for the National Rally as they aim to increase their representation in the National Assembly and push for their broader political agenda.
The final outcome of the parliamentary election will be crucial in determining the balance of power in France. As Le Pen and her party prepare for the decisive second round, the political stakes remain high, with the potential to reshape the nation’s future direction.
The National Rally, the far-right party led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, has surged to first place in the first round of legislative elections, according to a projection produced by Ipsos Talan today (30 June) after polls closed. The National Rally may have gained 34% of votes cast, according to the poll, a slight decrease from opinion polls last week which put the party and its allies at 36%.
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