SCIENCE

NEW YORK — A deadly bacteria known as Vibrio vulnificus, commonly called flesh-eating bacteria, has been detected in multiple Long Island waterways, prompting urgent warnings from scientists as the summer beach season approaches.

ENID, Okla. — A powerful tornado ripped through northwest Oklahoma on Thursday evening, April 23, 2026, flattening homes in southeast Enid, damaging structures near Vance Air Force Base and scattering debris across rural areas as severe storms swept the region.

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk responded with a single word Wednesday to news that China is committing massive financial resources to develop orbital data centers, a move that underscores the intensifying global race to harness space for artificial intelligence infrastructure and high-performance computing.

WASHINGTON — Skywatchers and astronauts alike captured the annual Lyrid meteor shower in spectacular fashion as it peaked Tuesday night into Wednesday, with bright streaks lighting up dark skies on the ground and unique perspectives from 250 miles above Earth aboard the International Space Station.

Here are 10 fun facts about Earth that many people still don't know, even as the planet marks another Earth Day on April 22, 2026. These surprising details highlight our home's unique quirks, hidden extremes and ongoing mysteries revealed by recent science.

Here are 10 essential things you must know about Earth Day as the world marks its 56th observance on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, under the theme "Our Power, Our Planet."

WASHINGTON — Federal authorities are investigating a string of deaths and disappearances involving at least 11 American scientists and researchers with ties to sensitive nuclear, aerospace and space defense programs, as lawmakers warn the pattern could signal a national security threat and fuel speculation of coordinated foul play.

WASHINGTON — Elon Musk on Tuesday described SpaceX's unprecedented dominance in orbital rocket launches as merely "a start," underscoring that far greater efforts are required to fulfill the company's ultimate mission of extending human consciousness across the stars.

TOKYO — Japan, situated on the volatile Pacific Ring of Fire where multiple tectonic plates converge, has endured some of the most powerful and destructive earthquakes ever recorded, with the 2011 Tohoku event standing as the strongest in the nation's modern history at magnitude 9.1 and triggering a catastrophic tsunami that claimed nearly 20,000 lives.

SANTA BARBARA, California — Nobel Prize-winning physicist David Gross has issued a stark warning that humanity stands a slim chance of surviving another 50 years, citing the grave risk of nuclear war as the primary barrier preventing scientists from achieving a unified theory of all fundamental forces.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket lifted off Sunday morning from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, successfully carrying AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite into low Earth orbit on the company's third orbital mission and marking the first reflight of a New Glenn first-stage booster.

HAWTHORNE, Calif. — SpaceX has unveiled its most advanced rocket engine yet with the Raptor 3, a leap forward in power, efficiency and simplicity that Elon Musk described as "by far the best rocket engine ever made."

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Elon Musk's SpaceX continues to dominate the billionaire space rivalry with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin as 2026 unfolds, launching far more often, expanding its Starlink constellation and advancing ambitious lunar base plans while Blue Origin ramps up its New Glenn rocket and Blue Moon lander efforts in a methodical bid to catch up.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A viral X post by Elon Musk showcasing SpaceX's Starship Super Heavy Booster being transported across the Texas landscape has captivated millions, with the tech mogul declaring it the most powerful moving object ever built by humanity and sparking fresh awe over the rapid pace of reusable rocket technology.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force released striking new images of its next-generation B-21 Raider stealth bomber in midair refueling this week, a dramatic public display that comes amid heightened tensions with Iran and underscores America's advancing long-range strike capabilities.

A sharp jolt rattled homes across the Central West of New South Wales on Tuesday evening as a magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck near Orange, sending tremors through the region and prompting hundreds of resident reports.

NEW YORK — World Quantum Day returns Tuesday as a decentralized global celebration of quantum science and technology, building momentum after the 2025 International Year of Quantum Science and Technology with hundreds of events worldwide aimed at making complex physics accessible to the public.

KINGSTON, R.I. — Quantum physics, long confined to laboratories and advanced mathematics, stepped into the spotlight here Friday as the University of Rhode Island hosted its fifth annual World Quantum Day event, drawing elected officials, tech executives, students and members of the public into conversations that blended qubits with culture, ethics and everyday life.

HOUSTON — Intuitive Machines Inc. shares rose more than 2% in early trading Monday to $24.14 as the lunar exploration company continued to draw investor interest following its recent $180.4 million NASA contract win and ambitious full-year 2026 revenue guidance of $900 million to $1 billion, nearly five times 2025 levels.

HOUSTON — NASA astronaut Victor Glover stood before a packed auditorium Saturday, voice cracking with emotion, as he thanked God, his crewmates, families and the thousands who made Artemis II possible — a raw moment of gratitude captured on video that has since rocketed across social media following the crew's triumphant return from humanity's first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.

BOCA CHICA, Texas — Elon Musk on Sunday posted a striking image of SpaceX's latest Starship Super Heavy booster, captioned simply "Starship," that has already amassed more than 6.4 million views and ignited fresh excitement about the company's push toward rapid reusability and eventual Mars missions in 2026.

WASHINGTON — As the U.S.-Iran conflict enters its seventh week in April 2026, America's advanced stealth weapons have proven decisive in degrading Iranian air defenses, missile sites and nuclear infrastructure while minimizing risk to U.S. personnel. From long-range cruise missiles to next-generation aircraft, these systems have allowed precise strikes deep inside contested airspace.

SAN DIEGO — NASA released an iconic image Saturday showing the four Artemis II astronauts standing proudly beside their Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, in the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha just hours after a flawless Pacific Ocean splashdown that capped humanity's first crewed lunar voyage in more than half a century.

MONTREAL — Astronomers have identified a distant world that could rewrite understanding of planetary composition: an exoplanet potentially made up of as much as 30 percent water by mass, a staggering fraction that dwarfs Earth's meager water content and suggests a globe-spanning ocean hundreds of kilometers deep with no continents in sight.

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. — SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 25 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit Friday night from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking the reusable booster's 32nd flight and underscoring the company's relentless pace in expanding its global satellite internet constellation.

SAN DIEGO — NASA's Artemis II Orion spacecraft successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 50 to 60 miles off the coast of San Diego, California, at 5:07 p.m. PDT (8:07 p.m. EDT) on Friday, April 10, 2026, safely returning four astronauts from humanity's first crewed lunar voyage in more than 50 years.

SAN DIEGO — NASA's Artemis II astronauts splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean off California's coast Friday night, capping a historic 10-day voyage around the Moon that marked humanity's first crewed lunar mission in more than half a century and set a new record for the farthest distance humans have ever traveled from Earth.

HOUSTON — Four astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft hurtled toward Earth on Friday, April 10, 2026, capping a groundbreaking 10-day journey around the Moon — the first crewed lunar mission in more than half a century — with a high-stakes splashdown expected in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego at approximately 8:07 p.m. EDT (5:07 p.m. PDT).

HOUSTON — As NASA's Artemis II astronauts hurtle back toward Earth aboard the Orion spacecraft, the agency on Friday released a video compilation celebrating the "Moon joy" — an intense happiness and excitement unique to lunar missions — that the four-person crew has experienced during humanity's first crewed voyage around the Moon in more than half a century.