TYB
Death toll rises to 16 after devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky: Latest updates
Updated 10:17 ET July 29 2022
The death toll in Eastern Kentucky rose to 16 on Friday morning after torrential rains flooded the region, destroying hundreds of homes and wiping out entire communities.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, in a video posted to Twitter, said children were likely included in the death count and that the number is expected to grow to "probably more than double."
"We know some of the loss will include children," Beshear said. "We may have even lost entire families."
Search and rescue teams, with the help of the National Guard, were searching for missing people Friday after record floods washed through the region. The governor declared a state of emergency.
More rain and storms were expected this weekend after over 6 inches of rain fell Wednesday night into Thursday. Meteorologist Brandon Bonds with the National Weather Service in Jackson said it won't take much more rain to "cause even more damage." A flood watch or warning was expected to stay in effect for many of the areas that saw the worst of the flooding.
'Not seen the worst of it':Death toll likely to rise in Eastern Kentucky flooding
Here's what we know about the flooding, rescue efforts and more.
Death toll rises to 16
Jimmy Pollard, executive director of the Kentucky Coroners Association, confirmed the 16th death Friday morning to The Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
The deaths occurred in Knott, Letcher, Clay and Perry counties, he said. Additional details were not yet available.
Beshear earlier Friday announced the death toll climbed overnight from eight to 15. A press briefing was planned for Friday morning.
Gov. Beshear: Number of missing 'tough' to estimate
Beshear on Friday morning said it would be "tough" to determine the number of people who are unaccounted for because cell service and electricity were out across the region.
More than 200 people have sought shelter, Beshear said. The National Guard has mobilized.
"In a word, this event is devastating, and I do believe it will end up being one of the most significant deadly floods that we have had in Kentucky in at least a very long time," Beshear said Thursday.
On Friday morning, Beshear said the state completed hundreds of rescues, with about 50 air rescues and hundreds of boat rescues. The flooding has left over 23,000 Kentuckians without power and several counties without access to water, Beshear said.
Kentucky flooding map: Which areas are affected?
While rain was reported in several areas around the state, the flooding took place in Eastern Kentucky, in counties near the border with Virginia and West Virginia.
Towns and cities reported having been hit the hardest are Hazard, Jackson, Garrett, Salyersville, Booneville, Whitesburg and the rest of Perry County.
The stretch of the Kentucky River in Jackson reached the highest it has ever been, at 43.2 feet, according to the National Weather Service in Jackson as of 6 a.m. Friday. That mark broke a record set in 1939 when the height of the river reached 43.1 feet.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/07/29/eastern-kentucky-flooding-live-updates/10182010002/
NASA to Host Briefings to Preview Artemis I Moon Mission
Jul 27, 2022
NASA will host a pair of briefings on Wednesday, Aug. 3, and Friday, Aug. 5, to preview the upcoming Artemis I lunar mission. The agency is currently targeting no earlier than Monday, Aug. 29, for the launch of the Space Launch System rocket to send the Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back to Earth. The mission will take place over the course of about six weeks to check out systems before crew fly aboard on Artemis II.
The first briefing will provide an overview of the Artemis I mission, and the second briefing will dive deeper into the Artemis I mission timeline and spacecraft operations. Both briefings will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, the agency’s website.
Briefing participants include (all times Eastern):
Wednesday, Aug. 3
11 a.m. – Artemis I mission overview briefing with the following participants:
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
Bhavya Lal, associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy, NASA Headquarters
Mike Sarafin, Artemis I mission manager, NASA Headquarters
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis I launch director, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida
John Honeycutt, Space Launch System program manager, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama
Howard Hu, Orion program manager, NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston
This event will air live on NASA TV and media may join by telephone to ask questions. To participate by phone, media must send their full name, media affiliation, email address, and phone number no later than two hours prior to the start of the event to: kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov.
Friday, Aug. 5
11:30 a.m. – Artemis I detailed mission briefing with the following participants:
Debbie Korth, Orion program deputy manager, NASA Johnson
Rick LaBrode, lead Artemis I flight director, NASA Johnson
Judd Frieling, Artemis I ascent/entry flight director, NASA Johnson
Melissa Jones, Artemis I recovery director, NASA Kennedy
Reid Wiseman, chief astronaut, NASA Johnson
Philippe Deloo, Orion European Service Module program manager, ESA (European Space Agency)
This event will air live on NASA TV and media may participate in person at Johnson or by phone. To participate in the briefings by phone, media must contact the Johnson newsroom by 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4. U.S. media interested in participating in person at Johnson must contact the Johnson newsroom no later than 5 p.m. Friday, July. 29, by calling: 281-483-5111 or emailing: jsccommu@mail.nasa.gov.
Along with the briefings, NASA will host an Artemis I media day at Johnson Friday, Aug. 5, to showcase Artemis I mission hardware and offer interviews. Media attending will get an in-person look at development mockups, design simulators, flight control operations, and hardware in development for lunar exploration.
Artemis I is an uncrewed flight test, the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon.
Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone to send astronauts to Mars.
Learn more about NASA’s Artemis I mission at: https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-i/
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-host-briefings-to-preview-artemis-i-moon-mission
NASA Administrator Statement on Agency Authorization Bill
Jul 28, 2022
Editor's note: This release was updated on Thursday, July 28, to include the full name of the bill.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson released this statement Thursday following approval by the U.S. Congress for the NASA Authorization Act of 2022, which is part of the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act of 2022.
“I am incredibly pleased Congress has passed the NASA Authorization Act of 2022 – the first authorization for our agency in five years. This act shows continued bipartisan support of NASA’s many missions, including our Moon to Mars approach, as well extension of U.S. participation in the International Space Station to 2030.”
“With strong support from the Biden-Harris Administration as well as this authorization, NASA will continue to advance scientific discoveries, enable sustainable aviation, address climate change, and much more.”
“As we work to send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon under Artemis, I’d like to specifically recognize Senators Maria Cantwell, Roger Wicker, John Hickenlooper, Cynthia Lummis, as well as Representatives Eddie Bernice Johnson, Frank Lucas, Don Beyer, and Brian Babin, for their leadership in passing this bill. This generation – the Artemis Generation – is part of a sustainable exploration program that will last decades.”
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-administrator-statement-on-agency-authorization-bill
dude did a barrel roll
NASA Announces Astronaut Shane Kimbrough to Retire
Jul 27, 2022
NASA’s Shane Kimbrough is retiring after 22 years, including 18 years as an astronaut. His last day with the agency is Sunday, July 31.
The retired U.S. Army colonel spent 388 days in space, landing him fifth on the list of record holders for cumulative time in space for all NASA astronauts. He was the fourth person to fly on three different spacecraft – the space shuttle, Soyuz, and SpaceX Crew Dragon – and he performed nine spacewalks during his three spaceflights.
Kimbrough was recently the commander of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission to the International Space Station, the second long-duration mission for the Crew Dragon spacecraft, and the longest spaceflight for a U.S. human spacecraft. Throughout the mission, Kimbrough and the Expedition 65 crew performed more than 250 scientific investigations designed to benefit all of humanity and help future exploration.
The crew studied how gaseous flames behave in microgravity, grew hatch green chiles in the station’s Plant Habitat Facility, tested free-flying robotic assistants, and even donned virtual-reality goggles to test new methods for performing maintenance activities in space. Kimbrough also performed spacewalks to install and deploy the new International Space Station Roll-out Solar Arrays.
“Shane’s expertise and leadership has been a huge asset to me personally and the astronaut office for many years. He has been a mentor to many astronauts, and it has been an absolute pleasure and honor to serve with him,” said Chief Astronaut Reid Wiseman at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
Kimbrough was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 2004. He completed his first spaceflight in 2008 aboard the space shuttle Endeavour to the space station on the STS-126 mission. Highlights of the almost 16-day mission included expanding the living quarters of the space station to eventually house six-member crews by delivering a new bathroom, kitchen, two bedrooms, an exercise machine, and a water recycling system. His second spaceflight launched Oct. 19, 2016, aboard a Soyuz spacecraft to become part of Expedition 49/50 on the station. A week after he arrived, he became station commander until he departed almost six months later. In addition to his spaceflight experience, Kimbrough supported his colleagues by serving as chief of the Astronaut Office’s Vehicle Integration Test Office and its Robotics Branch at various times throughout his career.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as a NASA astronaut for the past 18 years,” Kimbrough said. “I am honored to have been able to fly on three different spacecraft and to spend time at the International Space Station. I’ve worked with the best of the best in orbit and on the ground and am grateful for those that have supported me and my family. I’ve wanted to be an astronaut since I was a little kid watching NASA astronauts go to the Moon. To accomplish three spaceflights and nearly 400 days in space in my career is truly a dream come true.”
Kimbrough was born in Killeen, Texas, and graduated from The Lovett School in Atlanta in 1985. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in aerospace engineering from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, in 1989, and a Master of Science degree in operations research from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta in 1998.
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-astronaut-shane-kimbrough-to-retire
Watch Will Smith's full video addressing the Chris Rock Oscars slap
Will Smith has addressed slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars in a new video posted to social media on Friday, 29 July.
The actor offered an apology directly to the comedian and his family, and said: "I will say to you, Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."
Mr Smith also answered fan questions about the moment, denying that his wife Jada Pinkett Smith asked him to act on her behalf.
"I made a choice on my own," Mr Smith said.
https://youtu.be/mVKeT6p4_Vs (Article video)
https://youtu.be/jXrxDKwlA_s (Official video)