TYB
https://earthsky.org/space/the-wow-signal-seti-hydrogen-line-maser/
https://phl.upr.edu/wow
https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.08513
https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.10657
The Wow! Signal: New analysis closes in on mysterious source
August 24, 2025
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The Wow! Signal was an unusual radio signal from space detected in 1977 by the Big Ear radio telescope at Ohio State University.
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Astronomers have re-analyzed the old data, including related observations not previously published.
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It was not likely caused by terrestrial radio interference. It might have been a naturally occurring maser triggering a brief brightening in the hydrogen line of an interstellar gas cloud.
The Wow! Signal
Do you remember the Wow! Signal? It was a strong radio signal from deep space that the early SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) project at Ohio State University detected back on August 15, 1977.
The enigmatic signal seemed like it might have been artificial in nature. But unfortunately, it was only detected once. Now, researchers from the Arecibo Wow! project at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo have re-analyzed this fleeting blip from the cosmos.
Researchers released a study on August 15, 2025, based on the signal and decades of unpublished, but related observations.
First, the findings suggest it was not caused by terrestrial radio interference. Their leading hypothesis is that it was from a maser.
Masers are naturally occurring sources of stimulated spectral line emissions in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The Wow! Signal might have been a maser in an interstellar cloud of gas.
Astrobiologist Abel Méndez at the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo led the study.
The study used archival data from the Ohio State University SETI program. In addition, it also used modern signal analysis techniques not available at the time of the initial detection.
The researchers submitted their findings to The Astrophysical Journal for peer-review. In the meantime, you can read the preprint version of the new paper on arXiv.
A mysterious radio signal from space
On August 15, 1977, astronomers at Ohio State University participating in the university’s SETI project detected the mysterious signal using the Big Ear radio telescope. It appeared to come from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.
Also, it seemed to have the characteristics that an artificial radio signal was expected to have, including being narrowband. Astronomer Jerry R. Ehman discovered the anomaly a few days later while reviewing the recorded data.
On the computer printout, he circled the signal’s intensity, “6EQUJ5”, and wrote the comment “Wow!” beside it. The signal lasted for the entire 72 seconds of the observation window.
However, the signal was never detected again. So what was it?
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New analysis of old data
The researchers from the Arecibo Wow! project re-analyzed the old data. That included the signal itself, as well as related observational records not published before. Also, the study also used modern signal analysis techniques. So, what did this new analysis show?
For one thing, they provide a more precise location of the signal in the sky. Specifically, using two adjacent sky fields, it was centered at right ascensions 19h 25m 02s ± 3s or 19h 27m 55s ± 3s, and declination –26° 57? ± 20? (J2000).
Also, it suggested a stronger signal intensity of 250 Janskys (peak flux density of the signal). That is four times greater than previous estimates. Likewise, the analysis also revealed a frequency of 1420.726 MHz.
That is within the hydrogen line, but with a greater radial velocity – the line-of-sight velocity of a target with respect to an observer – than previously believed.
New clues to the WOW mystery
To be sure, the findings still don’t reveal what the Wow! Signal was, but they do provide clues. Méndez said:
Our results don’t solve the mystery of the Wow! Signal, but they give us the clearest picture yet of what it was and where it came from. This new precision allows us to target future observations more effectively than ever before.
This study doesn’t close the case. It reopens it, but now with a much sharper map in hand.
An astrophysical explanation?
Notably, the results of this new study suggest that the signal was not caused by terrestrial radio interference, as is often the case with unknown signals. On the other hand, it might not have been aliens.
The researchers hypothesize that it might have been caused by a sudden brightening in the hydrogen line of an interstellar gas cloud.
The hydrogen line – aka 21-centimeter radiation – is the electromagnetic radiation of radio wavelengths emitted by cold, neutral interstellar hydrogen atoms.
In fact, astronomers believe it’s an ideal wavelength for alien civilizations to send radio messages.
As for the Wow! Signal, a powerful transient radiation source such as a magnetar flare or soft gamma repeater (SGR) could have triggered the brightening. But it’s still a hypothesis at this point.
In fact, a maser could have produced a narrowband signal with similar characteristics as the Wow! Signal. Masers are naturally occurring sources of stimulated spectral line emissions, typically in the microwave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
See also this previous paper (2024) from Méndez et al.
Other possible sources for the Wow! Signal
In 2020, amateur astronomer Alberto Caballero had reported that the signal might have originated from a sunlike star – 2MASS 19281982-2640123 – 1,800 light-years away, in the direction of the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
And in 2016, astronomer Antonio Paris said that a passing comet might have been the source. However, that explanation was met with significant skepticism from some other astronomers at the time.
Bottom line: The Wow! Signal was a mysterious radio signal from space detected in 1977. To date, its source is not known, but a new analysis is narrowing the possibilities.
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https://www.youtube.com/@paulhellyer3081
Robot WINS & FAILS from China's World Humanoid Robot Games
Aug 24, 2025
We break down all the biggest winners, losers, highlights and robot fails from the first ever World Humanoid Robot Games held in China.
0:00 Intro
0:31 Unitree Robot Dominates Running Events
1:10 Real-World Robotic Challenges
1:18 Robot Kickboxing Highlights
1:45 Robot Soccer Highlights
2:35 The Future of Humanoid Robot Development
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqvFUx1sIYY
Russia requests UN Security Council meeting on Nord Stream sabotage
24 Aug, 2025 00:24
Russia has requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting following the arrest of a Ukrainian man in Italy, allegedly involved in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022.
Explosions measuring 2.1 and 2.3 on the Richter scale ruptured lines laid to carry Russian gas to direct Germany, one of which was loaded.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Germany and neighboring countries of delaying the investigation and excluding Russia from the probe.
“We will highlight the delays in the German investigation and the absence of transparency,” Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky wrote on Telegram. He added that the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
On Thursday, Italian police detained a Ukrainian citizen, later identified in the media as former military officer Sergey Kuznetsov.
Prosecutors allege he coordinated a team that rented a yacht and planted explosives on the pipelines using commercial diving gear.
German investigators reportedly believe a small group of Ukrainians was behind the attack, a claim Moscow dismissed as “ridiculous.” Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the US likely orchestrated the sabotage.
Last year, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service claimed it had “credible information” that US and British agents were involved in the plot.
https://www.rt.com/russia/623460-russia-calls-un-security-council/
Ukrainian drone shot down near nuclear power plant
24 Aug, 2025 01:55
A Ukrainian kamikaze drone has been shot down near a power plant in Russia’s Kursk region, part of which had been under Ukrainian occupation for several months.
According to the plant’s management, in the early hours of Sunday the downed UAV damaged part of the electrical grid and triggered a small fire.
In August 2024, Ukrainian forces crossed into Russia’s internationally recognized territory, advancing into the Kursk region in an effort to disrupt Russian offensives elsewhere and strengthen their position in peace talks.
They quickly seized dozens of villages along with the border town of Sudzha, located about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of the plant. Russian troops fully regained control of the region by late April.
Ukraine has repeatedly targeted Russian energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, gas facilities, and elements of the power grid. Earlier this week, its forces struck the Druzhba pipeline, which supplies oil to the European Union.
The attack drew sharp criticism from Hungary and Slovakia.
https://www.rt.com/russia/623461-kursk-nuclear-power-plant/
Nearly 300 soldiers freed in latest Russia-Ukraine swap
24 Aug, 2025 15:04
Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 146 prisoners of war on Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced.
Moscow also received eight civilians who had been captured during the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region last year.
The exchange took place at an undisclosed location.
The Russian servicemen freed during the swap are currently receiving psychological and medical assistance in Belarus, the ministry said in its statement.
They will be transferred to Russia for treatment and rehabilitation shortly.
The eight civilians from Kursk Region were greeted in Belarus by Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova.
The civilians ended up in Ukrainian custody during the incursion launched by Kiev last August. Ukrainian forces were expelled from the area by the Russian military earlier this year.
“It is impossible to convey in words the emotions and experiences of the people who managed to return to their homeland.
They all had to go through serious hardships and psychological pressure,” Moskalkova said in a statement.
Moscow’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, who has led several rounds of direct talks with Kiev in Türkiye this year, said the Ukrainian servicemen had been picked from around 1,000 prisoners Ukraine had repeatedly refused to take back.
“Kiev has been ‘picking’ again, this time from among the 1,000 captured Ukrainian servicemen who appealed to [Vladimir] Zelensky [the full list was published by RT].
Apparently, there are very few of ours left there; the Ukrainian ‘exchange fund’ of Ukraine is approaching ‘zero.’ This is good.
We still hold thousands of Ukrainian military personnel as prisoners,” Medinsky said in a Telegram post.
Earlier this month, RT launched a website listing nearly 1,000 servicemen who had been abandoned by Ukraine in Russian captivity.
The POWs told RT that their names had repeatedly been removed from exchange lists, thus raising questions about whether they were really wanted in Ukraine despite the claims repeatedly made by Zelensky that he had been seeking an “all-for-all” prisoner swap.
https://www.rt.com/russia/623475-moscow-kiev-prisoner-swap/
Zelensky vows to retake Crimea despite Trump’s peace push
24 Aug, 2025 12:09
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has rejected US calls to withdraw its claim to Crimea or make any territorial concessions to Russia.
In a speech marking Ukraine’s Independence Day on Sunday, Zelensky vowed to retake the peninsula, which is predominantly populated by ethnic Russians and overwhelmingly voted to join Russia after the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev.
He also pledged to reclaim the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, which, along with Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions, joined Russia in 2022 after referendums.
“Here at the zero kilometer, this is a starting point where distances to Ukrainian cities are marked – to our Donetsk, our Lugansk, our Crimea,” Zelensky said in an address filmed at Kiev’s Maidan Square, the site of the Western-backed 2014 coup.
“All of this is Ukraine… and no temporary occupation can change that. One day… we will be together again as one country. It’s only a matter of time.”
While mediating peace efforts between Moscow and Kiev, US President Donald Trump has floated the idea of “land swaps,” but firmly stated that Kiev will not regain Crimea, calling that scenario “impossible.”
Land issues were reportedly on the agenda at talks between Trump, Zelensky, and Kiev’s EU backers earlier this week, but Zelensky reportedly rejected proposals to cede territory. He confirmed this in his speech on Sunday, declaring:
“Ukraine will never again in history be forced to bear the shame that the Russians call ‘a compromise’.”
Trump has called for a one-on-one meeting between Putin and Zelensky, saying it could accelerate the peace process, but warned that the Ukrainian leader must “show flexibility,” including on territorial claims.
He congratulated Ukraine on its national holiday in a post on X, while again urging Kiev to negotiate a settlement with Moscow to “stop the senseless killing.”
Putin has not ruled out meeting with Zelensky, despite questioning the Ukrainian leader’s legitimacy due to the expiration of his term, but insists that this can only happen after tangible progress in negotiations.
On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Putin could meet Zelensky “when the agenda is ready for a summit,” but added that “as things stand, no meeting is planned.”
Moscow has consistently maintained it will only accept a peace deal that includes Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye as Russian.
https://www.rt.com/russia/623468-zelensky-trump-crimea-retake/
Ukraine issues military warning to Belarus
24 Aug, 2025 07:21
Ukraine has told Minsk to stay away from its borders during upcoming joint military exercises with Russia to be held in Belarus.
The warning came ahead of the ‘Zapad-2025’ military drill, scheduled for September 12–16.
Belarus allowed Russian forces to use its territory when the conflict with Ukraine escalated in February 2022.
Since then, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly said that Minsk has no intention of attacking Kiev and will only resort to military action if his country is attacked
In a statement on Friday, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry accused Belarus of aiding Moscow and issued a caution.
“We warn Minsk against reckless provocations and urge it to remain prudent, refrain from approaching the borders, and avoid provoking Ukraine’s Defense Forces,” Kiev’s Foreign Ministry has said.
This year's military exercises, which include counter-sabotage operations, drone warfare, electronic interference scenarios, and assaults, will also feature the Russian Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile, according to Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin.
First battle-tested in November 2024 in a strike on Ukraine’s Yuzhmash facility in Dnepr, Russian officials have compared its conventional destructive power to that of a low-yield nuclear strike.
“This is an important element for our strategic deterrence – as the head of state demands, we must be prepared for anything,” Khrenin told the state news agency Belta.
He warned that NATO is using Zapad-2025 as a pretext for its own drills, citing Poland’s deployment of 30,000 troops near Belarus as the main concern.
Belarus, a close ally of Russia, signed a bilateral security treaty with Moscow in December 2024. The agreement commits both countries to defend each other’s sovereignty with all available means.
In 2023, Russia deployed tactical nuclear weapons and short-range ballistic missiles on Belarusian territory, citing tensions with the West.
Lukashenko has also called for the accelerated delivery of Oreshnik systems, which could be stationed in Belarus before the end of 2025.
https://www.rt.com/russia/623462-ukraine-issues-military-warning-belarus/
Deep state entrenched in US intel community – Gabbard
23 Aug, 2025 16:27
The US intelligence community has been infiltrated by deep state actors, who are busy “inserting their own partisan political opinions and views” into intel products and effectively working against the American people, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has said.
The DNI chief, who has repeatedly pledged to root out rogue actors from the US intel community, made the remarks on Thursday while speaking to FOX Business, stating that the deep state has created entire “pockets” within America’s intelligence agencies.
“There were a lot of pockets where the Deep State actors were very entrenched and were politicizing their centers or their positions, either against the American people… [or] creating intelligence products and inserting their own partisan political opinions and views,” she told the network.
”These are dangerous people because they believe their views and opinions supersede the US constitution that they all swear an oath to uphold, to support and defend, and… those who are elected by the American people, specifically the president of the United States,” Gabbard added.
The intelligence community has grown extremely politicized over the years and steered away from its intended goals and original mandate, Gabbard added. “It’s very simple.
The mandate the intelligence community has is to find the truth and to tell the truth,” she stressed, adding that only sufficient transparency could ensure “actual accountability” for the intel community and produce a “real change.”
Earlier this week, Gabbard stripped security clearances from 37 current and former intelligence officials, accusing them of manipulating and politicizing intelligence.
The move has become “the first step to aggressively get after our core national security mission, root out those deep state actors,” according to Gabbard.
The list includes multiple prominent intel figures, including former NSA deputy director Richard Ledgett, former assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research Brett Holmgren, and former principal deputy director of DNI Stephanie O’Sullivan.
https://www.rt.com/news/623455-us-intel-deep-state/
IDF bombs presidential palace in Yemen after Houthis use cluster warhead in missile attack
August 24, 2025
Israeli warplanes bombed Houthi positions in Yemen on Sunday, including the Yemeni presidential palace, days after Yemen-based terrorists launched a missile at Israel which utilized a cluster warhead.
The strikes came in response to a missile attack conducted on Friday by the Ansar Allah terrorist group – an Iranian-backed Shi’ite movement in Yemen widely referred to as the Houthis.
On Sunday, Israel confirmed that the missile carried a cluster warhead, capable of scattering smaller explosives over a wide area.
The cluster warhead is internationally banned, but was used by Iran on Israeli cities during the 12-day war in June.
Friday’s missile attack damaged a private home in the central Israeli town of Ginaton, but caused no injuries.
“There were two explosions at home,” the owner of the home, 85-year-old Ilana Hatoumi told Channel 12. “The entire home shook.”
“The power went out,” Hatoumi added. “I thought it was very close, but I didn’t imagine it was in my home.”
Middle East Christians face a threat, and no it’s not Israel
“I came out to a shattered kitchen. All the windows, all the floor, the floor was filled with glass.”
Later on Sunday, dozens of explosions were reported in Houthi-held areas in Yemen, including multiple positions in the Yemeni capital city of Sana’a.
The IDF later confirmed Israeli Air Force jets had carried out the strikes, hitting multiple power stations, a fuel storage site, and the presidential palace in Sana’a.
“The strikes were carried out in response to the repeated attacks by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel and its citizens, including the launching of surface-to-surface missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles toward Israeli territory,” an army spokesperson said.
The spokesperson emphasized that all targets hit during Sunday’s airstrikes were used by the Houthis for military purposes, noting that the presidential palace is located within a larger military compound used by the group’s leadership for planning attacks.
The bombings are also said to have targeted storage facilities used to house ballistic missiles.
https://worldisraelnews.com/idf-bombs-presidential-palace-in-yemen-after-houthis-use-cluster-warhead-in-missile-attack/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-it-hit-military-compound-housing-yemens-presidential-palace-plus-power-stations/
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-pushes-into-gaza-city-outskirts-ahead-of-offensive-bolsters-troops-in-jabalia/
IDF pushes into Gaza City outskirts ahead of offensive, bolsters troops in Jabalia
August 24, 2025 4:45 pm
Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday and into Sunday, destroying buildings and homes, residents said, as the IDF increased its troop presence in northern Gaza as part of an offensive aimed at bolstering the army’s control in the area.
Witnesses reported the sound of nonstop explosions overnight in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia, while tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighborhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern town of Jabalia.
The IDF said Sunday that troops of the 401st Armored Brigade returned to Jabalia in recent days, joining the Givati infantry brigade, which has been operating the area — just north of Gaza City — for the past week.
The military said the forces, led by the 162nd Division, are working to dismantle Hamas capabilities in the area, including by destroying tunnels, “eliminating terrorists, and strengthening operational control over the area.”
“The troops’ activity enables the expansion of the fighting to additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning and operating in these areas,” the IDF said.
The IDF has said it is operating on the outskirts of Gaza City ahead of a major offensive that would see it capture the entire city.
Tens of thousands of reservists are due to show up for duty on September 2 for the offensive, which is likely to begin in the following weeks.
While fleeing westward from Jabaliya, schoolteacher Salim Dhaher said he saw weaponized robots planting explosives as troops advanced from the opposite direction.
As they set the stage for Israel’s push to seize the city, Dhaher said he feared it was part of a larger effort to forcibly remove Palestinians from the north.
The aim is clear, he said: “To destroy everything above the ground, and force the transfer.”
Around half of the enclave’s two million people currently live in Gaza City, and there has been little sign, ahead of the invasion, of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians evacuating the city, which Israel says is still a Hamas stronghold.
Many are exhausted by repeated displacements and unconvinced that any area — including so-called humanitarian zones — offers safety.
A few thousand have already left, carrying their belongings on vehicles and rickshaws.
“I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City,” said Mohammad, 40, via a chat app.
“No place is safe, but I can’t take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire.”
Others said they will not leave, no matter what.
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“We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home,” said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn’t afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation, even if they did try to leave. “We are hungry, afraid and don’t have money.”
In the part of Gaza City where he and his family have sheltered since being displaced from a neighborhood on the city’s southern edge, Ossama Matter said he had seen houses reduced to rubble and neighborhoods razed beyond recognition.
“They want it like Rafah,” he said, referring to a town in southern Gaza destroyed earlier in the war. “There have been nonstop explosions and strikes in the past days.”
The planned campaign has sparked a major international outcry, with governments and humanitarian groups warning of potentially disastrous consequences for Gaza’s civilians, noting widespread malnutrition that has recently worsened significantly amid the 22-month war.
Gazans report 4 killed near aid sites
Also on Sunday, local witnesses said that Israeli forces killed four aid seekers traveling through a military zone south of Gaza City — an area regularly used by Palestinians trying to reach a food distribution point.
Al-Awda Hospital and two eyewitnesses told The Associated Press that the four Palestinians were killed when troops opened fire on a crowd heading to a site run by the Israeli-backed American contractor Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, in the Netzarim corridor area. It occurred hundreds of meters away from the site, the eyewitnesses said.
“The gunfire was indiscriminate,” Mohamed Abed, a father of two from the Bureij refugee camp, said, adding that while many fled some people fell to the ground after being shot.
Abed and Aymed Sayyad, another aid seeker among the crowd, said troops opened fire when a group near the front of the crowd pushed forward toward a distribution site before its scheduled opening.
Sayyad said he and others helped two people who were wounded by gunshots, one in his shoulder and the other in his leg.
The Israeli military and the GHF did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, more than 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 13,500 wounded while seeking aid at distribution points or along aid convoys. The ministry added that malnutrition-related deaths rose by eight to 289 on Sunday.
The IDF has acknowledged firing warning shots at crowds that get too close to its soldiers at aid distribution sites in Gaza, but has called the death tallies exaggerated, though it hasn’t provided alternate numbers.
The Hamas health ministry says more than 62,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
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Gaza City: What Hamas Doesn’t Want You to See
Aug 24, 2025
Beneath the neighborhoods and schools in Gaza city, Hamas hides rockets, tunnels and command centers - sacrificing and exploiting civilians to protect its weapons and power.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciozLR3XqsI
On the Brink? Egyptian Army Escalates Presence Near Gaza as IDF Readies Major Assault
AUG 24, 2025 05:00
Egypt is bracing for fallout from Israel’s looming assault on Gaza City.
As the IDF positions ground forces around the enclave and prepares to launch the next stage of its “Iron Fist” operation, the Egyptian army has begun reinforcing its eastern border to prevent what officials describe as a potentially catastrophic refugee surge.
According to senior Egyptian security sources, Israeli advances could drive up to one million Palestinians southward, overwhelming Rafah and spilling into the Sinai Peninsula.
“We see this as a direct threat to national security,” a high-ranking official told the Qatari daily Al-Araby al-Jadeed. “A mass crossing would transform the humanitarian crisis into a domestic Egyptian problem.
We are tightening the border to prevent infiltrations and sending a political message: no solution will come at the expense of our land.”
Diplomatic and Security Context
The reinforcement coincides with ongoing mediation efforts over a potential hostage deal.
Over the weekend, Arab media reported that coordination talks had begun on location and timing, with the Israeli negotiating team expected to depart soon.
Egyptian, Qatari, and American officials remain deeply involved in the process.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the operational plan for the capture of Gaza City.
Military planners expect the next phase to include secured corridors into key sites, including the UAE-funded field hospital in Rafah, as part of the humanitarian framework.
Hamas issued a defiant response, accusing Israel of sabotaging mediation efforts. “The Zionist government insists on continuing the war and escalating in Gaza City,” the group said in a statement.
“Netanyahu’s disregard for the mediators’ proposal proves he is the true obstacle to an agreement. Israel will not achieve its goals - and conquering the city will not be a picnic.”
https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/egypt-gaza-border-reinforcement
Trump: Hostages would be safer if IDF ‘went in fast’
Aug. 24, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump accused Hamas on Friday of extortion during the indirect hostage talks with Israel, saying he believes it would be safer to free the captives through military pressure rather than through pursuing an agreement.
“The situation has to end, it’s extortion and it has to end,” Trump told reporters during a press conference in the Oval Office. “I actually think they’re safer in many ways if you went in and you really went in fast.”
Asked why Washington appears to be backing Israel’s Aug. 8 decision to order the IDF to take Gaza City, despite the opposition of some hostage families to the plan, Trump stressed that “not all of them” disapproved.
“I’m the one that got all of the hostages out. You got a lot of people out. If it wasn’t for me, they wouldn’t be out,” the president continued his response. “I’ve gotten to know a lot of them, they’re great people.”
He then suggested that fewer than 20 hostages remain alive in Gaza captivity, apparently contradicting the official Israeli assessment.
“The 20 is actually probably not 20, because a couple maybe aren’t around any longer,” said the president. “I said, you know, when you get down to 20, they’re not going to make deals anymore, and they didn’t.
“Now we have that final little group of people. And Hamas knows that if they give them, that’s probably the end of their lives,” he said. “So it’s not easy to get.
And I know, if you’re a parent, you just don’t care, you want to—I want my baby back, they want their babies back. They want their kids back and I understand it, but I got them out and did a good job.”
IDF Brig. Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch, Israel’s coordinator for the captives and missing, told the families in response to Trump’s remarks: “There is no change in the details you have received from us.
“Twenty of the hostages are alive, two are in serious condition and 28 have been confirmed dead and are classified as fallen captives,” he stated.
Trump in his remarks emphasized that “people can’t forget October 7, remember that,” referencing the 2023 Hamas-led massacre in Israel’s south, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures, and the kidnapping of 251 others.
The Security Cabinet is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to approve plans for the IDF takeover of Gaza City, an operation dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots II.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Aug. 14 outlined his government’s parameters for ending the war against Hamas in Gaza.
The five conditions for victory are the full disarmament of Hamas; the return of all 50 remaining hostages; the demilitarization of the entire Strip; security control of Gaza; and establishing “an alternative civilian administration” in the enclave.
https://www.jns.org/trump-hostages-would-be-safer-if-idf-went-in-fast/
Russia attacks Ukraine with 72 drones, ballistic missile on Independence Day
August 24, 2025 10:13 am
Russia launched 72 drones and a ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight on Aug. 24, the country's Independence Day, the Air Force reported.
Ukraine shot down a total of 48 drones, while a missile and 24 Shahed attack drones struck 10 locations, the Air Force said, without specifying the targets.
According to the report, the attacks were launched from Russia’s Kursk, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.
Apart from the overnight attack, Russian troops also continued targeting Ukrainian cities over the past day, killing three and injuring at least three more, according to local authorities.
One person was killed in a Russian strike on Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.
Another person was killed in Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast, according to local Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. Two more people, including a child, were injured there.
Russian troops also hit Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with drones and guided aerial bombs, killing a 47-year-old woman, Governor Serhii Lysak said.
In Sumy Oblast, a Russian airstrike injured a 45-year-old man, the region's military administration reported. A total of 36 settlements were under attacks there, the authorities said.
Over the past 24 hours, two people were injured in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Russian troops carried out a total of 478 attacks on 11 settlements in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, using drones, artillery, and air bombs, Fedorov said.
Russia also attacked Kharkiv Oblast with two guided aerial bombs and seven drones over the past day, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported. There were no casualties, according to him.
https://kyivindependent.com/russia-attacks-ukraine-with-72-drones-ballistic-missile-on-independence-day/
Drones, armoured vehicles part of Canada’s $2B military aid package for Ukraine
August 24, 2025 at 7:05AM EDT
WARSAW — Prime Minister Mark Carney says drones, armoured vehicles and other munitions are headed to Ukraine as part of a $2-billion military aid package.
Carney first announced the funds in June at the G7 summit in Alberta but outlined the details of where that money will be spent during a surprise visit to Kyiv today.
Roughly 40 per cent of the fund will procure urgently needed supplies for Ukraine’s war against Russia, including vehicles, arms and medical equipment.
Another third of the funding will support purchases from a list of items prioritized by NATO, including U.S. equipment, munitions and air defence capabilities.
Canada will also contribute to buying drone, counter-drone and electronic warfare capabilities.
Carney is in Kyiv today for Ukraine’s Independence Day, where he also outlined $31 million in humanitarian aid and other support for the war-torn nation’s reconstruction in coming years.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/drones-armoured-vehicles-part-of-canadas-2b-miliary-aid-package-for-ukraine/
Condolences
3I/ATLAS is Large and Releases Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
August 24, 2025
The team of NASA’s SPHEREx space observatory just reported tantalizing new data on the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS (accessible here).
The observations were made between August 8–12, 2025 when 3I/ATLAS was at a distance from the Sun of 3.2 times the Earth-Sun separation (AU) and a distance from Earth of 2.6 AU.
The new observations reveal a cloud of carbon dioxide (CO2) around 3I/ATLAS corresponding to a mass loss rate of about 70 kilograms per second. No water (H2O) cloud was detected with an upper limit of 4.5 kilograms per second on the water mass loss rate.
This is an order of magnitude below the previous claims of water detection with a mass loss rate of order 40 kilograms per second at a larger distance from the Sun of 3.5 AU.
These early claims from two research teams were unsubstantiated by the reported data, as I argued in a previous essay (accessible here).
The excellent SPHEREx report notes that “The lack of a bright water gas coma is puzzling as 3I/ATLAS was not too far outside the Solar system’s “water ice line” at 2.5 AU during the observations.”
Although no water (H2O) in gas form was identified, some absorption features in the reflected spectrum from the surface of 3I/ATLAS were consistent with a mix of water and carbon dioxide ices combined with organics, as often found on the surfaces of Kuiper belt objects in the Solar system which are similarly exposed to interstellar cosmic-rays.
Could it be that 3I/ATLAS is not a water-rich comet as envisioned by comet experts when it was discovered?
The SPHEREx images show 3I/ATLAS as a point source. No dust coma was resolved, implying that the glow of scattered sunlight around the object in its Hubble Space Telescope image is compact and amounts to a small amount of dust.
SPHEREx images were taken at specific wavelengths near the characteristic emission lines of water-H2O (3.0 micrometers), carbon dioxide-CO2 (4.26 micrometers) and carbon monoxide-CO (4.7 micrometers).
No coma was detected in water or carbon monoxide. However, the CO2 image shows a symmetric cloud around I/ATLAS with a brightness that declines with projected distance to the power of -3/2 out to distances of at least 348,000 kilometers.
This corresponds to a steeply declining CO2 density with 3D-radius to the power of -2.5.
Most interestingly, the flux detected at a wavelength of 1 micrometer from 3I/ATLAS suggests a large nucleus with a diameter of 46 kilometers.
If this represents a solid body, then the mass of 3I/ATLAS must be a million times bigger than the previous interstellar comet 2I/Borisov.
This makes little sense since we should have found of order a million objects of the size of 2I/Borisov before discovering a 46-kilometer interstellar object.
Moreover, as I noted in my first paper on 3I/ATLAS (accessible here), the amount of rocky material per unit volume in interstellar space is too small by a factor of ten thousand than the value needed to deliver into the inner Solar system one giant rock of this size over the ATLAS decade-long survey.
Alternatively, 3I/ATLAS may have targeted the inner solar system by technological design.
This possibility is consistent with the alignment of its trajectory with the orbital plane of the planets around the Sun, a coincidence of a part in 500 for a random orientation — as observed for 2I/Borisov.
The lack of a cometary tail in the Hubble Space Telescope image is evidence that there is not much dust around 3I/ATLAS with particle size on the scale of the wavelength of sunlight (0.5 micrometers).
In that case, the observed reddening in the spectrum of reflected sunlight should originate from the surface of the object, implying that the object is large and dominates the reflected sunlight rather than the dust cloud around it.
The CO2 mass loss amounts to the ablation of a millimeter thick layer from the surface of a 46-km rock over a period of 10 years.
This means that a relatively thin outer layer is sufficient to maintain the observed cloud of CO2 gas and dust around 3I/ATLAS. What lies under this outer layer is still unknown.
We are all waiting for the release of the first data from the Webb Space Telescope, when it observed 3I/ATLAS on August 6, 2025.
Here’s hoping that as the Sun turns on the heat on 3I/ATLAS in the coming months, it will reveal its true nature.
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/3i-atlas-is-large-and-emits-carbon-dioxide-co2-22fe3a31b3e5
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/no-theres-no-clear-evidence-for-water-around-3i-atlas-29a73a37c054
James Fox
@jamescfox
🚨BREAKING NEWS! 🚨
The Program just went live on YouTube Movies. Go check it out and leave a comment below.
Here’s the link to YouTube movies:
9:54 AM · Jul 17, 2025
https://x.com/jamescfox/status/1945889968083079496
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8fEAflytI8 (The Program 2024 1h 42m)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33549764/
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https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13095604/
AJ Gentile - Inside the Biggest Conspiracies in the World | Shawn Ryan Show #229
Aug 21, 2025
AJ Gentile is an American producer, writer, actor, and YouTube personality best known as the creator, host, and writer of "The Why Files," a channel that delves into conspiracy theories, mysteries, and unexplained phenomena with engaging storytelling and a skeptical lens.
Before gaining fame on YouTube, Gentile worked in Hollywood as a producer and writer, contributing to projects like The Naughty Show (2011) and Stoned Science (2018), and provided voice-over work, including roles in The Legend of Korra.
In 2011, he co-founded SpeedWeed, a cannabis delivery company, with his brother Gino and wife Jen.
The Why Files has amassed a large following for its professional, encyclopedia-like analysis of conspiracies without interruptions.
00:00 Welcome and Introduction
02:09 Gifts and Surprises
04:01 Patreon Questions & Emotional Start
04:57 The Dark Side of DARPA
07:35 AJ’s Military Struggles and Benefits
11:13 AJ’s Background and Path to The Why Files
18:06 The Creation and Rise of The Why Files
36:24 Mental Health, Anxiety & Therapy
43:12 Building a Legacy & New Ventures
47:40 The Importance of Critical Thinking
50:00 Challenges of Being a Content Creator
01:07:11 Moon Landing Controversies
01:25:31 Hollow Moon Theory & Lunar Mysteries
01:31:11 Tesla, Free Energy & Killer Patents
01:37:03 Ancient Civilizations & Pyramid Power
01:53:11 Remote Viewing & Government Secrets
02:03:45 The Patriot Act & Surveillance
02:26:39 Media Manipulation & COVID Narratives
02:57:10 Stolen Valor and Accountability
03:01:16 Giants, Smithsonian & Hidden History
03:20:13 CIA Files, Vatican Secrets & Adam and Eve
03:32:31 Mel’s Hole & the Bottomless Pit
03:45:09 Bigfoot, Cryptids & Final Thoughts
03:47:31 Future Plans and Closing Remarks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1ssnYfhkt8
https://www.youtube.com/@TheWhyFiles