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See all the best pics from the night.

See all the best pics from the night.

Christopher Macchio is getting another curtain call. This time at his alma mater.

China's "Dogfighting" Satellites Come Into Focus As US Confirms Space Weapons

The United States has publicly acknowledged that it already has weapons in orbit, adding a new dimension to a military competition increasingly defined by highly maneuverable satellites - and what they could be used for. Air Force Secretary Troy Meink revealed the space weapons in a Monday disclosure at the Air & Space Forces Association's annual conference. 

Among other threats, China's 'dogfighting' satellites have caught the attention of US officials. 

In March of last year, Gen. Michael Guetlein, then the Space Force's vice chief of space operations, described five Chinese objects conducting coordinated maneuvers in low Earth orbit. The service subsequently identified three Shiyan-24C satellites and two Shijian-6 05A/B objects. He said they were "Dogfighting" (not that they had exchanged fire). 

More recent activity includes a Chinese spaceplane releasing a small satellite in June. The object looped around another Chinese satellite before moving back toward the spaceplane, according to LeoLabs tracking data reported by Reuters on September 2. That investigation also examined Chinese research into spacecraft pursuit and capture, while noting that the United States operates its own secretive uncrewed spaceplane. 

What changed this week was Washington's willingness to explicitly acknowledge an orbital arsenal. According to Meink, the United States possesses "on-orbit space control weapons capable of defending the joint force against hostile adversary action." He declined to identify the weapons or describe their technical characteristics, testing or employment.

In a subsequent statement to The War Zone, a Space Force spokesperson said the broader space-control mission includes kinetic and non-kinetic methods of disrupting, degrading or, when necessary, destroying an adversary's capabilities. The spokesperson said those capabilities can serve offensive or defensive purposes, but would not specify which particular systems are currently deployed.

What we don't know is whether the deployed weapons are physical interceptors, electronic warfare systems or something else. Nor does a description of the service's overall mission prove that every type of capability mentioned is already operational in orbit.

This goes way beyond satellites too. Space infrastructure supports communications, intelligence collection, missile warning and weapons guidance, while disruption can also affect civilian and commercial activity. The War Zone's reporting highlighted those dependencies alongside the service's acknowledgment.

China has opposed the U.S. announcement, reiterating its position against the weaponization of space. American officials describe their capabilities as necessary to deter attacks and protect forces. Experts interviewed by Reuters warned that secrecy and uncertainty can encourage competing governments to make worst-case assumptions about one another's intentions.

The 1967 Outer Space Treaty is not a blanket prohibition on conventional weapons in Earth orbit. Its central orbital weapons restriction concerns nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Separate provisions prohibit military installations, weapons testing and military maneuvers on the moon and other celestial bodies. An acknowledgment of conventional orbital weapons therefore does not, on its own, establish a treaty violation.

Now for a 'complicator' - how do governments distinguish routine operations, surveillance, deterrent signaling and preparations for an attack when much of the relevant hardware and doctrine remains classified?

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 23:00

Can the Knicks go back to back? Dexter Henry and Jared Schwartz break down Josh Hart’s comments about New York’s chances to repeat following David Yurman’s “Crafting A Legacy” event at William F. Passannante Ballfield, where Hart and Carmelo Anthony were in attendance along with Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson. The NY Got Game conversation...

The deadly crash has also fueled frustration among neighbors who say they have seen several crashes along the roadway.

I was standing in a burned-out canyon outside San Diego in October 2003 when I learned what disaster management was really all about. I was the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). You hadn’t heard of me yet. But maybe you remember the Cedar Fire. It burned over 270,000 acres and over 2,800...

NASA Chief Says Critical For US To Win Space Race With China

Authored by T.J. Muscaro via The Epoch Times,

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told members of the Air Force and Space Force that communist China will land on the moon, and it's imperative that the United States return to the lunar surface first.

"You are witnessing a very energized NASA, and we will need to be, as we are in the midst of a very real second space race," he said during his keynote address to the Air and Space Forces Association's annual conference on Sept. 15. "China will accomplish what the Soviets never could."

He told the Airmen and Guardians that communist China has demonstrated rocket reusability and developed a plan to land their astronauts - called taikonauts - with just two rocket launches, while NASA will need at least four to do the same. China also seeks to build a nuclear-powered moon base on the lunar south pole with the Russians.

"History has shown they could even be early, and we could easily be late," he said.

"Success in this endeavor will be measured in months, not years."

The China National Space Administration has announced plans to land taikonauts on the moon by 2030, while NASA aims to return its astronauts to the lunar surface before the end of 2028.

But Isaacman made it clear that this race is about far more than just bragging rights.

"Our allies and adversaries are watching," he said. "So is every nation deciding whose technology to buy, whose standards to adopt, whose security relationships to deepen, and whose vision of the future to follow, and, perhaps most importantly, our children will be watching, and the hopes and dreams of a generation inspired by these kinds of Apollo 11-like moments [are] really on the line."

One advantage he said that the United States did have over its communist adversaries was the booming commercial space industry pioneering reusable heavy-lift capabilities. But he added that NASA was not on a path to win this new space race until recently.

"I'm thankful for the reality that the Chinese have a plan to potentially, you know, to likely deny that critical area on the lunar south pole because it's given us the latitude to fix what is broken, to stop all the external impositions, the self-inflicted wounds that we had in our strategy, and bring extreme focus and mission," he said.

Some of those self-inflicted wounds included an inefficient launch cadence of both the Space Launch System moon rocket and robotic missions to the lunar surface, the decision to prioritize a lunar space station over a surface base, and a general lack of sufficient focus on winning the race.

Now, thanks to President Donald Trump's space policy, Isaacman said that moon rocket production was becoming standardized to increase launch capabilities, robotic missions will be flying to the moon at a cadence of almost once a month starting in 2027, and an unapologetic focus was put back on establishing a permanent human presence on the surface.

"Fortunately, we have a president who understands that great nations remain great by continuously undertaking and achieving the kind of big, bold endeavors that define American exceptionalism," he said. "These are no longer just stories in history books. This is what you've been waiting for, and this is our time.

"This is the golden age. We are going back. We are going back to stay, to build the base. We are doing it together to show the world once again what America is capable of achieving and inspire the next generation to pick up the fire of exploration and carry it farther than we ever could."

Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 22:35

Nolan McLean’s 30th start of the season was unlike any other. 

Buffalo Bills wide receiver DJ Moore exited Thursday's game against the Lions in the second quarter with a shoulder injury and stinger.

I work with a lot of restaurants and know even more restaurant owners. I told them if they survived COVID, they were going to be in great shape, since many others closed and they would be making lots of money. 

It didn't take long for Josh Allen to christen the Bills’ new stadium.

Stanford Scientists Create Mice With Half-Human Brains

Scientists at Stanford University have created mice whose brains are largely built from human cells, a shocking, first-of-its-kind experiment that is raising serious questions about how far researchers should be allowed to go.

In a study published Wednesday in Nature, Stanford neuroscientist Sergiu Pașca said the development represents the most extensive integration of human neural tissue into an animal ever achieved.

The researchers started by genetically engineering mice so that most of the cells meant to form the cortex and hippocampus died off early in development. Those regions normally account for roughly half of a mouse's brain. The animals survived as other parts of the brain picked up the slack, though they were more forgetful and slightly clumsy.

Then scientists filled the empty space with human brain organoids, tiny clusters of neurons grown from reprogrammed human skin cells. Newborn mice received several injections totaling a few hundred thousand human cells.

Within two to three months, the human tissue had grown nearly fivefold, filling more than 90% of the vacant cortex and reaching about four million human neurons. The grafts hooked into the mouse's blood supply, fired electrical signals, and extended fibers all the way down to the spinal cord.

Researchers also spotted rare human cell types that have been difficult to grow in a lab, including neurons resembling von Economo cells, which are linked to social behavior.

Still, the researchers were quick to stress that these are merely mice, not "thinking like humans." The animals retain mouse senses, mouse bodies and the deeper structures of a mouse brain. In behavioral testing, they appeared largely like ordinary mice. In fact, the study claimed that the human tissue appeared to improve the mice's performance during maze tests than those left without most of their cortex.

"We've been trying really hard as a community to find therapeutic solutions for these conditions, but the reality is that in psychiatry and neurology we've been left behind [by] every single branch of medicine and we have fewer therapeutics than, again, every single branch of medicine," said Pașca in a statement obtained by The Guardian. "That could be because the human brain is very complex, but it's also because the human brain is inaccessible. To a large extent, our goal has been to make aspects of human brain development and function accessible for investigation."

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Tyler Durden Thu, 09/17/2026 - 22:10

While Ladd McConkey is dealing with an injury, he's found something that he can feel good about.

We’re ignoring, at our peril, a far more immediate risk of frontier AI: It’s drenched in woke racism.

To those on the court and around the team, he was just Mike.

There are no celebs this season, but I would rather live in a world with an all-civilian Traitors than no Traitors at all.

As per usual when Iowa State and Iowa play each other, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and tight end George Kittle had to bet on it. This time, Purdy was the one who was dealing with insult to injury, following a Cyclones 16-13 loss to the Hawkeyes on Saturday. As Purdy went to meet...

No one’s sad to see the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority partially withdraw from the fight against regional homelessness.

Florida resident Eduardo Alvarez captured a viral video of a blue land "gangster-ass" crab brandishing a pocket-knife blade at his dog.