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Jeff Bezos' rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after losing out to SpaceX CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Jeff Bezos' rocket company has won a NASA contract to land astronauts on the moon, two years after it lost out to SpaceX. Blue Origin received a $3.4 billion contract Friday to lead a team to develop a lunar lander named Blue Moon. It will be used to transport astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2029, following a pair of crew landings by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. NASA will get astronauts to lunar orbit using its own rockets and capsules, but wants private companies to take over from there. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the agency wants different landing options as it seeks a return to the moon more than a half-century after the end of the Apollo moonshots. Blue Origin is kicking in billions of dollars, on top of the NASA contract, to help establish a permanent presence on the moon. “We have a lot to do before we successfully la...

Nima Momeni, a fellow tech executive, entered the plea in a San Francisco court. The suspect in the murder of Cash App found er Bob Lee pleaded not guilty in a San Francisco court on Thursday. Nima Momeni, a fellow tech executive, has been accused of killing Lee last month with a kitchen knife after driving him to a secluded area. The judge ordered Momeni to be held without bail. Paula Canny, the defense attorney for Momeni, said after the hearing that Lee's death arose from a mix of self-defense and accidental harm. "There was no premeditation," Canny said. MORE: Suspect allegedly drove Bob Lee to dark area, stabbed him 3 times with kitchen knife, prosecutors say Rejecting that account, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said Momeni intended to kill Lee. "We believe this was an intentional killing," Jenkins said. "Mr. Momeni's DNA is on the handle of that knife." Jenkins said that Momeni poses a flight risk because he is a person o...

President Joe Biden is declaring he's confident the U.S. will avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive WASHINGTON -- An optimistic President Joe Biden declared Wednesday he is confident the U.S. will avoid an unprecedented and potentially catastrophic debt default, saying talks with congressional Republicans have been productive. He left for a G-7 summit in Japan but planned to return by the weekend in hopes of approving a solid agreement. Biden's upbeat remarks came as a select group of negotiators began meeting to try and hammer out the final contours of a budget spending deal to unlock a path for raising the debt limit as soon June 1. That is when the Treasury Department says the U.S. could begin default ing on its obligations and trigger financial chaos. “I’m confident that we’ll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room of the ...

Leaders from across the continent are heading toward Iceland for a rare summit of the 46-nation Council of Europe that will once more step up support for member state Ukraine and condemn Russia for inflicting war on its neighbor REYKJAVIK, Iceland -- Leaders from across the continent are laser-focused on holding Russia to account for its invasion of Ukraine and were poised to approve a system during their Council of Europe summit that would precisely establish the damages Moscow would have to pay to rebuild the nation. The 46-nation Council of Europe is opening its first summit in 18 years late Tuesday, fully backing its member state Ukraine and condemning Russia, which was expelled from the organization, for i NFL icting war on its neighbor. While almost all European nations have provided military support or taken in refugees from Ukraine, the Council of Europe, the continent's preeminent human rights organization, is uniquely placed to coordinate legal and judicial support. “W...

In Indonesia's far-east island of Sumba, off-grid solar is lighting up lives for residents still living out of reach of the country's national electricity provider LAINDEHA, Indonesia -- As Tamar Ana Jawa wove a red sarong in the fading sunlight, her neighbor switched on a light bulb dangling from the sloping tin roof. It was just one bulb powered by a small solar panel, but in this remote village that means a lot. In some of the world's most remote places, off-grid solar systems are bringing villagers like Jawa more hours in the day, more money and more social gatherings. Before electricity came to the village a bit less than two years ago, the day ended when the sun went down. Villagers in Laindeha, on the island of Sumba in eastern Indonesia, would set aside the mats they were weaving or coffee they were sorting to sell at the market as the light faded. A few families who could afford them would start noisy generators that rumbled into the night, emitting plumes of s...

Elon Musk sat down in April for an on-stage interview with Linda Yaccarino, the advertising executive he named as Twitter's new chief executive on Friday SAN FRANCISCO -- On Friday, Elon Musk announced that NBC Universal's Linda Yaccarino will serve as the new CEO of Twitter. Yaccarino is a longtime advertising executive credited with integrating and digitizing ad sales at NBCU. Her challenge now will be to woo back advertisers that have fled Twitter since Musk acquired it last year for $44 billion. Since taking ownership, Musk has fired thousands of Twitter employees, largely scrapped the trust-and-safety team responsible for keeping the site free of hate speech, harassment and misinformation, and blamed others — particularly mainstream media organizations, which he views as untrustworthy “com Pet itors” to Twitter for ad dollars — for exaggerating Twitter's problems. In April, the two met for an on -stage conversation at a marketing convention in Miami Beach, Florida. ...

Australia's Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell appears to be making progress in restoring a nearly decade-long rift in relations with China during a visit to Beijing BEIJING -- Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell appears to be making progress in restoring a nearly decade-long rift in relations with China during a visit to Beijing. Farrell was holding meetings and visiting businesses on Friday in a sign that relations were getting back on track. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaking in Sydney on Friday said the sides needed to “develop understanding and dialogue and I’ve said we’ll co-operate with China where we can, we’ll disagree where we must and we’ll engage in a national interest.” China is Australia’s biggest trading partner, with two-way exchanges totaling $287 billion in 2022. China recently resumed imports of coal, cotton and copper from Australia, and Farrell has said on his visit he would push for a review of tariffs on Australian barley....

Officials in a rural county in northeastern Oregon have voted to give tax breaks worth an estimated $1 billion to Amazon for five more data centers there PORTLAND, Ore. -- Officials in a remote northeastern Oregon county have voted to give tax breaks worth an estimated $1 billion to Amazon for five more data centers there. Wednesday’s unanimous vote by Port of Morrow’s five commissioners was the last step in securing the enterprise zone incentives, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Companies in the state can receive property tax exemptions through local enterprise zones. Local officials hope the incentives will bring $12 billion in new Amazon spending in their county along the Columbia River about 160 miles (257 kilometers) from Portland. Amazon already has four giant data centers in Morrow County and several hundred local jobs tied to its operations. But its growth has produced contentious debate over how the Seattle company secured its incentives and an ongoing probe over possible ...

The United States has sanctioned a son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, three members of the Sinaloa cartel and two Mexican-based firms, alleging they trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S. Tuesday's sanctions came the day Mex... WASHINGTON -- The United States on Tuesday sanctioned a son of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, three members of the powerful Sinaloa cartel and two Mexican-based firms, alleging they trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S. The sanctions came the day Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador talked with President Joe Biden by phone about immigration and the fentanyl crisis. A White House readout of the call said the two presidents recognized their nations' recent efforts to counter fentanyl and arms trafficking “by dismantling criminal networks.” The Treasury Department designated El Chapo's son Joaquin Guzman Lopez and others for financial sanctions, including a freeze on American-owned asset...

It’s been six months since Bob Iger canceled his retirement and stepped back into the top role at Disney to right a number of perceived wrongs under his handpicked successor, with one hovering right near the top: reconnecting with the Disney theme park... It's been six months since Bob Iger canceled his retirement and stepped back into the top role at Disney to right a number of perceived wrongs under his handpicked successor, with one hovering right near the top: reconnecting with the Disney theme park die-hards and restoring their faith in the brand. Among his first acts as returning chief executive, Iger walked the Disneyland and California Adventure parks in Anaheim, California with Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney parks, experiences, and products. And there was Iger at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney Resort, talking to guests and cast members alike and taking a personal interest in new projects that are underway. Watching with rising interes...

The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog is expressing growing anxiety about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant KYIV, Ukraine -- The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog is expressing growing anxiety about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, after the governor of the Russia-occupied area ordered the evacuation of a town where most plant staff live amid ongoing attacks in the area. The plant is near the front lines of fighting, and Ukrainian authorities on Sunday said that a 72-year-old woman was killed and three others were wounded when Russian forces fired more than 30 shells at Nikopol, a Ukrainian-held town neighboring the plant. “The general situation in the area near the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous," International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said in a warning that came Saturday before the latest report of attacks. “I’m extremely concerned ab...