The counter-drone weapon that caused a shutdown of El Paso's airspace on Wednesday was AeroVironment's LOCUST, a 20-kilowatt laser system, Axios has confirmed.
Why it matters: The Army sees the cutting-edge weapon as a way to combat drones without firing expensive interceptors. But the Federal Aviation Administration was so concerned about its use that it shut down the airspace around a major city for nearly eight hours.
Bad Bunny's streaming catalogue soared after his multicultural halftime show on Sunday, jumping 175% Monday when compared to the previous Monday, according to multipleoutlets.
Why it matters: The Puerto Rican artist's surge comes despite backlash from some MAGA figures who call him anti-American and anti-ICE.
President Trump harshly attacked Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Thursday for not giving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a pardon.
Why it matters: Trump's criticism of Herzog — the latest in a string of interventions in Israeli domestic affairs over Netanyahu's corruption trial — came a day after he met Netanyahu for three hours in the White House.
The International Olympic Committee's protest guidelines are reigniting debate over how far Olympians can go in making political statements at the Games after a Ukrainian athlete was disqualified for wearing a helmet honoring athletes killed in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Why it matters: The IOC's decision underscores the balancing act the organization must strike between enforcing political neutrality and navigating athletes' freedom of expression about global conflicts and politics.
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday disqualified a Ukrainian skeleton athlete who insisted on competing while wearing a helmet bearing photos of athletes and coaches killed in the war with Russia.
Why it matters: Ukrainian Vladyslav Heraskevych's removal from the competition comes amid an increasingly politicized environment at the Olympics. Other athletes and leaders expressed frustration with the committee's decision.
President Trump was awarded the "Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal" trophy during a White House event on his latest fossil fuel drive Wednesday.
The big picture: The award that Peabody Energy executive Jim Grech gave Trump at the event celebrating Trump's signing of an order directing the Pentagon to procure electricity from coal-fired power plants is the latest in a series of prizes bestowed on the president during his second term.
President Trump stressed after a three-hour meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday that he wants to keep pursuing a deal with Iran rather than moving to military action at this time.
Why it matters: While Trump said his meeting with Netanyahu was "very good," the Israeli prime minister is very skeptical about the prospects for diplomacy with Iran and inclined to support military action.
Three more Coupang investors on Wednesday joined the lawsuit against South Korea's government, arguing that it acted unlawfully against the e-commerce firm.
Why it matters: This is becoming a flashpoint in U.S.-South Korea relations, and could impact U.S. investment in South Korean companies.
The Milan Cortina games are handing out the priciest Olympic medals in over a century — and athletes are already breaking them.
Why it matters: Athletes typically value medals for prestige, not price, but soaring precious-metal costs have made the sometimes-faulty 2026 medals especially costly.
The reelection of Japan's popular prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, earlier this week pushed the country's long-languishing stock market to new heights.
Why it matters: The Nikkei is just one of the foreign stock indexes beating the major U.S. benchmarks this year — as investors "Sell America" and look to buy elsewhere in the world.
23,000 FEET ABOVE THE DESERT —The British Voyager hadsome 70 metric tons of fuel aboard as it began circling the Nevada Test and Training Range. Over the course of a few hours, it topped off Royal Air Force Typhoons and U.S. Marine Corps F-35s. An American KC-135 lingered nearby.
"We can talk to them," Master Aircrew Andy Welham-Jones said to the small group of reporters on board.
It felt no different in the cockpit, he added, to restock the different warplanes from different countries.
Why it matters: The Voyager, part transporter and part refueling tanker, and its crew were fighting in Red Flag 26-1. The exercise embroils British, Australian and American forces — including aviators, cyber and space specialists, and logisticians — in realistic but less-than-lethal combat.
Drones and other tech advances are reshaping how viewers from around the world experience the Winter Olympics.
Why it matters: New camera angles can pull the audience into the athlete's perspective, making the sheer intensity and speed of events like skiing and bobsled easier to grasp.
