SpaceX Dragon successfully splashes down, returning NASA astronauts back to Earth
Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images
(CAPE CANAVERAL, FL) — The two NASA astronauts whose return to Earth was delayed for months have just splashed down to Earth.
NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission, carrying astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore, successfully landed off the coast of Florida after undocking from the International Space Station and traveling approximately 17 hours on its return mission to Earth, according to SpaceX.
The splashdown occurred at approximately 5:57 p.m. ET off the Tallahassee, Florida, coast.
When the spacecraft entered the atmosphere, its heat shield generated temperatures that reached more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, according to SpaceX.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague and cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov were also onboard the craft as it undocked at about 1:05 a.m. ET.
Williams and Wilmore had in June 2024 performed the first astronaut-crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule. What was expected to be a weeklong trip to the ISS instead turned into a nine-month stay. The Boeing Starliner that was expected to carry them home after about 10 days experienced issues, leaving the pair at the station for months.
Their return spacecraft early on Tuesday maneuvered in space, moving above and behind the station, before firing a series of departure burns that sent it back toward Earth.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Matthew Glasser and Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.
(TUKWILA, WA) — A postal employee was shot and killed at the United States Postal Service Processing and Distribution Center in Tukwila, Washington, on Tuesday, according to reports from the Tukwila Police Department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service of Seattle.
Officers responded to the scene shortly after 4 p.m. local time and found an adult male with a gunshot wound and “immediately began rendering aid until fire and medic personnel arrived and took over life saving efforts,” according to Tukwila police.
However, the victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His identity has not been released.
The shooter fled the scene and has not been located as of 7 p.m. local time, according to police.
Tukwila police said they have reason to believe the victim and suspect were acquainted, but the motive for the shooting remains unknown.
The Tukwila Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit is actively investigating the incident.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Karen Read’s emergency request to delay her state murder trial until it reviews her appeal. No explanation was given for the denial of her request.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson denied the request on behalf of the court.
Read is accused of killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O’Keefe, in January 2022. Prosecutors alleged Read hit O’Keefe with her vehicle and left him to die as Boston was hit with a major blizzard. Read has denied the allegations and maintained her innocence.
Read claims her retrial would violate double jeopardy after several jurors from her first trial said she was acquitted of two of the three counts. The judge declared a mistrial in Read’s first trial last year after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
She was charged with first-degree murder, manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence and leaving the scene of a fatal accident. She pleaded not guilty.
Read’s attorneys have asked multiple appeals courts — and now the Supreme Court — to dismiss the charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the retrial. They argued in court filings that retrying her on the charges would violate double jeopardy protections because, based on subsequent statements from four jurors, the jury had reached a unanimous decision to acquit Read on the charges.
All of those requests have been rejected by judges.
Three new jurors were seated on Wednesday, bringing the running total to 15. The panel is comprised of eight men and seven women.
The court seeks to seat 16 jurors in total, with12 deliberating the case and four serving as alternates.
Read told reporters outside the courthouse on Wednesday that the defense has used 11 of their 16 challenges, and the commonwealth has used 12 during jury selection, according to WCVB.
(POLK COUNTY, N.C.) — As firefighters continued to battle three stubborn North Carolina wildfires in the same county, a breezy and dry forecast for the danger zones is threatening to spread the flames, officials said.
The three fires, including two that have overlapped, are in steep, rugged terrain in Polk County that is covered with downed trees and dry vegetation left over from Hurricane Helene that swept through the area in September, authorities said.
As of Tuesday morning, the fires, now being referred to collectively as the Black Cove Complex, have burned more than 5,700 acres of forest land about 40 miles southeast of Asheville, officials said.
Two of the blazes, the Black Cove Fire and the Deep Woods Fires, both remain 0% contained, the Polk County Government said in a statement Monday evening.
The Black Cove Fire, which started on March 19 about 2 miles northeast of the community of Saluda, had grown by more than 2,000 acres by Monday. The Deep Woods Fire, which also began on March 19 about 5 miles northwest of Columbus, had burned more than 2,500 acres as of Monday evening, officials said. Mandatory evacuation orders issued for both fires remained in effect on Tuesday morning.
“The fire is burning in timber on steep terrain and is currently 0% contained,” fire officials said of the Deep Woods Fire.
Firefighters, who have been prioritizing protecting structures, reported Tuesday that no structures are under imminent threat. No injuries have been reported from any of the blazes.
The third fire in Polk County is the Fish Hook Fire, which started on March 20, near Lake Adger, about 5 miles northwest of Mill Springs, was 50% contained on Monday evening after burning about 200 acres, officials said.
A small amount of rain was recorded in Polk County on Monday, but it had little effect on the fires, officials said.
Meteorologist Ashley Rehnberg of the National Weather Service office in Greer, South Carolina, told ABC News that rainfall totals in Polk County from Monday’s cold front ranged from .03 inches to .08 inches.
North Carolina residents remain under a statewide ban on outdoor burning.
Fire danger for Polk County is expected to go up on Wednesday afternoon as wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph are forecast. Winds are expected to die down on Thursday.
Wildfires extended into neighboring South Carolina, where Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
A wildfire in the Table Rock State Park on the South Carolina-North Carolina border started on Friday night and quickly spread to more than 1,000 acres by Monday, according to the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office.
“Evacuations remain in effect at this time. No further evacuations are expected. Residents are advised to remain aware of the situation by monitoring local news and social media and be prepared to evacuate if it should become necessary,” according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
ABC News’ Kenton Gewecke contributed to this report.
