White House urged to reveal Russian nuclear threat from space

The White House’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, and leading lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to declassify information about a “national security threat” involving Russia’s plan to send a nuclear weapon into space, according to ABC News. The weapon Russia is sending could be used against satellites. Although they have not directly addressed the subject, multiple members of Congress described the issue as a “big deal” and urged it to be taken seriously. In a statement made on Wednesday, Ohio Rep. Mike Turner urged the president to declassify any related information. This would allow Congress, the Biden administration and the United States’ allies to openly discuss the actions necessary to respond.

Dispute led to mass shooting at Super Bowl parade

A mass shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, during a celebratory Super Bowl parade on Wednesday resulted in one fatality and 22 injuries, according to AP News. The shooting took place outside Union Station, which was located at the end of the parade route. The incident appears to have originated from a dispute among several parade attendees.

Despite the robust police presence–with over 800 officers both within the building and its vicinity–violence erupted. Of the 22 individuals injured, half were minors under the age of 16, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said. The victims’ ages span from 8 to 47 years old, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of the attack. While three juveniles were initially detained by law enforcement at the scene, one was subsequently released after being cleared of any involvement. The remaining two are currently in custody while authorities intensify their efforts to gather information. Police are urging victims, witnesses and anyone with potentially relevant footage to come forward in order to aid the investigation on both the shooting and the identity of the shooter(s).

Stingray becomes pregnant without a male companion

Charlotte, a stingray at the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville, North Carolina, is pregnant and due to give birth to up to four pups in the next two weeks. However, Charlotte has no male companion, according to AP News. Currently living in a tank with only female stingrays and five small sharks, Charlotte has not been around another male stingray in at least eight years. The origin of this mysterious pregnancy could be the result of a type of asexual reproduction or the mating of one of the five sharks with Charlotte.

Kady Lyons, a research scientist at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, said Charlotte’s pregnancy is the first pregnancy of its nature to be documented in this species. Lyons said that when a stingray reproduces asexually, she is not cloning herself. Rather, the female’s egg fuses with another cell, triggering cell division and leading to the creation of an embryo. Lyons debunked the theory that Charlotte mated with one of the male sharks, as the animals are different sizes and would not match up anatomically and neither would their DNA.