After back-to-back explosions, SpaceX launched its mega rocket Starship again on Tuesday evening, but fell short of the main objectives when the spacecraft tumbled out of control and broke apart. The 403-foot (123-meter) rocket blasted off on its ninth demo from Starbase, SpaceX’s launch site at the southern tip of Texas. Residents voted this month to organize as an official city. CEO Elon Musk ‘s SpaceX hoped to release a series of mock satellites following liftoff, but that got nixed because the door failed to open all the way. Then the spacecraft began spinning as it skimmed space toward an uncontrolled landing in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX later confirmed that the spacecraft experienced “a rapid unscheduled disassembly,” or burst apart.

The Trump administration accused North Carolina’s election board on Tuesday of violating federal law by failing to ensure voter registration records of some applicants contained identifying numbers. The Justice Department sued in federal court also asking a judge to force board officials to create a prompt method to obtain such numbers. The department alleges that the state and the board aren’t complying with the 2002 Help America Vote Act after board officials provided a statewide voter registration form that didn’t make clear an applicant must provide either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. If an applicant lacks neither, the state must assign the person another unique number.

President Donald Trump issued a stern warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, cautioning him against provoking the United States as discussions intensify around potential additional sanctions on Russia.
“What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “He’s playing with fire!”
Trump’s remarks coincided with growing media speculation, including a report by CNN, that his administration may be weighing a fresh round of penalties targeting Moscow.
In recent weeks, various proposals for new sanctions have been circulated, and lawmakers from both parties have urged the president to give them the green light.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stragglers beware: U.S.

Israel’s top-level security cabinet reportedly held a confidential vote last week, approving the creation of 22 new communities in the West Bank, as first revealed by various Hebrew-language outlets.
According to the reports, the proposal was jointly introduced by Defense Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, both of whom have been vocal supporters of expanding Israeli infrastructure and presence in the region.
Yisroel Hayom reported that the primary objective behind the move is to reinforce Israeli control along Route 443—a critical thoroughfare linking Yerushalayim with Tel Aviv via Modiin. Parts of the highway cut through territory within the West Bank.

WATCH: A storm chaser captured a tornado swirling across a field and road near Floyd, New Mexico, over the Memorial Day weekend.

Kingsley Wilson, a Defense Department official who has come under scrutiny for sharing antisemitic content on social media, has been appointed as the Pentagon’s new press secretary, according to a formal announcement.
“Kingsley’s leadership has been integral to the DoD’s success & we look forward to her continued service to President Trump!” wrote Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson and a senior aide to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a post on X Friday.
Wilson shared the news on her own X account, stating that she was “Honored to serve President Trump and our warfighters.”
{Matzav.com}

Welfare Minister Ya’akov Margi slammed the politicization of the recruitment of Chareidim in a fiery speech at the Sderot Conference for Society and Education in Be’er Sheva on Tuesday. “I served in the army, my two children served in the army, and my eldest son has been in continuous reserve duty since October 7th,” Margi said, adding that lawmakers are cynically using the issue of Chareidi enlistment for political purposes. “It’s possible to resolve this crisis if you remove the political slant from the equation. Don’t buy tall tales, don’t buy headlines and slogans.” “Those who oppose the law don’t really want to enlist Chareidim.

A new, highly transmissible COVID-19 variant, NB.1.8.1, linked to a significant spike in hospitalizations in China, has been detected in the United States, raising concerns among health officials. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the variant has been identified in multiple states, including New York, California, Washington, Virginia, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Hawaii, primarily among international travelers arriving from countries such as China, Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, France, the Netherlands, and Spain. The strain, first noted in the U.S. in March 2025, is now showing signs of local spread, with cases reported in communities across the country.