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SpaceX is preparing to launch its Starship megarocket to orbit for the first time, with liftoff scheduled for today, September 28. The flight is being watched live by audiences worldwide, and the milestone is drawing wide attention as the largest and most powerful rocket ever built attempts its first full orbital demonstration.

SpaceX is launching its Starship rocket on its 14th test flight, with the vehicle heading toward orbit. Live coverage of the launch is being followed widely, as the flight marks another step in testing the massive rocket intended for deep space missions. Spaceflight watchers are tracking how the vehicle performs through ascent and the rest of its planned flight profile.

Microsoft has announced it is ending support for Internet Explorer mode in its Edge browser, retiring the compatibility feature that let users open legacy websites built for the old browser. The move pushes businesses and organizations still relying on aging internal sites to modernize them or find alternatives before support runs out.

NASA has reportedly approached several former staff members who worked on the SR-71A Blackbird to assist with a secret restart of the legendary Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft program, according to Aviation Week. The move suggests the agency is drawing on institutional knowledge from decades ago, since few people remain with hands-on experience operating and maintaining the retired spy plane. The story is drawing wide attention among aviation enthusiasts and defense watchers.

Black Forest Labs has announced Flux 3 Action, a 7-billion-parameter open-weight world action model for robotics. The release extends the Flux family beyond image generation into embodied AI, letting researchers and companies build robot control systems on openly available weights. Early discussion online centres on what the small parameter size means for real-world robot performance and how an open model could shift competitive dynamics in robotics.

A commentator has described current discourse around science policy as 'a form of apocalypticism applied to science policy', arguing that debates over research and technology are increasingly framed in catastrophic, end-of-the-world terms. The remark has struck a chord with readers who see doom-laden rhetoric as distorting how governments weigh scientific priorities and risks, and it is fueling wider discussion about how policymakers should talk about emerging threats without exaggeration.

Fortaleza are taking on Náutico, a fixture drawing strong attention in Ceará and Pernambuco. Coverage from O POVO examines Fortaleza, Ceará and the best and worst scenarios heading into round 31 of the season. Fans are debating what result Fortaleza need to keep their campaign ambitions on track.

A new open-source project for routing requests between AI models in coding agents has been released, claiming performance on par with Astra-level systems. The launch was shared on Hacker News, where it drew over a hundred upvotes and is drawing attention from developers interested in cutting costs by mixing cheaper and stronger models dynamically.

France and Italy played out a 1-1 draw in their Nations League meeting, with the result prompting fans across France, Italy and Spain to search for updated group standings. The Guardian covered the match minute by minute as both sides fought for position in the competition, and the draw leaves questions over how the group table will shape up.

A new report takes viewers inside Ukraine's fortress belt around Donetsk, documenting seven days with soldiers defending positions in one of the war's most dangerous frontline zones. The footage shows daily life under shelling and the defensive network Kyiv calls its fortress belt. The report is drawing large audiences as fighting in the Donetsk region continues to intensify and attention turns back to the eastern front.

Boston Dynamics has published a blog post outlining new robotic hand technology designed to work with modern AI systems and perform practical tasks in real-world settings. The announcement points to the company's push beyond mobile robots toward manipulation, giving machines dexterous grips that can handle everyday objects. Robotics watchers are sharing the news, debating how far robotic hands can now go in genuine workplace applications.

Japan is moving to tighten its rules for foreign residents, in a shift that could throw the futures of many foreigners living and working in the country into doubt. The measure is being covered as an economy story, and it is drawing attention internationally as observers weigh what the tougher stance means for migrants, workers and businesses in Japan.

Attention is focused on SpaceX's fourteenth Starship test flight, with commentary examining what occurred during the mission and what it means for the rocket's development programme. Starship flights are closely watched milestones, and each new test provides data on whether the company's launch and reentry goals are being met as it works toward future deep-space missions.

Interest is rising around the France and Italy national football teams and their standings, with searches topping trends in France, Italy and beyond. Coverage highlights team news ahead of the fixture, with reports suggesting Ousmane Dembélé leading the French attack alongside a strong front line, and questions over Kylian Mbappé's involvement. Fans on both sides are weighing up what the result would mean for the group table.

Cycling creator Berm Peak teamed up with the channel Science Across America to examine the physics of bike jumps, concluding that the rider technique many cyclists have used for decades is inefficient or incorrect. The collaboration uses science-based testing to show how body position and timing affect a jump, prompting riders to reconsider habits built over 30 years of riding.

Magnitude, a startup from Y Combinator's Summer 2025 batch, has launched an open-source self-optimizing inference engine designed to improve how AI agents run. The team, posting under the name anerli, shared the launch along with a public GitHub repository, drawing close to 200 upvotes and active discussion as developers weigh its approach to agent performance.

British police have arrested five men close to a military base in the UK on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack. Details about the suspects, the base involved and the alleged targets have not yet been made public. The arrests are drawing wide attention as coverage of counterterrorism operations continues to attract intense interest.

Economists including Nobel laureates are backing California's proposed tax on billionaires, arguing it will 'kickstart a movement' that spreads to other US states, the federal government and other countries. Supporters point to the state's explosive billionaire growth in recent decades, which they say has made California one of the most unequal places in America.

Lathoa, a math learning app for children, launched on Hacker News with an unusual design choice: its AI tutor intentionally gives wrong answers so kids must spot and correct the mistakes themselves. The launch drew attention on the forum, with commenters weighing in on whether deliberate error is an effective teaching method and how it compares to typical AI tutoring tools that always aim to be correct.

Sudan's civil war has left the country with two rival power structures. The army-backed administration controls much of the formal state, while the Rapid Support Forces exercises authority across territory it holds. Washington says neither side represents legitimate constitutional governance, leaving Sudan with authorities but no internationally recognised government, deepening questions about its political future.

Russian forces are urgently redeploying thousands of troops to the Lyman frontline in eastern Ukraine as Ukraine's 3rd Corps continues making large advances in the area. War monitoring reports describe a sense of panic within the Russian command over the situation around Lyman, signalling mounting pressure on Moscow's defensive lines there.

Researchers report having identified an unusual physical signal that may indicate when someone is romantically interested in another person. The claim, covered by IFLScience, has been circulating widely and drawing discussion about what the supposed sign is and how reliable the underlying research is. Details of the study and its evidence remain thin in the coverage so far.

Mozilla's Firefox browser has shipped an update to its user interface, refreshing the browser's look and layout. The change is drawing attention from technology watchers and longtime users, with early reactions mixed as people assess the new design, how it affects daily browsing, and whether settings and familiar controls remain easy to find after the update.

An Alaska Science Forum column republished as a time capsule piece explores the hidden lives of a red fox family, drawing on observations of their denning, hunting and raising of kits. The rerun highlights how the popular science column revisits past research, and readers in Alaska continue to show interest in the everyday wildlife behavior documented around the state.

Memory industry executives, including Micron's CEO, warn that tight RAM supplies are set to worsen and the shortage could persist through 2028. The comments point to continued pressure on memory pricing and availability for PCs, servers and consumer electronics, as demand keeps outpacing manufacturing capacity and suppliers signal no near-term relief for buyers.

News is circulating that scientists have discovered a hole above Earth, drawing wide attention online. The claim, popularised in a Hindi-language science explainer by Kaushik Bhattacharjee, has drawn hundreds of thousands of reactions. Details about what the hole is — whether it relates to the ozone layer, a gap in the magnetosphere, or something in space — have not been specified in the headline.