By MARCIA DUNN, Associated Press Aerospace Writer

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King.

It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before — or lucky and well-connected — can enter the zero-gravity realm traditionally dominated by professional astronauts.

The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned some 65 miles up, promising a few precious minutes of weightlessness.

 

Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others along for the 10-minute, fully automated flight, packing on the star power with singer-songwriter Perry and “CBS Mornings” co-host King.

Also sharing the ride were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who started her own companies to promote science education; and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets around other stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence.

Blue Origin declined to say how much the flight cost or who paid what. The trip came two months before Sanchez and Bezos marry in Venice.

It was the 11th human spaceflight for the Washington state-based company, founded by Bezos in 2000 after making a fortune with Amazon. Bezos strapped in for Blue Origin’s first space tourist flight in 2021 and accompanied the latest crew to the pad.

The celebrity launch was the nation’s first spaceflight where women filled each seat. The only other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight was back in 1963. That’s when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched by herself, becoming the first woman in space. Tereshkova spent three days off the planet.

Even after the latest launch, women represent barely 15% of the more than 700 people who have traveled into space. Sanchez said she deliberately chose women to launch with her, each of them eager to inspire both the young and old to dream big, and even commissioned special flight suits.

“It’s an important moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity in general and for women all around,” Perry told The Associated Press last week.

The launch brought out VIPs to West Texas including Oprah Winfrey and several women who previously have flown on private flights. Winfrey, a close friend of King, wiped away tears when the capsule reached space and the passengers were heard marveling at the moon and shouting with joy.

This wasn’t the first Blue Origin launch with marquee names.

“Star Trek” actor William Shatner caught a lift to space with Blue Origin in 2021 at age 90, soon after Bezos’ inaugural trip. He was followed by former New York Giants defensive end and TV host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, for whom the rocket is named. Two aviation pioneers who missed out on space when they were younger — Wally Funk and Ed Dwight — also rocketed away at ages 82 and 90, respectively.

Most of Blue Origin’s passengers — 58 counting the latest launch — have been business or science types, TV hosts or YouTubers. Ticket prices are not disclosed.

The Russian Space Agency also has launched its share of space tourists, beginning with a California financier in 2001. Two decades later, a Russian actress filmed aboard the International Space Station.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX also sells multi-day trips to private customers. SpaceX’s first client to fly, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman already has launched twice and performed the first private spacewalk. He’s now set to become NASA’s next administrator if confirmed by the Senate.

Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang just returned from the first spaceflight to carry people over the north and south poles. Wang picked up the whole SpaceX tab for himself and three polar explorers for an undisclosed sum.

“In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few,” Wang said via X last week.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

“We’ve already received reports of denials based on conviction records, highlighting the urgent need for proactive education that a properly funded CCHR could provide.”

Councilmembers and advocates rally for the Fair Chance For Housing bill in December 2022. (John McCarten/NYC Council Media Unit)

New York City prides itself on being a beacon of progress, but a critical issue undermines our values: housing discrimination against people with conviction histories. The recently enacted Fair Chance for Housing Act (FCHA) was a bold step toward correcting this injustice, but its promise will be hollow without adequate funding for the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) to educate housing applicants about their new rights, inform housing providers about their new responsibilities, and enforce the law.

At The Fortune Society, where I serve as director of policy, we see firsthand the devastating consequences of housing discrimination. For 57 years, Fortune has been dedicated to providing alternatives to incarceration and supporting successful reentry. A staggering number of our participants — roughly a quarter — are homeless or housing insecure at the time of admission to our programs. We provide temporary housing and services to help them stabilize their lives. Yet, when they become ready to seek permanent housing, too many face outright rejection because of their past convictions.

Having spent 25 years in prison, I know this struggle. The FCHA is designed to protect individuals like me, and countless other New Yorkers, from this unfair barrier. The City Council recognized the pervasiveness of this discrimination when it overwhelmingly passed the FCHA. Now, it must ensure the CCHR has the resources to turn this law into a reality.

The CCHR is responsible for educating housing providers and applicants about the FCHA, processing complaints, mediating cases and, when necessary, litigating violations. Given past failures to comply with fair housing laws, we anticipate a significant need for enforcement. We’ve already received reports of denials based on conviction records, highlighting the urgent need for proactive education that a properly funded CCHR could provide. Without sufficient resources, the CCHR’s inability to effectively educate and enforce the FCHA will have dire consequences across several fronts:

Family justice: Housing discrimination perpetuates homelessness and destabilizes families, denying them opportunities for advancement. Over 750,000 city residents have conviction records, and a significant percentage of those released from state prisons end up in shelters. When housing is denied to an individual, their children are denied as well, hindering their chances for a better future.

Racial justice: The criminal justice system disproportionately impacts people of color. Eighty percent of New Yorkers with convictions are Black or Brown. Housing discrimination reinforces systemic barriers, traps communities in cycles of poverty and incarceration, and deprives them of opportunities to build wealth.

Public health: Stable housing is a social determinant of health. Without it, individuals face higher rates of chronic illness, mental health challenges and substance use disorders. These issues place a strain on our health care system and exacerbate existing vulnerabilities, especially for those with prior convictions. Denying housing forces individuals into unstable environments, increasing their risk of communicable diseases and mental health crises.

As coleaders of the Fair Chance for Housing Campaign, we have stepped in to fill the void left by the CCHR’s lack of resources, launching the “New Rights, New Beginnings” campaign to educate the public. However, our reach is limited. We cannot effectively educate private housing providers about their responsibilities under the FCHA.

What darkens the scenario this year is the federal government’s retreat from civil rights enforcement. This makes local action even more critical; the CCHR is now the primary line of defense against discrimination in our city.

We urge our City Council to increase the CCHR’s budget from $17 million to at least $21 million for the coming fiscal year. This will enable the commission to conduct comprehensive public education campaigns, hire more attorneys and investigators to handle complaints efficiently, and ensure that the FCHA truly provides a fair chance for housing.

Investing in the CCHR is not just about enforcing a law; it’s about investing in families, racial equity and public health. It’s about creating a more just and equitable New York City for all.

Reggie Chatman, MPH, is the director of policy at The Fortune Society’s David Rothenberg Center for Public Policy.

The post Opinion: Fair Chance for Housing Is Key to Justice and Public Health in NYC appeared first on City Limits.

By MARIA GRAZIA MURRU and JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press

ROME (AP) — Talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program appeared ready Monday to leave the Middle East, as an Italian source said the next round of negotiations would take place in Rome.

Meanwhile, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog separately confirmed he would be taking a trip to Iran later in the week, possibly to discuss ways to improve access for his inspectors to Tehran’s program.

The stakes of the negotiations couldn’t be higher for the two nations closing in on half a century of enmity. U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly has threatened to unleash airstrikes targeting Iran’s nuclear program if a deal isn’t reached. Iranian officials increasingly warn that they could pursue a nuclear weapon with their stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

A source in the Italian government confirmed that the next round would take place in Rome on Saturday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

The person’s comments came as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani separately told journalists in Osaka, Japan, that the Italian government has given its OK to host the talks.

“We received the request from the interested parties, from Oman, which plays the role of mediator and we gave a positive response,” Tajani said. “We are ready to welcome, as always, meetings that can bring positive results, in this case on the nuclear issue.”

Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp, speaking at a meeting in Luxembourg, also said the coming talks would be in Rome.

Both Iranian and U.S. officials did not immediately acknowledge the venue of the second round of negotiations. However, it’s likely that Oman, which hosted the first round of talks on Saturday in Muscat, would continue to mediate between the two sides.

“The next round of talks will probably be held somewhere other than Oman,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told journalists on Monday in Tehran. “It’s not an important matter.”

IAEA chief to head to Iran ahead of talks

The talks will follow a visit by Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency to Iran later this week.

The IAEA played a key role in verifying Iran’s compliance with its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and has continued to work in the Islamic Republic, even as the country’s theocracy slowly peeled away its access after Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018.

“Continued engagement and cooperation with the Agency is essential at a time when diplomatic solutions are urgently needed,” Grossi wrote on X.

Grossi will arrive in Iran on Wednesday night and will meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, quoting Kazem Gharibabadi, a deputy foreign minister.

Sanctions relief and enrichment remain top issues

The 2015 nuclear deal saw Iran agree to drastically reduce its stockpile of uranium and only enrich up to 3.67% — enough for its nuclear power plant at Bushehr. Today, Iran enriches up to 60%, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels and has enough stockpile for multiple nuclear bombs, should it choose to build them.

The deal lifted economic sanctions on Iran and unfroze assets around the world. The deal’s collapse refroze those funds and limited Iran’s ability to sell crude oil abroad — though it still sells to China, likely at a sharp discount.

While the U.S. can offer sanctions relief for Iran’s beleaguered economy, it remains unclear just how much Iran will be willing to concede. Judging from negotiations since 2018, Iran will likely ask to keep enriching uranium up to at least 20%. However, neither side has offered any public statements about what it is specifically seeking in the talks.

“There must definitely be guarantees in place regarding the fulfillment of commitments,” Baghaei said Monday. “The issue of guarantees is especially important given the history of broken promises in the past. God willing, the negotiating team will continue its work with all these factors and points in mind.”

He added: “As long as the language of sanctions, pressure, threats, and intimidation continues, direct negotiations will not take place.”

However, Abbas and U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff did meet and speak face to face after some two hours of indirect talks mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi.

Speaking to journalists on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he met with Witkoff and that his envoy had “very good meetings on the Middle East.”

“We’ll be making a decision on Iran very quickly,” Trump said, without elaborating.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers David Biller and Giada Zampano in Rome Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, and Molly Quell at The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives support for nuclear security coverage from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Outrider Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Additional AP coverage of the nuclear landscape: https://apnews.com/projects/the-new-nuclear-landscape/

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard crews were still searching on Monday for five people missing after a boat capsized off Florida’s Atlantic Coast.

The Coast Guard said in a social media post that one person was found dead and crews rescued four others on Sunday about 29 miles off St. Lucie Inlet, which is 46 miles north of West Palm Beach.

One of those rescued said the vessel capsized on Friday, the Coast Guard said.

Another boater contacted the Coast Guard on Sunday.

Martin County Fire Rescue officials told news outlets on Sunday that three of the four rescued from the water had injuries that were not life-threatening.

No additional information was immediately available.