SpaceX removed a key piece of equipment at its Florida launch site, while the military's use of a new anti-drone laser caused an airport closure in Texas, and the US court system in Minnesota struggles under a surge of immigration cases. These events, along with a presidential order related to coal and the resurgence of a notorious infostealer, highlight a busy week of developments across technology, politics, and law enforcement.
At Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, SpaceX removed the Crew Access Arm, used by astronauts to board spacecraft, according to Ars Technica. The site, originally built for the Saturn V rockets and later used for the Space Shuttle program, is now the departure point for SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. This move paves the way for further modifications.
Meanwhile, the El Paso International Airport in Texas was temporarily closed after the military used a new anti-drone laser, Ars Technica reported. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initially closed airspace up to 18,000 feet above the airport for 10 days, but reopened it less than 10 hours later. US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy explained the closure as a response to a "cartel drone incursion."
In Minnesota, the US court system is facing immense pressure due to a surge of immigration cases, Wired reported. Since December, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested approximately 4,000 people, leading to an "avalanche of cases" filed in the US district court. Attorneys filed nearly as many habeas corpus petitions in Minnesota alone as were filed across the entire US in a year, according to Wired's review of court records.
In other news, President Trump received an award from a fossil-fuel lobbying group and subsequently issued an executive order aimed at boosting the coal industry, according to Ars Technica. The order would compel the military to purchase coal, despite coal being the second most expensive and most polluting source of power for the US grid.
Finally, the Lumma Stealer, an infostealer that infected nearly 395,000 Windows computers last year, has resurfaced, Ars Technica reported. The malware, which first appeared in 2022, uses a cloud-based "malware-as-a-service" model to distribute lure sites offering cracked software and pirated content, pilfering credentials and sensitive files. Law enforcement previously hobbled the infrastructure of Lumma, but it is now back at scale.
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