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SpaceX Starship explodes again, this time on the ground

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On Wednesday, June 18 at approximately 11 p.m. CT, the Starship preparing for the tenth flight test experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase. A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for.

Our Starbase team is actively working to safe the test site and the immediate surrounding area in conjunction with local officials. There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue.

Lionel Messi fit, Jordi Alba returning as Miami faces Porto

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Inter Miami CF head coach Javier Mascherano said Jordi Alba and Lionel Messi will both be available for selection tomorrow in the team’s second Club World Cup group stage match against FC Porto at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Alba returns to the squad almost three weeks after suffering a hamstring injury on May 28 in an MLS match against Montreal. He came off the pitch in the 24th minute, watching Inter Miami from the sidelines for the last few weeks before finally joining the team for training earlier this week.

“The only one who will be available for us that wasn’t in the last match is Jordi Alba,” said Mascherano. “The rest are still not available. Jordi, today, three weeks ago suffered a hamstring injury so we will evaluate what is better if he starts or comes on as a substitute. We know, but I won’t tell you.”

Mascherano said that Messi trained well after the inaugural Club World Cup match against Al Ahly, which finished 0-0, and will feature on Thursday, before adding that Yannick Bright, Gonzalo Luján and David Ruiz remain out.

Despite the litany of injuries, Mascherano hopes to prove that the club can compete even with the European sides at the tournament.

“The reality is that we’re focused on tomorrow’s match,” Mascherano said. “It’s a match that every player on our team wants to play because you’re facing and testing yourself against an opponent that plays in Europe, plays in the Champions League, that plays in important competitions.

“Well, we’re doing it with the hope of being able to prove what we’re really worth, too.”

Mascherano cited the results of South American teams and the 1-1 draw between Inter Milan and Monterrey on Tuesday as inspiration and proof any team can get results in the competition.

“Except for two or three games, like Paris [Saint-Germain] vs. Atlético [de Madrid] and Bayern [Munich] vs. Auckland City, the rest are very close matches,” Mascherano said. “We even saw it yesterday in Dortmund’s match against Fluminense. I mean, maybe there was a lot of expectation that there would be a big difference between the European teams, and I’m not even talking about the South American ones, because yesterday Monterrey played a very, very good game against Inter Milan, the European runner-up.

“I mean, I think that shows us, perhaps to teams that aren’t used to competing at this level and in this type of championship that football is 11 against 11 and there’s one ball, and when you have enthusiasm, determination, desire, and confidence in what you do, you can compete against opponents at the highest level.

“Well, it’s one more example to go to this match tomorrow and trust in what we do and above all to prove ourselves. I think that’s what sport is about.”

Real Madrid‘s 1-1 draw with Al Hilal on Wednesday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami added some credence to Mascherano’s sentiment.

After the match with Porto on Thursday, Miami concludes the group stage of the tournament against Palmeiras on Monday in Miami.

Jenna Bush Hager’s Bob Haircut: Details From Her Hairstylist

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avrotusa
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A live TV makeover? Jenna Bush Hager was hair for it.

In fact, the Today host agreed to ditch her long locks for blunt bob after an on-the-fly consultation, according to hairstylist Chris McMillan, who was the one to make the cut after talking with producers.

“I literally got 10 minutes with her,” he told E! News’ Francesca Amiker in an exclusive interview, explaining that he only “blow dried her roots” as preparation before stepping in front of the camera. “I just ripped the Band-Aid off and did it on air.”

So, why did he choose a bob for Jenna, who typically wore her signature blonde hair down in loose waves? “Leslie Bibb was co-hosting for two days and her CLB—c–ty little bob—was the inspiration,” Chris quipped. “People are, for the summer, going for a chop above the shoulders.”

Besides, a bob is a safe choice for those who want to experiment with shorter hair, but are not quite ready for a pixie cut.

Moment SpaceX rocket explodes into massive fireball

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avrotusa
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A live stream has captured the moment a SpaceX Starship rocket exploded into a gigantic fireball when preparing for a flight test. The incident occurred on Wednesday night around 11pm at the Massey’s Testing Center in Texas.

In a statement, the company said no injuries were caused. They said there were no hazards to the surrounding communities and asked people not to approach the area.

Honda says it successfully launched and landed reusable rocket

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avrotusa
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Honda successfully launched and landed its experimental reusable rocket at its facility in Japan, the company said in a surprise announcement on Tuesday.

The rocket reached an altitude of 271.4 meters, or roughly 890 feet, and landed within 37 centimeters, or roughly 15 inches, of the target touchdown point, the company said. The duration of the flight was 56.6 seconds.

“The test was completed successfully, the first time Honda landed a rocket after reaching an altitude of nearly 300 meters,” according to the company’s press release.

The goal of the test, according to the company, was “to demonstrate key technologies essential for rocket reusability, such as flight stability during ascent and descent, as well as landing capability,” which the company says it achieved.

Honda said in 2021 that it is conducting research and development in the field of space technologies. The company now says it aims to launch a suborbital spaceflight by 2029.

“Although Honda rocket research is still in the fundamental research phase, and no decisions have been made regarding the commercialization of these rocket technologies, Honda will continue making progress in the fundamental research with a technology development goal of realizing technological capability to enable a suborbital launch by 2029,” the press release said.

The company joins a crowded field of companies interested in reusable rockets. Honda said it expects “greater utilization of a data system in outer space through expanded use of satellites” will increase demand for satellite launch rockets in the coming years.

“We are pleased that Honda has made another step forward in our research on reusable rockets with this successful completion of a launch and landing test. We believe that rocket research is a meaningful endeavor that leverages Honda’s technological strengths,” Toshihiro Mibe, Global CEO of Honda, said in a statement.

“Honda will continue to take on new challenges—not only to offer our customers various services and value through our products, while addressing environmental and safety issues, but also to continue creating new value which will make people’s time and place more enjoyable,” Mibe added.

The Surge in Ocean Shipping Rates Is Peaking

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avrotusa
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The Surge in Ocean Shipping Rates Is Peaking

Here are the 24 US AI startups that have raised $100M or more in 2025

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avrotusa
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Last year was monumental for the AI industry in the U.S. and beyond.

There were 49 startups that raised funding rounds worth $100 million or more in 2024, per our count at TechCrunch; three companies raised more than one “mega-round,” and seven companies raised rounds that were $1 billion in size or larger.

How will 2025 compare? It’s still the first half of the year, but so far it looks like 2024’s momentum will continue this year. There have already been multiple billion-dollar rounds this year, and more AI mega-rounds closed in the U.S. in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024.

Here are all the U.S. AI companies that have raised $100 million this year:

June

  • Enterprise search startup Glean continues to rake in cash. The company announced a $150 million Series F round on June 10, led by Wellington Management with participation from Sequoia, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Kleiner Perkins, among others. Glean is now valued at $7.25 billion.
  • Anysphere, the AI research lab behind AI coding tool Cursor, raised a sizable $900 million Series C round that values the company at nearly $10 billion. The round was led by Thrive Capital with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Accel, and DST Global.

May

  • AI data labeling startup Snorkel AI announced a $100 million Series D round on May 29, valuing the company at $1.3 billion. The round was led by Addition with participation from Prosperity7 Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Greylock.
  • LMArena, a popular, community-driven benchmarking tool for AI models, raised a $100 million seed round that valued the startup at $600 million. The round was announced on May 21 and was co-led by Andreessen Horowitz and UC Investments. Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins, and Felicis also participated, among others.
  • Las Vegas-based AI infrastructure company TensorWave announced a $100 million Series A round on May 14. The round was co-led by Magnetar Capital and AMD Ventures with participation from Prosperity7 Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, and Maverick Silicon.

April

  • SandboxAQ closed a $450 million Series E round on April 4 that valued the AI model company at $5.7 billion. The round included Nvidia, Google, and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio among other investors.
  • Runway, which creates AI models for media production, raised a $308 million Series D round that was announced on April 3, valuing the company at $3 billion. It was led by General Atlantic. SoftBank, Nvidia, and Fidelity also participated.

March

  • AI behemoth OpenAI raised a record-breaking $40 billion funding round that valued the startup at $300 billion. This round, which closed on March 31, was led by SoftBank with participation from Thrive Capital, Microsoft, and Coatue, among others.
  • On March 25, Nexthop AI, an AI infrastructure company, announced that it had raised a Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. The $110 million round also included Kleiner Perkins, Battery Ventures, and Emergent Ventures, among others.
  • Cambridge Massachusetts-based Insilico Medicine raised $110 million for its generative AI-powered drug discovery platform as announced on March 13. This Series E round valued the company at $1 billion and was co-led by Value Partners and Pudong Chuangtou.
  • AI infrastructure company Celestial AI raised a $250 million Series C round that valued the company at $2.5 billion. The March 11 round was led by Fidelity with participation from Tiger Global, BlackRock, and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, among others.
  • Lila Sciences raised a $200 million seed round as it looks to create a science superintelligence platform. The round was led by Flagship Pioneering. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based company also received funding from March Capital, General Catalyst, and ARK Venture Fund, among others.
  • Brooklyn-based Reflection.Ai, which looks to build superintelligent autonomous systems, raised a $130 million Series A round that values the 1-year-old company at $580 million. The round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and CRV.
  • AI coding startup Turing closed a Series E round on March 7 that valued the startup, which partners with LLM companies, at $2.2 billion. The $111 million round was led by Khazanah Nasional with participation from WestBridge Capital, Gaingels, and Sozo Ventures, among others.
  • Shield AI, an AI defense tech startup, raised $240 million in a Series F round that closed on March 6. This round was co-led by L3Harris Technologies and Hanwha Aerospace, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and the US Innovative Technology Fund, among others. The round valued the company at $5.3 billion
  • AI research and large language model company Anthropic raised $3.5 billion in a Series E round that valued the startup at $61.5 billion. The round was announced on March 3 and was led by Lightspeed with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and General Catalyst, among others.

February

  • Together AI, which creates open source generative AI and AI model development infrastructure, raised a $305 million Series B round that valued the company at $3.3 billion. The February 20 round was co-led by Prosperity7 and General Catalyst with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Nvidia, Lux Capital, and others.
  • AI infrastructure company Lambda raised a $480 million Series D round that was announced on February 19. The round valued the startup at nearly $2.5 billion and was co-led by SGW and Andra Capital. Nvidia, G Squared, ARK Invest, and others also participated.
  • Abridge, an AI platform that transcribes patient-clinician conversations, was valued at $2.75 billion in a Series D round that was announced on February 17. The $250 million round was co-led by IVP and Elad Gil. Lightspeed, Redpoint, and Spark Capital also participated, among others.
  • Eudia, an AI legal tech company, raised $105 million in a Series A round led by General Catalyst. Floodgate, Defy Ventures, and Everywhere Ventures also participated in the round in addition to other VC firms and numerous angel investors. The round closed on February 13.
  • AI hardware startup EnCharge AI raised a $100 million Series B round that also closed on February 13. The round was led by Tiger Global with participation from Scout Ventures, Samsung Ventures, and RTX Ventures, among others. The Santa Clara-based business was founded in 2022.
  • AI legal tech company Harvey raised a $300 million Series D round that valued the 3-year-old company at $3 billion. The round was led by Sequoia and announced on February 12. OpenAI Startup Fund, Kleiner Perkins, Elad Gil, and others also participated in the raise.

January

  • Synthetic voice startup ElevenLabs raised a $180 million Series C round that valued the company at more than $3 billion. It was announced on January 30. The round was co-led by ICONIQ Growth and Andreessen Horowitz. Sequoia, NEA, Salesforce Ventures, and others also participated in the round.
  • Hippocratic AI, which develops large language models for the healthcare industry, announced a $141 million Series B round on January 9. This round valued the company at more than $1.6 billion and was led by Kleiner Perkins. Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, and General Catalyst also participated, among others.

This piece was updated on April 23 and June 18 to include more deals.

This piece has been updated to remove that Abridge is based in Pittsburgh; the company was founded there.

Xabi Alonso says Real Madrid makeover ‘a process’ after draw

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avrotusa
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  • Alex Kirkland

  • Rodrigo Faez

Jun 18, 2025, 06:33 PM ET

Xabi Alonso called for patience after Real Madrid‘s 1-1 draw with Al Hilal in their opening game at the Club World Cup, saying implementing the changes he wants to make “will take time.”

Madrid struggled in the first half at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, before young forward Gonzalo García put them ahead in the 34th minute.

Rúben Neves equalised for Al Hilal from the penalty spot, and Madrid had the chance to win the game in added time with another penalty, only for goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to save Federico Valverde‘s spot kick.

“The second half was much better than the first,” Alonso said in his post-match news conference. “In the first half we lacked a lot of things, we didn’t have balance. We’ve talked about that.

“I liked the reaction. We were able to change our rhythm, have more control, and play more in the opposition half. It’s a process. We have to take the positives and look to improve.”

Alonso, who replaced predecessor Carlo Ancelotti after Madrid failed to land a major trophy last season, only took his first training session on June 9, before flying to the United States for the tournament.

“I knew it would take time,” he said. “There are things we have to change. We’ll have to correct them, and we’ll keep doing that. Everything takes time, we’ve had nine days, and some players have had just three training sessions. It’s demanding, we’re in a competition, but we want to learn, and what we want to do will take time.”

“[Alonso] wants to see his way of playing, a different way to defend and a different way to attack,” goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “We were with Ancelotti for four years, we have some ‘automatisms’ and we have to change them to what the new coach wants.

“That doesn’t happen in four days. We’re trying, we’re watching videos, talking a lot, and it will get better. We’ll learn a lot from this first game.”

Madrid were without star forward Kylian Mbappé — who scored 43 goals in all competitions last season — for the game, after he came down with a fever this week.

“We don’t know,” Alonso said, when asked if Mbappé would return for Madrid’s next game with Pachuca on Sunday. “We’ll have to see how his recovery goes. The last two days he’s been ill with a virus.”

TikToker Sydney Towle Shares Heartbreaking Cancer Update

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TikToker Sydney Towle Shares Heartbreaking Update Amid Cancer Battle: “This Isn’t Good”

Sydney Towle is getting candid about the struggles of staying positive through her traumatic cancer experience.

The Dartmouth graduate, who was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, or as bile duct cancer, two years ago, shared a sad update with her 800,000 TikTok followers on June 17. 

“It’s the first time that I’ve gone in and they’ve said, ‘This isn’t good,'” Sydney said in a video. “It’s obviously not what you want to hear when you have cancer.”

She continued to share that the latest update to her health will require her to get a hepatic pump, which according to UPenn Medicine, is “a medical device used to deliver chemotherapy directly to the liver.”

Sydney—who will go in for surgery on June 30 and remain hospitalized for four or five days—noted that trying the pump in combination with the chemo will be “experimental.”

Through tears, she added how her health has interfered with her normal life as a 25-year-old.

“I didn’t talk about it because I was scared this was going to happen,” she said. “I was supposed to go on a trip and leave June 30, so I just canceled the trip. Hopefully I’ll still get to take it one day.” 



Huge archaeological puzzle reveals Roman London frescoes

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avrotusa
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Alison Francis

Senior science journalist

Watch: the fine art of an exquisite 2,000 year-old Roman jigsaw

Archaeologists have pieced together thousands of fragments of 2,000-year-old wall plaster to reveal remarkable frescoes that decorated a luxurious Roman villa.

The shattered plaster was discovered in 2021 at a site in Central London that’s being redeveloped, but it’s taken until now to reconstruct this colossal jigsaw puzzle.

The frescoes are from at least 20 walls of the building, with beautifully painted details of musical instruments, birds, flowers and fruit.

The art is revealing more about the affluence of the area where they were found – described by the team as the “Beverly Hills of Roman London”.

Tony Jolliffe/BBC News Fragments of plaster laid out. There are mainly yellow pieces making up square panels with darker columns in between with a pale green border. The detail shows a a series of lines with the petals and leaves of flowers amongst them. Tony Jolliffe/BBC News
Tony Jolliffe/BBC News Hundreds of fragments of plaster laid out on several tables. Mainly yellow pieces making up three square panels with darker columns in between. Tony Jolliffe/BBC News

This fresco covered one wall of the villa – there are at least 19 others

There are also clues about who the artists were: one fragment is scored with the Latin word Fecit, which means “has made this” – but the piece where the name should be is missing.

The Museum of London Archaeology (Mola) team still hope the vital piece will be found as they sift through the fragments.

“It’s one of the biggest – if not the biggest – assemblages of Roman wall plaster and paintings we’ve ever found in Roman London,” said Han Li from Mola.

Tony Jolliffe/BBC News Three fragments of plaster with white dots representing mistletoe on a black background on two of the pieces which have been joined together as part of the huge jigsaw puzzle. There's also a white line running across two of the pieces just below the white berries. Tony Jolliffe/BBC News

The art shows local plants such as mistletoe

The largest of the frescoes, measuring about 5m by 3m, has a lower section of pale pink, dotted with specks of paint to imitate marble. Above are rich yellow panels with soft green borders.

The wall paintings are adorned with candelabras, stringed instruments called lyres, white cranes and a delicate daisy.

There’s also what appears to be a bunch of grapes, but archaeobotanists believe that this is a plant that grows locally – mistletoe.

“That is actually quite interesting for me, because you’re seeing that the Roman painters are taking a classical idea and they’re very much putting their own North West European, or local, twist on it. I think that’s magnificent,” says Han Li.

Tony Jolliffe/BBC News A close up image of at least 10 fragments of the plaster that have been pieced together. On the right hand side of the image is the pink dado section, then a thin black dividing line and a thicker pale green band. Towards the left of the image is a thin white dividing line and then a thicker black band. Tony Jolliffe/BBC News

A small section of the fresco is made up of many fragments

He spent many months with the jumble of plaster, meticulously examining each piece to put together what he describes as “the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle”.

The fragility of the ancient fragments made this even more of a challenge.

“You have to be very careful because you can only assemble the pieces a small number of times before the plaster starts to be damaged and it flakes off,” he said.

“So you have to be quite sure before you join the pieces that this is the piece that may fit.”

Tony Jolliffe/BBC News A close up of piece of red plaster, made up of several smaller pieces, with the letters F E C I T in capitals clearly visible with a line drawn in a square around three sides of the word. The left hand side of the plaster, where the name of the person or group who made the piece of art should be, is missing. Tony Jolliffe/BBC News

FECIT is scored into the plaster which means “has made this”

The Romans founded London in AD43, and the villa was built soon after, dating to the first or second century when the new city was growing rapidly.

The archaeologists think this grand building may have been home to a wealthy family or a hotel for rich travellers passing through Londinium.

They’ve been comparing the frescoes to others found across Britain and Europe, and they believe they were created by a group of highly skilled painters who travelled the Roman empire.

“They’ve come to Roman London where there was a building boom, with many houses and many buildings going up that required painting. And they went around essentially taking on huge commissions of work,” said Han Li.

“It’s amazing to imagine that their work is now again visible to us 2,000 years later.”

The artists’ exact identity however will remain elusive until the missing fragment bearing their names is found.

Tony Jolliffe/BBC News Archaeologist Han Li, wearing a white long sleeved linen shirt and light brown trousers, is leaning over the series of tables which are covered with hundreds of fragments of plaster. He is holding a piece from the dado section in his right hand. The fragments have been grouped according to where Han thinks they may fit in this very complicated puzzle. Tony Jolliffe/BBC News

Archaeologist Han Li spent months assembling the fragments

The plaster was found in Southwark, just south of the Thames. A stunning mosaic and Roman cemetery were also unearthed at the site, which was being excavated in preparation for a new development.

This location, outside of the central hub of Roman London, is also revealing more about how the city was spreading out.

“There was this thriving, bustling settlement quite early on in the Roman period, and it’s almost the kind of wealthy suburb – the Beverly Hills of Roman London,” said Andrew Henderson-Schwartz from Mola.

“And what this shows is that the Romans are committing to London. They’re investing in London, and they’re seeing it as a place to settle in, a place to stay. It’s not just a kind of provincial outpost.”

There’s still much to discover from the fresco fragments, helping archaeologists reconstruct the story of the UK’s rich Roman history.

Tony Jolliffe/BBC News A close up of a broken piece of light brown stonework. Clearly visible are the remnants of some of the letters that have been imprinted in the plaster as it dried - R-L-O-N. It stands for Procurator of Londinium and shows that the building it was part of was a civil building in the growing city. Tony Jolliffe/BBC News

Some masonry found at the site showing it was made in London

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