Featured Stories
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Welcomes Appointments of Commissioners
WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued the following news release:
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U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Welcomes Appointments of Commissioners
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the reappointments of Rachel Laser and Asif Mahmood and new appointments of David A. Anderson, CeCe Heil, Gunisha Kaur, and Gene Mills.
Asif Mahmood was reappointed to USCIRF by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) after serving as elected Vice Chair during his first USCIRF appointment. Mahmood is
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WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom issued the following news release:
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U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Welcomes Appointments of Commissioners
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomes the reappointments of Rachel Laser and Asif Mahmood and new appointments of David A. Anderson, CeCe Heil, Gunisha Kaur, and Gene Mills.
Asif Mahmood was reappointed to USCIRF by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) after serving as elected Vice Chair during his first USCIRF appointment. Mahmood isa practicing physician and human rights advocate.
"We warmly welcome the appointments of David A. Anderson, CeCe Heil, Gunisha Kaur, and Gene Mills to the Commission," said Commissioner Asif Mahmood. "Their skillsets offer an invaluable perspective to the work of the Commission as it confronts threats to freedom of religion or belief."
Rachel Laser was reappointed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Laser is the President and CEO of American United for Separation of Church and State as its first female leader.
"The work of the Commission is crucial to advancing freedom of religion or belief abroad and conveys to the world that it is a priority for the United States," said Commissioner Rachel Laser. "We look forward to working with the new Commissioners to advance international religious freedom."
David A. Anderson was appointed to USCIRF by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). He is the founder and President of Gracism Global, working to build bridges across the deep divides of race, faith, culture, and wealth. He is also the senior pastor of Bridgeway Community Church, reaching a multicultural congregation from over 52 nations.
CeCe Heil was appointed to USCIRF by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD). She is Senior Counsel and International Legal Director for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). She is a human rights attorney who advocates for religious freedom, rule of law, and the protection of vulnerable faith communities worldwide.
Gunisha Kaur was appointed to USCIRF by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). She is a physician, medical anthropologist, and scientist with two decades of experience and fieldwork in human rights. She has worked to bring clinical care informed by her scholarship to some of the world's most urgent humanitarian crises.
Gene Mills was appointed to USCIRF by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). As the President of Louisiana Family Forum, he brings years of experience working on issues involving life, liberty, and limited government in the Louisiana political landscape.
USCIRF thanks for their service the former Commissioners whose terms ended on May 14, 2026: Mohamed Elsanousi, Maureen Ferguson, Vicky Hartzler, Stephen Schneck, and Meir Soloveichik.
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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a commissioner, please contact USCIRF at media@uscirf.gov.
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Original text here: https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/releases-statements/uscirf-welcomes-appointments-commissioners
SBA Relief Still Available to Arizona Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by the Post Tropical Storm Event
WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release:
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SBA Relief Still Available to Arizona Small Businesses and Private Nonprofits Affected by the Post Tropical Storm Event
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Honor America's 250th anniversary by taking the Freedom 250 Small Business Pledge. Sign up now to get your free certificate.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/07/17/sba-relief-still-available-arizona-small-businesses-private-nonprofits-affected-post-tropical-storm
SBA Offers Disaster Assistance to Missouri Businesses, Private Nonprofits, and Residents Affected by Adverse Weather
WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The Small Business Administration's Office of Disaster Assistance issued the following news release:
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SBA Offers Disaster Assistance to Missouri Businesses, Private Nonprofits, and Residents Affected by Adverse Weather
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Honor America's 250th anniversary by taking the Freedom 250 Small Business Pledge. Sign up now to get your free certificate.
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Original text here: https://www.sba.gov/article/2026/07/17/sba-offers-disaster-assistance-missouri-businesses-private-nonprofits-residents-affected-adverse
Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission Final Order Affirms Southeast Texas Industrial Services Case Over Steel Mill Worksite Safety Issues
WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has made final an administrative law judge decision in Secretary of Labor v. STIS Inc. dba Southeast Texas Industrial Services (Docket No. 24-0702), a case tied to work at a steel mill in Pueblo, Colorado.
The case arose from OSHA's oversight of STIS, which had been hired as a subcontractor by EVRAZ North America to perform construction work at the steel mill on South Freeway in Pueblo. The commission's website lists the matter among its latest administrative law judge decisions and shows the final order date as July 15,
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WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has made final an administrative law judge decision in Secretary of Labor v. STIS Inc. dba Southeast Texas Industrial Services (Docket No. 24-0702), a case tied to work at a steel mill in Pueblo, Colorado.
The case arose from OSHA's oversight of STIS, which had been hired as a subcontractor by EVRAZ North America to perform construction work at the steel mill on South Freeway in Pueblo. The commission's website lists the matter among its latest administrative law judge decisions and shows the final order date as July 15,2026.
According to the commission's public notice, the ALJ decision in the matter became a final order of the commission after the review period ran its course. The agency's notice does not, in the public summary, spell out every factual finding or penalty detail, but it does confirm that the case reached finality at the commission level.
OSHRC, an independent federal agency created by Congress under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, hears contests of OSHA citations and penalties after workplace inspections. In that system, an administrative law judge first resolves the dispute, and the resulting decision can become final if it is not further reviewed.
The STIS matter is one of several recent decisions posted by OSHRC on its website, where the agency keeps both ALJ and commission rulings for public access. The commission's docket listing identifies the respondent as STIS, Inc., doing business as Southeast Texas Industrial Services, and pairs that title with docket number 24-0702.
Public summaries indicate that the worksite involved was a steel mill under construction activity, which places the case in the broader category of jobsite safety enforcement. OSHRC's role is to provide a neutral forum for resolving disputed citations, including cases involving construction hazards and employer responsibility.
For readers following workplace safety enforcement, the final order means the legal path in this docket has closed at the commission stage unless a separate, allowable challenge applies. The public record available through OSHRC now marks the matter as a completed agency action, with the docket entry and final order date visible in the commission's decision listings.
-- Vidhi Gianani, Targeted News Service
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Original text here: https://www.oshrc.gov/wp-content/uploads/24-0702-STIS-Inc.-ALJ-Decision-and-Order-redacted.pdf
NASA Study Finds Near-Earth Asteroid Is Actually Comet
PASADENA, California, July 17 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA Study Finds Near-Earth Asteroid Is Actually Comet
The object looks like an asteroid but moves like a comet, so astronomers used some of the most powerful observatories on the planet to confirm its identity.
New research led by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has revealed the identity of a puzzling near-Earth object by precisely tracking its motion through space and using powerful observatories that image faint celestial objects.
This object has
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PASADENA, California, July 17 (TNSres) -- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory issued the following news:
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NASA Study Finds Near-Earth Asteroid Is Actually Comet
The object looks like an asteroid but moves like a comet, so astronomers used some of the most powerful observatories on the planet to confirm its identity.
New research led by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California has revealed the identity of a puzzling near-Earth object by precisely tracking its motion through space and using powerful observatories that image faint celestial objects.
This object hasa dual personality: Past images hadn't revealed obvious cometlike activity, suggesting it might be an asteroid, but its motion recently proved to be irregular like that of a comet. The scientists detailed their findings in a study published (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-026-02913-7.epdf?sharing_token=9Tyupu4lm8WCiQN9V4uRpNRgN0jAjWel9jnR3ZoTv0O84-m2iWHZz4iV2hT32uLAbHe5sb0xl89wktx4_l0h7YzBZMRyDOSyjQNggyMpO13q_DgXU9bhmcGdlhgM_FYaPgkyxjrDRZbEUugt7jKl1K-HJuNbYtqdlXGXWfBi114%3D) in the journal Nature Astronomy.
The puzzle began on Aug. 28, 2025, when the object, provisionally known as the asteroid 1998 SH2, passed safely within 2 million miles (3 million kilometers) of our planet during its 41/2-year orbit around the Sun. Researchers looking to observe 1998 SH2 with NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) planetary radar system had calculated its position using data from previous orbits and factored in the effects that the gravity of the Sun and planets would have on its path. But when 1998 SH2 didn't show up where they expected, they realized that something unanticipated had been influencing the object's motion.
Object tracking
By using optical astrometry to precisely measure the object's position in the sky, the researchers were able to identify the cause.
"After we measured the nongravitational perturbations affecting the motion of 1998 SH2 and recognized they weren't compatible with the object being an asteroid, we suspected the object could be an active comet," said Davide Farnocchia, a navigation engineer with NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at JPL and study lead.
Although 1998 SH2's orbit around the Sun had been well-tracked from 1998 to 2016, the object had completed two solar orbits without additional observations by telescopes until the 2025 DSN attempts. Analyzing all observations collected since the object's discovery in 1998, researchers determined the perturbations to 1998 SH2's motion and hypothesized that the object may be generating a small thrust by venting gas into space, causing it to deviate from its predicted path.
This venting results from the Sun heating ice mixed with rocky material, turning the ice into a gas. With regular comets, this activity forms a trademark bright tail and coma -- the gas and dust surrounding a comet's nucleus. But when an object produces gas and dust in much smaller quantities, its tail and coma may not be detectable to most observatories.
Tail, coma emerge
The August 2025 close approach to Earth of 1998 SH2 provided the perfect opportunity for the paper's authors to gather observational evidence of visible cometary activity. They reached out to astronomers at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, a 3.6-meter (12-foot) optical/infrared telescope near the summit of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and the 1.5-meter (5-foot) European Southern Observatory's Danish Telescope in La Silla, Chile, to observe. Astronomers at the powerful European Southern Observatory's 8.2-meter (27-foot) Very Large Telescope on the Chilean mountain Cerro Paranal also tracked the object.
"The images we collected from these observatories showed a weak but clear tail, thus confirming that 1998 SH2 is, in fact, a comet," said Olivier Hainaut, an astronomer with the European Southern Observatory and coauthor of the study. "That's how science works -- you form a hypothesis, and you set out to test it. This data is exactly what was needed to confirm our hypothesis that 1998 SH2 was a comet."
As an outcome of the investigation, 1998 SH2 will receive an additional comet provisional designation, P/1998 SH2.
Planetary defense implications
The research also sheds light on another, even more unusual, class of objects called dark comets. Like 1998 SH2, dark comets exhibit significant irregularities, or perturbations, in their trajectory but lack other visible evidence of comet activity -- there's no coma, tail, or visible outgassing. These enigmatic objects fall into two distinct populations: larger ones with orbits similar to those of Jupiter-family comets (short period comets with highly elliptical, or eccentric, orbits), and smaller ones that orbit closer to the Sun. Since the 2016 discovery of the first dark comet, about a dozen more have been identified.
The paper's authors suggest that many of the larger dark comets, which have orbits like 1998 SH2's, could turn out to be regular comets if astronomers get the right opportunity to observe them with powerful telescopes capable of imaging incredibly faint objects. And by analyzing the motion of all near-Earth objects using precision astrometry data, researchers may reveal more comets that were previously designated as asteroids if they exhibit cometlike nongravitational perturbations.
"This work shows the importance of continuously tracking near-Earth objects," said Farnocchia. "Because of outgassing, the motion of comets is more significantly perturbed than that of asteroids. Detecting these perturbations can be an important diagnostic tool for planetary defense that will help understand which objects may be comets rather than asteroids, how their orbits evolve, and how that influences their Earth impact risks."
Hunting for near-Earth objects
NASA's upcoming Near-Earth Object (NEO) Surveyor will collect data that can be used to support this effort. The first space survey telescope to be built for planetary defense, this next-generation mission will seek out some of the hardest-to-find near-Earth objects, such as dark asteroids and comets that don't reflect much visible light.
NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, the Goldstone Solar System Radar Group, and NEO Surveyor all are managed by JPL and supported by the agency's Planetary Defense Coordination Office in Washington. Caltech in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA. The DSN receives programmatic oversight from the SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program office, also at NASA headquarters.
More information about planetary radar, NASA's Center for Near Earth Object Studies, and near-Earth objects can be found at:
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroid-watch
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Original text here: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-study-finds-near-earth-asteroid-is-actually-comet/
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics: First Atmosphere Detected on a Habitable-Zone Rocky World
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, July 17 (TNSjou) -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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First atmosphere detected on a habitable-zone rocky world
The discovery marks a major milestone in the search for life on planets beyond our solar system
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In a major milestone in the search for life on other planets, astronomers have detected, for the first time, an atmosphere surrounding an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting within the habitable zone of another star.
The finding provides the strongest evidence yet that worlds with conditions similar to Earth
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CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, July 17 (TNSjou) -- The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics issued the following news release:
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First atmosphere detected on a habitable-zone rocky world
The discovery marks a major milestone in the search for life on planets beyond our solar system
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In a major milestone in the search for life on other planets, astronomers have detected, for the first time, an atmosphere surrounding an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting within the habitable zone of another star.
The finding provides the strongest evidence yet that worlds with conditions similar to Earthin composition and temperature, with the potential to support life, could exist beyond our solar system.
"An atmosphere is essential for a planet to support life as we know it," said lead author Collin Cherubim, who recently earned his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Harvard University.
"This is the first time anyone has found an atmosphere on a rocky planet in the habitable zone of another star."
Published today in Science (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea9708), the study reports observational results detecting helium escaping from the atmosphere of LHS 1140 b, a rocky exoplanet about 48 light-years from Earth. Motivated by theoretical predictions, the discovery provides evidence that the planet possesses an atmosphere.
The planet orbits a red dwarf star within the star's habitable zone, or the region where temperatures and environmental conditions are within the range that could support liquid water on the planet's surface.
Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets, including a few rocky worlds within their stars' habitable zones, but determining whether those planets have atmospheres has remained a great challenge.
"Twenty years ago we wondered whether other terrestrial-type planets even existed," said Robin Wordsworth, Gordon McKay Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard and one of Cherubim's dissertation advisors. "Then we learned they're common, and found some in the habitable zone. The next question was whether any of them had managed to keep an atmosphere. Now we know at least one has."
Although other studies have found rocky planets in the habitable zones of their stars, this study is the first to clearly demonstrate the presence of an atmosphere, one that has existed for billions of years.
Cherubim and his colleagues' theoretical model predicted that LHS 1140 b has an upper atmosphere rich in helium that is slowly escaping into space.
To test their prediction, the team used the Warm Infrared Echelle (WINERED) Spectrograph on the Magellan Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. They observed a rare alignment, where LHS 1140 b and another planet transited their star on the same night.
Although one planet showed no evidence of an atmosphere, the other, LHS 1140 b, showed helium escaping from around it, confirming that it retains an atmosphere.
Cherubim's joint advisor David Charbonneau, head of the Harvard Department of Astronomy and astronomer in the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, was initially skeptical of Cherubim's plan because it was the product of a mathematical calculation and had never been observed before for a rocky world.
But when the results came in, he was convinced.
"Collin analyzed the planets we knew about and predicted that this one would have a helium atmosphere," Charbonneau said. "Then he organized telescope time, got the data, and the detection was statistically rock solid."
The findings suggest that ground-based observations searching for escaping gases may become an important tool for studying atmospheres on rocky exoplanets.
The planet's atmosphere has likely survived for more than three billion years, the astronomers say, making it a valuable target for future observations.
Cherubim said he'd like to determine the atmosphere's full composition and eventually investigate whether the planet has surface oceans or other characteristics associated with habitability. He and his colleagues will also use his model to search for similar worlds.
"This has been a model validation, and hopefully it's just the first of many more observations to come," he said.
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About the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian is a collaboration between the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory designed to ask, and ultimately answer, humanity's greatest unresolved questions about the universe.
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Original text here: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/first-atmosphere-detected-habitable-zone-rocky-world
EPA Celebrates Graduation of 30 Residents from Environmental Job Training Program
WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Celebrates Graduation of 30 Residents from Environmental Job Training Program
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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (July 16, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with contractors and partners, will celebrate on Tuesday, June 21, 30 graduates of the Superfund Job Training Initiative ( SuperJTI ). This free program equips local residents with industry-recognized skills and certifications for environmental remediation careers, supporting work at the Southside Chattanooga Lead Superfund
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WASHINGTON, July 17 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release:
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EPA Celebrates Graduation of 30 Residents from Environmental Job Training Program
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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (July 16, 2026) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), along with contractors and partners, will celebrate on Tuesday, June 21, 30 graduates of the Superfund Job Training Initiative ( SuperJTI ). This free program equips local residents with industry-recognized skills and certifications for environmental remediation careers, supporting work at the Southside Chattanooga Lead SuperfundSite and other projects in the area and advancing the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposure.
When:
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where:
Hope for the Inner City
1800 Roanoke Ave.
Chattanooga, TN 37406
Note: From 10 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. employers will be available for interviews. The graduation program will start at 10:30 a.m. After the program, several graduates will be available for interviews.
Please park in the parking lot at the venue or across the street at Love Fellowship Baptist Church.
Please RSVP by 4 p.m. Monday, July 21.
Background:
The Superfund Job Training Initiative ( SuperJTI ) provides free training to residents, preparing them for a range of environmental remediation and construction jobs, as well as cleanup projects at superfund sites. EPA offers SuperJTI through its Technical Assistance Services for Communities (TASC) contract, which provides training and independent technical assistance to communities. TASC supports communities affected by hazardous waste sites regulated by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
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Original text here: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-celebrates-graduation-30-residents-environmental-job-training-program
