E! News Blog

NASA orders astronauts to shelter in docked spacecraft following air leaks

2026-06-06T06:02:42.567-07:00

Friday, June 5, 2026 - Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have been instructed to shelter as Russian cosmonauts carry out urgent repairs to address air leaks in the Zvezda service module's transfer tunnel.

Five of the seven cosmonauts in the Russian segment have relocated to the docked SpaceX Crew Dragon "Freedom" spacecraft as a precautionary measure. The remaining two crew members are conducting repair operations. According to Russian news agency Interfax, one of the two identified leaks has been successfully sealed.

The second leak, located on the conical portion of the transfer chamber, does not pose an immediate threat to the crew, according to Roscosmos, the Russian space agency. Officials told state-owned Tass that the leaks were discovered during pressurisation of the Zvezda module's transfer chamber. Cracks in the spacecraft have been present for years but were previously managed with temporary patches. Russian space officials noted a fresh pressure drop last month, prompting the more intensive repair effort now underway.

NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens provided details on the situation. "The Zvezda service module transfer tunnel, known as PrK, has suffered from cracks and leaks for some time, and has been mitigated by Roscosmos as much as possible to date. The cracks have always been a concern that NASA watches very closely," she said. "NASA and Roscosmos have been working to determine the root cause of the cracks, and Roscosmos manages the issue through operational mitigation measures and periodic partial-repair efforts."

Stevens added that following the detection of new leaks, Roscosmos elected to proceed with a more extensive repair operation on Friday, June 5.

"Out of an abundance of caution, NASA has directed all four of the agency's SpaceX Crew-12 members and NASA astronaut Chris Williams to assume an elevated safety posture in the Dragon spacecraft while the repair is underway. We continue to work with our Russian counterparts, along with the rest of the international community that supports the space station, to arrive at a more permanent resolution."

Court dismisses murder charge for father who killed teen daughter's r@pist

2026-06-06T06:02:17.426-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026 - A judge has dismissed a m8rder charge against a man awaiting trial for k!lling his 13-year-old daughter's alleged r@pist in Arkansas, United States.

The case against Aaron Spencer was tossed by the judge on Thursday, June 4, 2026 weeks before he was set to face a jury on a second-degree m8rder charge.

Spencer won the GOP nomination for sheriff and will be on the November ballot.

He won a March primary over the local three-term sheriff whose office had arrested him in Lonoke County.

Spencer’s attorneys do not deny that he shot and k!lled 67-year-old Michael Fosler in 2024, saying he did so to protect his child.

Special Circuit Court Judge Ralph Wilson Jr. granted a motion by Spencer's attorney to dismiss the charge over a dash camera memory card that may have captured the shooting and was lost by law enforcement.

"The court finds that conduct by law enforcement was so egregious that dismissal of this case is warranted,” Wilson wrote.

At the time of the shooting, Fosler, was out on bond after being charged with dozens of s3xual offenses against Spencer’s then-13-year-old daughter.

Court documents show on the night of the shooting, Spencer had woken up to find his daughter missing, and later found the girl in the passenger seat of a vehicle Fosler was driving.

Spencer forced Fosler’s truck off the road and, after an altercation, called 911 to report he had shot the man.

Prosecutors said Spencer planned the k!lling and that he could have called police while pursuing Fosler.

But Spencer pleaded not guilty and maintained he acted to protect his child from a predator

Spencer’s attorney, Erin Cassinelli, said she is thankful for the court’s decision.

“No member of this family should ever again be forced to walk into a courtroom and relive this horror,” she said in a statement.

“This father should have never been charged for protecting his child.

Spencer said he is grateful this chapter is over and that his focus is now on his family and returning to normal life.

"There’s still work to do in Lonoke County, and I’m more committed to it than ever,” he said in a statement.

“Together we can build a safer and stronger Lonoke County.”

Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham did not return messages Thursday seeking comment on the decision.

Spencer has made his daughter’s experience with the criminal justice system a central part of his campaign for sheriff, pledging to establish a dedicated team to combat s3x crimes against children.

Spencer's attorneys filed the motion seeking to have the case dismissed, contending that video and audio of the dash camera from Fosler's truck may have contained evidence that would have cleared Spencer of any wrongdoing.

According to court records, a detective with the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office removed the dash camera from the truck when responding to the scene of the shooting.

But the camera's internal settings were not preserved and the battery of the camera was allowed to drain, and as a result the camera went back to its default settings.

When the camera was sent to the attorney general's office for a forensic exam, the memory card that was in it when it was collected from the truck was missing.

The detective who collected the camera later admitted that it was not logged into evidence right away, but was instead stored in his personal office rather than the evidence room, according to court records.

Wilson replaced the original judge handling the m8rder case in January after the Arkansas Supreme Court removed Judge Barbara Elmore from the case, finding she had issued an overly broad gag order that violated Spencer's First Amendment right.

Actor ANTHONY HEAD dies aged 72

2026-06-06T06:01:11.458-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026 - Anthony Head, the actor best-known for playing Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has di£d aged 72.

“He passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family,” his daughters Emily and Daisy Head said in a statement today, June 5.

“It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed first-hand the impact both he and his work have had on so many.”

“We know how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues and fans of the shows he was in – he loved his job very much and he always considered himself incredibly lucky to have been able to work alongside such exceptionally talented people, in such wonderful productions, across a career that spanned several decades,” said his daughters.

“Our grief is far greater than the hole he has left behind but we know his legacy will live on in the shows he was a part of and in the audiences that love them.

“How lucky we are to know we are able to watch him doing what he loved, even when he is no longer with us.”

Head’s partner, Sarah Fisher, di£d in December 2025, aged 61.

US grants visas to Iranian national football team for 2026 World Cup

2026-06-06T06:00:48.535-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026 - Iran’s football squad have been granted visas to play in the World Cup, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack confirmed in a message on X on Friday.

“Proud of our outstanding team at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for their work processing visas for Iran’s national football team on their road to the @FIFAWorldCup in the United States,” he said, commenting on a news report that Iran’s World Cup players have been granted the visas to enter the United States.

“Sports transcends borders, and we look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from around the world,” the ambassador said.

The Iranian team is due to fly from Turkey to Spain on Saturday before travelling on to their base camp in Mexico, which has issued visas to the squad.

The team will be based in Mexico during the tournament in North America, but all three of their group stage matches are due to be held in the United States.

They were originally due to be based in the US but switched their camp to Mexico due to tensions between them and the United States over the war in the Middle East.

The two countries have been at war since the US and Israel began bombing Iran at the end of February, although currently a fragile ceasefire is being observed.

Iran begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on June 16 in Los Angeles. They will play further group matches against Belgium, also in LA, and Egypt in Seattle

Court blocks TRUMP policies targeting immigrants from 39 countries

2026-06-06T05:58:49.403-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026 - A federal judge on Friday, June 5, ruled that President Donald Trump's administration had adopted a series of unlawful policies that have barred people from 39 countries from receiving decisions on applications for asylum, work permits, green cards and citizenship.

Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, struck down a slate of policies that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had adopted that he said left people from dozens of African, Asian, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries in "indeterminate legal limbo."

He said the immigrants had adhered to the legal processes that Congress had enacted and USCIS had adopted by regulation, yet had been "stuck waiting, for months on end, for benefit requests that USCIS refuses to adjudicate."

The judge, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama, said the agency adopted the policies without statutory and regulatory authority and based on "anti-immigrant sentiments that it is forbidden from letting influence its decision-making."

"USCIS’s hold on adjudications cannot be attributed to anything that these individuals did wrong; rather, it arises solely by the happenstance of their birth," he wrote.

The ruling marked a victory for a coalition of immigrant service organizations and labor unions that in March sued to challenge policies adopted by USCIS, which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"This ruling reaffirms a basic principle: the federal government cannot shut down lawful immigration pathways or discriminate against people based on where they come from," said Skye Perryman, the head of the liberal legal group Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs.

USCIS adopted the policies as part of a ramped-up immigration crackdown the Trump administration carried out after the November shooting of two National Guard members stationed in Washington, D.C., which prosecutors say was carried out by an Afghan immigrant.

The man, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, has pleaded not guilty. In the wake of that incident, Trump vowed on social media to "permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover," and he expanded the number of countries now subject to full or partial travel bans under his administration to cover 39 nations.

Countries subject to full travel bans included Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, Somalia, Venezuela and Syria. The administration justified the travel restrictions on vetting and security grounds.

The policies USCIS adopted placed a hold on processing immigration benefit applications from people from those 39 countries, which McConnell said "placed the lives of countless individuals on hold, solely by virtue of their countries of birth."

"But the rule of law has to apply to everyone equally and, as evident here, USCIS has neither 'followed the law' nor 'done things the right way,'" he wrote. "Indeed, the agency has violated the very immigration laws that Congress has charged it with administering, as well as the administrative laws that govern the agency’s actions."

ELON MUSK poised to become the world’s first trillionaire in few weeks

2026-06-06T05:57:39.566-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026 - Elon Musk could become the world's first trillionaire as his spaceflight company, SpaceX, prepares to go public this month in what would be the largest stock market debut in history. SpaceX is seeking to raise up to $75 billion (£55 billion) by selling 555.6 million shares at $135 each, which would give the company a market value of $1.77 trillion.

According to the amended prospectus, Musk's voting power will come primarily through his ownership of 5.22 billion Class B shares, which carry 10 votes per share. Following the offering, Musk would hold 82.4 percent of the company's voting power. Forbes currently estimates Musk's net worth at $826 billion, with his stake in SpaceX valued at $542 billion. A $1.77 trillion valuation would boost his net worth by $223 billion, making him a trillionaire.

Despite the blockbuster ambitions, SpaceX continues to operate at a loss. The filing shows the company lost $2.6 billion from operations last year on $18.7 billion in revenue, with losses continuing into this year.

The IPO document outlines Musk's long-term vision, which includes plans to use proceeds to help return humans to the moon and eventually establish a colony on Mars. "A permanent human colony" on the red planet with "at least one million inhabitants" is cited as a necessity as existential threats could consign humanity to "the same fate as the dinosaurs."

Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities wrote in a research note that he expects Tesla and SpaceX to merge next year. SpaceX plans to use net proceeds from the IPO to fund expansion of infrastructure for its artificial intelligence and rocket businesses, as well as to expand its Starlink satellite constellation. The company will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol "SPCX" and could begin trading as soon as the end of next week.

Spearfisher killed in Australia's third fatal shark attack in 4 weeks

2026-06-06T05:56:36.447-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026- A spearfisher has been killed in a shark attack in Australia, marking the third fatal incident in just four weeks and intensifying concerns over marine safety along popular coastal regions.

Emergency services were dispatched after reports of a serious attack offshore, but despite rapid response efforts, the victim could not be revived.

Authorities have closed nearby beaches and launched an immediate operation to locate and monitor shark activity in the area.

Marine rescue teams are using aerial surveillance and patrol units to track movement patterns, while officials urge the public to avoid entering the water until further notice.

The incident has heightened anxiety among coastal communities already shaken by recent similar fatalities.

Wildlife and marine safety experts say the cluster of attacks is unusual and are calling for closer monitoring of shark migration and feeding behavior.

While shark encounters remain statistically rare, the recent spike has prompted renewed debate over safety measures, including alert systems and beach management protocols.

Investigations are ongoing as authorities work to determine the specific circumstances of the latest attack.

Iran World Cup squad heads to Mexico as US visa row erupts

2026-06-06T05:54:32.210-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026- The Iran national football team is heading to Mexico as a diplomatic and logistical dispute with the United States escalates over visa approvals ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The squad’s relocation reflects growing uncertainty around entry permissions for parts of the delegation, even as preparations for the tournament enter a critical final phase.

According to officials and team reports, the players are traveling to their base camp in Mexico after receiving clearance to enter the country, while some support staff remain in limbo over U.S. visa decisions.

The team is expected to operate from Mexico and travel into the United States only for scheduled matches, a workaround designed to maintain participation amid ongoing political friction and tightened screening rules.

The situation has intensified debate around the intersection of global sport and geopolitics, with Iran criticizing the visa process as discriminatory while U.S. authorities maintain that security-based screening is being strictly applied.

Despite the tension, tournament organizers insist the competition schedule remains unchanged, and Iran is still set to compete in its group fixtures as the World Cup countdown continues.

BERNADETTE CHIRAC, formidable former first lady of France, dies at 93

2026-06-06T05:53:15.263-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026- Bernadette Chirac, the influential former first lady of France and long-time public figure, has died at the age of 93, marking the end of a prominent political and philanthropic era.

Known for her strong public presence and steady influence during the presidency of her husband, Jacques Chirac, she remained an active figure in French civic life long after leaving the Élysée.

Throughout her public career, she was closely associated with charitable initiatives, particularly in healthcare and support for vulnerable communities. Her work helped shape several long-running social programs in France, earning her recognition beyond political circles.

Even after stepping back from frontline public life, she remained a respected voice in discussions around public service and national identity.

Tributes have begun pouring in from political leaders and public figures across France, highlighting her resilience, influence, and long-standing contribution to public life.

As the country reflects on her legacy, attention is turning to her role in shaping the modern image of France’s first lady and her enduring impact on public welfare initiatives.

Israeli forces kill Palestinian baby boy during shooting in the occupied West Bank, health officials say

2026-06-06T05:51:32.118-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026- Health officials in the occupied West Bank have reported that a Palestinian infant was killed during a shooting incident involving Israeli forces, in an episode that has intensified already high tensions in the region.

According to local medical sources, the child was struck during an exchange of fire in a residential area, with emergency teams unable to save the baby upon arrival.

The Israeli military has not yet issued a detailed account of the specific circumstances surrounding the incident at the time of reporting, while similar events in the area are often described by authorities as occurring during counterterrorism or security operations.

The incident has drawn immediate concern from health officials and humanitarian observers, who are calling for a full and transparent investigation into how the shooting unfolded in a civilian-populated area.

The broader situation in the occupied West Bank remains highly volatile, with repeated cycles of raids, clashes, and civilian casualties contributing to escalating regional and international concern.

As calls grow for accountability and restraint, the latest incident is expected to further strain already fragile conditions on the ground and intensify diplomatic pressure regarding the conduct of military operations in densely populated areas.

Search for two missing men in Laos cave called off

2026-06-06T05:49:25.632-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026- Laos authorities have officially called off the search for two men who went missing in a remote cave system, ending a multi-day rescue operation that drew significant local attention and emergency resources.

The decision was made after extensive ground and water-based search efforts failed to locate any trace of the pair, despite challenging terrain and hazardous underground conditions.

Rescue teams faced extreme difficulties inside the cave network, including flooding risks, low visibility, and unstable passages that limited sustained access.

Divers, local guides, and emergency responders worked in rotation to expand search zones, but conditions deteriorated over time, forcing officials to prioritize the safety of rescue personnel. The operation was eventually scaled back as probabilities of survival diminished.

Authorities have expressed sympathy to the families and confirmed that the area will remain restricted while further assessments are conducted.

The incident has renewed attention on the dangers of unregulated exploration in remote natural sites, with officials urging stricter safety measures and better preparedness for adventure tourism in the region.

Italy introduces parental consent for sex education in schools

2026-06-06T05:47:14.391-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026- Italy has introduced a new policy requiring parental consent before students can participate in sex education programs in schools, marking a significant shift in how sensitive curriculum content is delivered nationwide.

The move places greater decision-making power in the hands of families, allowing parents to opt their children in or out of lessons covering topics such as reproductive health, relationships, and personal safety.

Education authorities say the change is aimed at increasing transparency and ensuring that families have direct involvement in shaping how such material is taught.

Schools are now expected to provide detailed outlines of course content in advance, enabling parents to make informed choices. Supporters of the policy argue it strengthens parental rights and respects cultural and personal values across diverse communities.

However, the decision has also sparked debate among educators and child welfare advocates, who warn that limiting access to standardized sex education could create gaps in awareness around health and safety topics.

Critics argue that consistent education in schools plays a key role in preventing misinformation and promoting responsible behavior among young people. As implementation begins, attention is turning to how schools will balance parental authority with educational consistency across the country.

19-year-old NARGES TORBATI remains detained without charge in Mashhad

2026-06-06T05:45:29.028-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026- A 19-year-old woman identified as Narges Torbati is reportedly being held without charge in Mashhad, raising renewed concern among human rights observers over due process and transparency in detention practices.

Information from rights-monitoring groups indicates that she has not been formally presented with charges or granted public access to legal proceedings, despite being held in custody for an extended period.

Her continued detention has drawn attention to broader patterns involving young detainees in the region, where cases of prolonged holding without clear legal status have been increasingly documented.

Advocates argue that lack of timely judicial review undermines legal safeguards, while authorities in similar cases often cite ongoing investigations or security considerations as justification for extended detention.

As scrutiny builds, calls are growing for either formal charges or immediate release in line with international legal standards.

The case is now being closely watched by legal observers and rights organizations, who warn that prolonged detention without charge risks escalating tensions and further eroding confidence in the justice process.

Traders face big losses after Uganda closes Congo border over Ebola contagion fears

2026-06-06T05:40:57.047-07:00

Saturday, June 6, 2026- Uganda’s decision to shut down key border crossings with the Democratic Republic of the Congo over Ebola containment fears is already triggering immediate economic pressure, with traders reporting sharp losses as cross-border movement grinds to a halt.

The closure, aimed at limiting potential disease transmission, has disrupted one of the region’s most active trade routes where goods, fuel, and food supplies move daily between communities.

Small and medium-scale traders are among the hardest hit, with perishable goods stuck at checkpoints and transport costs rising due to rerouted logistics.

Market activity in border towns has slowed significantly, and informal cross-border businesses often dependent on daily movement are facing sudden income losses.

While health authorities continue tightening surveillance and screening measures, economic activity remains heavily constrained.

Officials acknowledge the economic strain but insist the restriction is necessary to prevent a wider public health crisis. Discussions are ongoing around potential relief measures for affected traders, including support programs and trade corridor adjustments if conditions improve.

For now, uncertainty dominates the region as communities balance urgent health precautions against growing financial pressure and disrupted livelihoods.