NASA announced Sept. 16 that the spacecraft had experienced engine trouble on its way to the space station, with the main engine cutting off earlier than planned.
“NASA and Northrop Grumman are delaying the arrival of the Cygnus XL to the International Space Station as flight controllers evaluate an alternate burn plan for the resupply spacecraft. The Cygnus XL will not arrive to the space station on Wednesday, Sept. 17, as originally planned, with a new arrival date and time under review,” a statement by NASA read.
NASA said that everything else is performing as expected with the spacecraft.
Once the Cygnus spacecraft does arrive at the International Space Station, astronauts Jonny Kim and Zena Cardman will use the space station’s robotic Canadarm2 to grab and dock it.
This mission — refrred to as NG-23 — is the first flight of the company’s new Cygnus XL spacecraft. It is described as solar-powered, larger and a more capable cargo spacecraft compared to previous Cygnus models, which have flown multiple NASA resupply missions in the past.
It is not the first time a Cygnus spacecraft experienced an issue in flight. In 2022, a Cygnus spacecraft flying as part of the NG-18 mission failed to deploy a solar array, putting the spacecraft’s power levels at risk. Northrop Grumman and NASA were able to work around the issue, and the spacecraft was successfully captured by astronauts onboard the station.
As of the morning of Sept. 17, NASA had not released an update on the current issue.
Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay start the episode with updates on Donald Trump’s indictment (05:22) and the release of a letter from Mark Zuckerberg detailing the censorship pushed by the Biden administration (12:26). Then, they talk about Lil Duval’s tweet and the pandering (or lack thereof) toward Black men in politics (23:41). Finally, they recap the recent Keith Lee drama (36:52), Tyrese’s latest comments on the Black community (49:51), and the strange pattern in white influencers’ social media pasts (1:01:08).
Hosts: Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay Producer: Ashleigh Smith
Ukrainian emergency services conduct a search and rescue operation among the rubble of a destroyed hotel following a Russian strike in the town of Kramatorsk early in the morning on August 25, 2024.
Genya Savilov | Afp | Getty Images
Russia launched several missiles and drones overnight targeting northern and eastern Ukraine, injuring at least 29 people, Ukrainian military and local authorities said on Sunday.
The attack targeted Ukraine’s frontline regions of Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk, Ukraine’s air force said on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia has been pummelling Ukrainian border regions with strikes, and Kyiv said its surprise incursion earlier this month into Russia’s Kursk region aimed to hinder Moscow’s ability to stage such attacks.
“Most of the missiles did not reach their targets,” the air force said, adding that Russia launched an Iskander-M ballistic missile, an Iskander-K cruise missile and six guided air missiles. It did not specify how many missiles were destroyed.
A missile attack on the northern region of Sumy killed one person, injuring at least 16 more, including three children, local authorities said on Telegram.
Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region in the east, posted on Telegram that at least 13 people were injured in the Russian attacks, including a 4-year-old child.
Ihor Terekhov, mayor of Kharkiv city, said a gas pipeline was damaged in the city and at least two houses were destroyed and 10 damaged.
The air force said Russia launched nine attack drones, with Ukraine’s air defence systems destroying eight of them over the Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that Russia launched with a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Shares of China Evergrande were halted after plunging over 20% in early trading on Monday after a Hong Kong court ruled to liquidate the embattled property developer.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is almost here (or already out if you’re reading this after October 20) and you might want a refresher on the first game, from way back in 2018, before swinging back in and seeing what’s next for everyone’s favorite webhead.
The Week In Games: What’s Coming Out Beyond Marvel’s Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 2 actually does include a short recap video before you start playing, and it’s worth watching. But that video leaves out some key details and moments from the first Spider-Man game’s DLC episodes, as well as theMiles Morales-focusedspin-off. Never fear, True Believers. I’ve taken the time to concisely (as much as possible) summarize everything that happened in the first game, all its DLC, and the PS5 launch title, Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Ready? Here we go!
Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018)
Spider-Man starts with a call to Peter Parker from NYPD Captain Yuri Watanabe to assist with the arrest of Wilson Fisk, aka Kingpin. Spider-Man—with a hyphen as explained by the superhero himself—joins in, helps the police capture Fisk, then quickly leaves to get back to work at his day job.
Peter Parker aka Spider-Man (don’t tell JJ Jameson) is revealed to work for Dr. Otto Octavius. In the comics and films, he’s known as the villain Doc Ock, and has giant mechanical arms. But this time around, Dr. Octavius isn’t evil and instead wants to help people, even if it doesn’t always pay the bills, which inspires Parker to be even better. Boy, I hope this lovely relationship between surrogate father and son doesn’t get ruined…
A few days later, after defeating C-tier villain Shocker, Spider-Man encounters Mary Jane Watson during a museum heist. But Parker and Watson aren’t dating or married in this version of the Marvel universe. Instead, they broke up before the game started and are now separated. And yeah, it’s kind of awkward.
digitalshot / Marvel / Sony
After working together to help foil the heist—though failing to stop the gang from stealing a folder with important info—MJ and Parker meet up at a favorite restaurant to chat about things. It goes about as well as you’d expect between two exes who haven’t talked in a bit. Later, after some police sirens bring their meeting to an abrupt end, Parker heads over to FEAST, a homeless shelter run by his Aunt May and created by Martin Li. During the heist, MJ grabbed a creepy mask worn by the gang members and Parker thinks Li—an art expert—can help shed some light on it. Li warns Parker the masks are used by a dangerous gang and that he should stay away. Li seems nice but actually…
Li is a powerful supervillain, Mr. Negative, and is running a gang called the Inner Demons—the same ones who robbed the museum and grabbed the folder. It turns out Li hates Norman Osborn, who is mayor of New York City. With Fisk gone, Li and his gang take over Kingpin’s turf and resources with plans to use them against Osborn and the city. Oh and also, guess who else hates Osborn? Dr. Otto Octavius. He holds a grudge against the mayor for betraying him and kicking him out of Oscorp after they founded the company together.
We also learn that Octavius is suffering from a disease that’s destroying his body. However, Peter helps the doctor work on mechanical prosthetics that can be controlled via neural implants. Regardless, the disease (and hatred) corrupt the doctor and soon he’s scheming to hurt Osborn and get his revenge. Anybody else in this city have problems with Osborn…?
Later, at a rally for Norman Osborn’s re-election, Li and the Inner Demons attack. Norman Osborn gets away, but Miles Morales’ father—a police officer who helped Spider-Man—isn’t so lucky, and perishes in a suicide bomber’s blast. Parker tries to connect with Morales, as he knows how he feels, and ultimately gets him to join FEAST. Oh, and during the attack on the rally, Peter Parker sees Martin Li turn into Mr. Negative.
At some point, while helping out at FEAST, the still grieving Miles Morales is bitten by a strange spider accidentally brought in by MJ after she sneaks into Osborn’s labs. Wonder if that means anything…
Santosx07 / Marvel / Sony
Following some investigating, Spider-Man and MJ discover that Martin Li has stolen a bioweapon, called the Devil’s Breath, that Osborn inadvertently created while searching for a universal cure for all diseases. (Wonder why he wants that…) Li and his demons then attempt to deploy it but are stopped by Spider-Man and MJ. He’s arrested and sent to the Raft, a super-secure prison. Meanwhile, Dr. Octavius goes full Doc Ock, building powerful mechanical arms and staging a prison break of the Raft, freeing classic Spider-Man villains including Rhino, Scorpion, Vulture, and the recently arrested Martin Li.
After almost dying while trying to stop all of the villains from escaping, Spider-Man is left drifting in the waters outside NYC. Meanwhile, Doc Ock goes to Times Square and releases the dangerous Devil’s Breath bioweapon into the air, causing any who come into contact with it to develop a deadly disease. But don’t worry, there is a cure! Bad news: Osborn has it and he’s hiding behind private mercs he hired to capture the Demons. These mercs are led by the badass Silver Sable. She… doesn’t like Spider-Man.
Later, Spidey is rescued by NYPD Captain Watanabe. He’s hurt, but he pushes through the pain and goes after the villains who are now causing chaos across an infected NYC. After cleaning up that mess, Spider-Man tracks down Martin Li, who has discovered Osborn’s location and is holding him hostage.
Spider-Man fights Li, but eventually convinces him to give up his need for revenge against Osborn, who in the past tested Devil’s Breath on Li, which gave him his powers, but also led to the deaths of his parents. However, at just that moment, Doc Ock shows up and overpowers Spider-Man, nearly killing him. Octavius then leaves with Osborn and the cure. Silver Sable, who at this point realizes that Spider-Man is good and Osborn sucks, helps bring Spider-Man to FEAST where he recovers for a bit.
Targa / Marvel / Sony
Once he’s feeling better and has built a new, tougher suit, he goes after Doc Ock. During the fight, Octavius reveals that he’s known about Peter’s secret identity for quite some time now, angering Peter as it means that the doctor has, essentially, been trying to kill him or at least let him get killed for days now. Rough stuff. Thanks to Peter’s new suit, he beats Doc Ock, who gets arrested, and brings the cure back to FEAST, where Aunt May is dying from exposure to Dragon’s Breath.
Because this is a Spider-Man story, Peter is forced to make a gut-wrenching choice. There is only one vial of the cure. He can use it to save Aunt May, but that’s it. Or he can give it to a scientist helping them who can, in a few days, turn it into a cure for everyone. Although Peter wants to save May, he knows he can’t. Before she dies, May reveals that she’s known Peter’s secret for a while. May also tells him how proud she is of him and reassures Peter about his choice to save the city over her. She then quietly dies next to Peter. And I cried.
In a mid-credits scene, we learn that Morales has developed Spider-Man-like powers and Peter Parker reveals his secret to the young teen. In a post-credits scene, Norman Osborn’s son and Parker’s best friend, Harry Osborn—who is said to be visiting Europe—is revealed to be in a coma inside a large medical tank. A strange black goo is wrapped around him, helping him fight a disease that killed his mom.
Marvel’s Spider-Man DLC (2019)
A few months have passed since the destruction of Fisk’s empire, and all the damage wrought by the Inner Demons and Dragon’s Breath. After all that, another power vacuum has formed in NYC and the Maggia crime families want to take over. MJ learns that a lost painting is currently on display and the Maggia crime family wants it. Spider-Man is alerted and stops them from stealing it; however, master thief Black Cat gets her hands on it and breaks it open to grab a secret data drive.
Spider-Man learns that Hammerhead, one of the five heads of the Maggia crime empire, has hired Black Cat to steal four data drives belonging to the other dons. Spidey tracks down Black Cat and confronts her about why she’s working with Hammerhead and what’s up with these drives. She won’t say what’s on the drives, but reveals that if she doesn’t do what Hammerhead wants, they will kill her son. Later, MJ discovers that long ago the families agreed to combine all their assets in one place to create peace. The ability to access these assets was split across five USB drives, and whoever gets them all can take everything and bankrupt the families.
Eventually, Spider-Man tracks down the last data drive, but Black Cat beats him there, and a chase ensues. When he finally catches her, he convinces her to let him help her break free of Hammerhead. The plan: Spidey will look for Black Cat’s son while she stalls the gangster. This leads to Black Cat learning about a massive vault Hammerhead recently bought, and she deduces that her son is being held in there.
With Spider-Man’s help, and after learning that Hammerhead has taken Sable merc weapons and tech from the NYPD after the Devil’s Breath crisis, Black Cat finds the vault. (Yes, Silver Sable’s mercenary company is called Sable.) But she leaves right as some goons show up. Once defeating them all, Spidey enters the vault and sees a briefcase inside that once held a USB drive.
Shirrako / Marvel / Sony
Black Cat then traps Spider-Man in the vault and reveals that she took Hammerhead’s own drive—contained in the secure vault—and gave the gang leader fake USB drives and kept them all for herself. Also, she lied about having a son to trick Spider-Man into helping her. She escapes, but Hammerhead soon learns of her deception and plants bombs in Black Cat’s penthouse, blowing it up and seemingly killing her in the process.
A few days pass and all-out war engulfs NYC as the Maggia families have united against Hammerhead’s goons. Spider-Man and Captain Watanabe help lead a SWAT team assault on one of Hammerhead’s bases to possibly capture him. But after getting split up, Yuri Watanabe and her team are ambushed by Hammerhead who kills everyone and nearly gets Watanabe before Spider-Man saves her. This deeply traumatizes the NYPD captain and she vows revenge.
Later, Spider-Man learns that Hammerhead is after “Project Olympus” and plans on capturing and killing the other Maggia family dons. Despite police trying to protect the family heads, Hammerhead captures them and brings them to a construction site to kill them.
Spider-Man shows up just in time to save them, but runs into Hammerhead who is now wearing a powerful suit of armor—revealing what “Project Olympus” was—and the two fight. Spider-Man wins (duh…) but Watanabe interferes and shoots Hammerhead dead. Or so everybody thinks, as we later see him revived and carried away by his goons.
A short while after all that, Spider-Man and MJ learn that Hammerhead is alive and in hiding. He’s trying to steal more Sable tech and this leads to Sliver Sable returning to stop him. She works with Spider-Man and they discover Hammerhead wants to meet her on top of a tower in NYC. She goes after him, even though Spidey warns it might be a trap. Spoilers: It’s a trap.
Spider-Man saves Silver Sable and they fight together to defeat Hammerhead’s goons. Eventually, Hammerhead himself shows up and is now a full-on cyborg thanks to more Sable tech he stole. He fights the Sable and Spidey, nearly winning. But Black Cat shows up and saves Spidey, while Hammerhead gets away with Silver Sable. Black Cat apologizes for all the deception and gives Spider-Man a data drive that will help him beat Hammerhead.
MrRedRivers / Marvel / Sony
Spider-Man tracks down Silver Sable, who is being held in the sewers. He saves her from being tortured and, using the data drive, they discover they must melt down Hammerhead’s steel head with a massive amount of heat to finally defeat him. Using a powerful Sable-tech laser, Spider-Man and Silver Sable break through his steel-plated head and they eventually defeat him.
In a post-credits scene, Miles Morales is seen training with Spider-Man, which takes us right into…
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020)
Set roughly a year later, Miles Morales opens with Peter and Miles working together as Spider-Men and fighting Rhino. During this fight, Miles Morales discovers he has a unique electricity-like power referred to as “Venom.” (Not to be confused with Venom, the character that is appearing in the sequel.) Anyway, Parker tells Morales that he is leaving with Mary Jane to help her with a news story in Symkaria, aka the homeland of Silver Sable.
Now alone, Miles Morales is protecting NYC by himself. To help the lone Spider-Man keep the city safe, Morales’ friend Ganke creates an app that lets people report crimes and strange events happening around New York City. Later, Morales has to stop a criminal gang known as the Underground from stealing a powerful prototype energy source, Nuform, from the Roxxon Energy Corporation.
While all this is happening, Mile Morales’ uncle, Aaron Davis, figures out his nephew is Spider-Man. He promises not to tell his mom and tells the young Spidey to call him if he ever needs help. He seems like a good dude!
Jekavac TV / Marvel / Sony
Shortly after all that, another big fight happens between Roxxon and the Underground. During this tussle, Spider-Man learns that the leader of the gang, a villain known as The Tinkerer, is actually none other than his childhood friend Phin. Cue the dramatic music! While trying to stop more Nuform from being stolen, Morales accidentally destroys it with his new Venom powers, and the citizens of New York grow upset with the new Spidey. But Morales does figure out another neat trick he can do: This Spider-Man can turn invisible.
After some investigating and punching, Miles learns that Phin, aka The Tinkerer, had a brother, Rick, who created Nuform while he worked at Roxxon. However, the powerful energy source made him sick. Phin and Rick work together to try and expose the truth about Nuform, that it’s dangerous and deadly, but Rick gets killed before the public can be warned. Phin, desperate and angry, works with Miles to help stop Roxxon and its CEO, and warn people about Nuform.
But wait, remember Uncle Aaron? Well, he is the Prowler, a dangerous villain who sometimes kills people for money. Boy, Miles Morales knows a lot of secret superheroes and supervillains.
At first, Prowler helps Miles infiltrate Roxxon to get revenge for Rick’s death and expose the truth about Nuform. But eventually, Prowler betrays Miles, capturing the younger Spider-Man and holding him for his own good, or so he believes. He explains that it’s best to let Roxxon and the Underground destroy themselves. But Miles disagrees, explaining that heroes don’t sit back while people get hurt. Spider-Man escapes using his powers and fights Prowler, beating up his uncle in the process.
Miles Morales then learns that Phin and the Underground’s plan to destroy the Roxxon building will also destroy most of Harlem. Wishing to save his neighborhood and stop Phin, Morales quickly goes after her and stops her just before it’s too late and convinces Phin that what she’s doing is wrong. She agrees and helps Miles stop the explosion.
Cinema Clips / Marvel / Sony
To do so, Morales uses his Venom abilities to absorb all the energy of the Nuform into his body and Phin flies him into the air high above the city, where he can detonate all that stored-up power safely. Miles Morales lives, but Phin doesn’t.
The incident puts a spotlight on Roxxon, its CEO, and Nuform. Roxxon ends up in hot water and its CEO is arrested. Aaron, inspired by his nephew, turns himself in as the Prowler and reveals to authorities that Roxxon hired him to do criminal acts. He testifies against Roxxon, helping seal the CEO’s fate.
Meanwhile, after he risked his life to save Harlem, NYC’s populace is back on Miles’ side. Peter Parker returns and the two Spider-Men catch up and get back to protecting New York City, together.
Finally, in a post-credits scene, we see Norman Osborn talking to Curt Connors aka the Lizard. They are discussing Harry Osborn, who is once again seen inside a tank covered in black goo. It seems he’s getting released soon…
It’s Perfectly Healthy to Masturbate, But Is It Possible to Overdo It?
What do you call a completely normal behavior that a majority of adult men partake in regularly, but that society oftentimes likes to make you feel guilty about? You may have euphemistically referred to this activity as “choking the chicken” or “playing pocket pool” at an earlier age, believing the word itself too taboo to touch, but you know what we’re talking about here is masturbation.
If you’ve masturbated in the past month, the past week, even the past 24 hours, give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back. You, dear pal, are part of a super, non-exclusive group made up of the vast majority of adult men living in the U.S. According to one study, over 70 percent of boys have masturbated at least once by the time they reach age 17. By the time they reach adulthood? Well, by then it’s viewed as a universal behavior.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with masturbating on the regular (whatever that may mean on an individual level). In fact, it’s viewed as an integral part of normal sexual development, and can lead to a number of benefits.
“Many people find masturbation to orgasm to be a stress reliever and mood elevator due to both the chemical response it causes, as well as the tension and then relaxation of muscles after the fact,” says Dr. Vanessa Valentino, a New York City-based psychologist and sex therapist.
“[Masturbation] often helps people know their body and experience more pleasure in sexual encounters with others,” she adds.
You might be wondering what the catch is here. Is there a dark side to masturbation you should know about? In short, as with all good things, too much of it — at least too much reliance on it, in terms of both your physical and mental well-being — can become problematic.
Here’s what you need to know about the potentially negative side effects of masturbating too much.
Psychological Impact
The reason we masturbate is pretty straightforward: it makes us feel good, even if only temporarily. But there is a drawback when you return to the well too many times.
“When you masturbate, you experience a release of the neurotransmitter dopamine,” explains Michele Day, sex addiction therapist, coach, consultant and director of the Chicago Center for Sex & Wellbeing. “Dopamine hits the reward centers of the brain and is the same neurotransmitter that is released when people abuse drugs — cocaine, heroin, alcohol, etcetera. People who compulsively masturbate receive ‘dopamine hits,’ which leaves them sated temporarily, but when that doesn’t last, they return for more.”
That, as Day points out, is when compulsive behavior can come into play, which is where things can go south.
“Compulsive or addictive masturbation can leave you feeling depressed and shameful due to depletion of neurotransmitters and your inability to stop the behavior,” she says.
Also of concern, according to Valentino, is using masturbation as a coping mechanism.
“It should not be relied on to manage mood,” she says. “If you are becoming dependent on masturbation to function or feel happy, it is time to see a psychologist who specializes in sex therapy.”
Its Impact on Your Sex Life
Masturbation is an equally normal behavior whether you’re riding solo or boo’ed up (in which case mutual masturbation can come into play). That said, your method(s) of masturbation can sometimes lead to issues in the bedroom with your partner.
“The way you are masturbating, both physical technique, duration, and what porn you watch or your fantasies, can all potentially have negative side effects if they are not similar to what your experience is during real sex with your partner,” says Dr. Valentino. “Many of my patients have an issue due to a longstanding pattern of non-transferable fantasy with masturbation, resulting in sexual performance issues.”
In addition to being unable to perform the way you would like to, this can also lead your partner to think they are doing, or have done, something wrong — or worse. “The partner often feels that there is ‘something wrong with them’ when their lover isn’t aroused,” explains Day. “Compulsive masturbators will frequently let their partners believe this as a way to escape the shame that they feel.”
Its Impact on Other Aspects of Life
There is no over/under on the number of times it’s considered appropriate to masturbate within a given timeframe, whether we’re talking a day, a week, or a month. Everyone masturbates at a different frequency, and it only becomes problematic when it begins to interfere with other aspects of your life that deserve your attention.
These are the questions you need to confront, according to Day, if you feel the behavior has become compulsive: “Are you masturbating and/or looking at pornography at work? Are you isolating from others so you can stay at home and masturbate? Have you been in a car accident because you were looking at pornography and/or masturbating? Do you hide your masturbation from your partner? Are you tired in the morning because you were up late watching pornography and/or masturbating?”
If any of these situations sound familiar, seeking out professional help could be tremendously beneficial.
“If you are neglecting your partner, your work, your social life, etcetera, it may be time to rein it in and seek the help of a psychologist who specializes in sex therapy,” advises Valentino. “You probably will not be able to undo this on your own, but some brief therapy can be very helpful.”
Developing Feelings of Guilt or Shame
A final aspect of too much masturbation to consider is the guilt/shame factor. Meaning, you like to masturbate but can’t help feeling guilty after having done so, as if you’ve done something wrong or are a bad person for engaging in that kind of behavior.
As Day puts it: “A lot of people were raised that their bodies and sex are something to be ashamed about, especially in American culture, but they are not.”
Guilt and shame surrounding masturbation stem from different places, explains Valentino. The former signifies that you have a negative perception of masturbation, likely internalized by social influences, while the latter suggests you think society would judge you for engaging in the act.
“These are rooted in different causes, and are treated somewhat differently in therapy,” says Valentino. “Psychotherapy focused on sex issues that applies cognitive behavioral techniques would help resolve this issue, and the underlying confidence issues in your own decision making.”
Masturbation is a normal behavior that an overwhelming majority of men engage in. Whether you partake or you don’t, what’s most important is that your decision is coming from a positive place (as opposed to, for example, feeling so shameful about the activity that you are unable to engage in it).
