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The first all-civilian crew ever to orbit the earth have blasted off on their historic mission.

The Dragon capsule containing the four citizen astronauts was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

The launch is the latest giant leap in a new era of commercial space travel.

One of those aboard the mission, billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, paid an undisclosed fee to SpaceX for the right to fly with three others.

Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux sit in the Dragon capsule
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Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux sit in the Dragon capsule

During its three-day journey the capsule will orbit the earth once every 90 minutes at a speed of more than 17,000mph and an altitude of 360 miles, higher than even the orbiting International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope.

Isaacman conceived the mission, named Inspiration4, to raise awareness and support for a children’s cancer hospital. He has pledged $100 million personally.

One of his crewmates, Hayley Arceneaux, was diagnosed with bone cancer as a ten-year-old. Now 29 and a physicians’ assistant at that cancer hospital, she is the youngest American ever to visit space and the first with a prosthesis.

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Although the craft is being controlled remotely from the ground it does have a designated pilot aboard. Sian Proctor, once a NASA astronaut candidate, is proud of her role aboard.

“There have been three black female astronauts that have made it to space and knowing that I’m going to be the fourth means that I have this opportunity to not only accomplish my dream, but also inspire, and inspire the next generation of women and girls of colour,” she said.

One person not on board is SpaceX founder Elon Musk but the mission is being seen as the next stage of fulfilling his ambition to reach new targets in space.

“If we’re going to go to the moon again and we’re going to go to Mars and beyond we’ve got to get a little outside of our comfort zone and take that next step in that direction,” said Isaacman.

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Why billionaires are going to space

This summer has seen billionaire space tourism rivals Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos reach the edge of space in vehicles they have spent millions building.

But experts say this orbital mission, with SpaceX already the frontrunner in the business of commercial space travel, is of greater significance.

Retired NASA astronaut Ron Garan Jr, who flew missions to the International Space Station aboard the Space Shuttle, told Sky News: “There are no passengers on this mission, they’re not there for minutes, they’re there for days, they have actual mission objectives that they’re trying to achieve, so it’s an order of magnitude more challenging and more risky.

“But this is the dawn of a new era of space travel.”

And that, according to planetary scientist Tanya Harrison, is good news for everyone who wants to go to space. “It is a huge step in showing it’s not just billionaires and their employees going into space but regular people and they’re going farther than we have in decades.”

The crew have have spent five months training for the mission. If all goes according to plan the capsule is due to splash down in the Atlantic in three days.

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Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

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Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next US attorney general.

Mr Gaetz, a controversial pick to be the country’s top legal official, said his selection was “unfairly becoming a distraction” to the transition of Mr Trump’s administration into the White House.

The Florida Republican had faced significant scrutiny over a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl.

He said in a post on the X social media platform: “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general. Trump’s DOJ (Department of Justice) must be in place and ready on Day 1.

“I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. I will forever be honoured that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”

Mr Trump said in a post on his own social media site, Truth Social, that Mr Gaetz had a “wonderful future”.

“I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” he wrote.

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“He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect.”

Mr Gaetz previously faced a nearly three-year Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl, which ended in February 2023 without him facing any criminal charges.

He has always denied the allegations.

He has also been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over wider allegations including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.

The inquiry was dropped on Wednesday 13 November when Mr Gaetz left Congress – the only forum where the committee has jurisdiction.

The Senate ethics committee is deadlocked on whether their report can be released.

Mr Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Mr Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that he could face resistance from members of his own party.

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Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

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Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

A 43-year-old man was shot dead by police after calling 911 to report intruders had entered his home in Las Vegas.

Brandon Durham was at home with his 15-year-old daughter when he called the emergency line to report armed intruders were trying to break into his property on 12 November.

Bodycam footage shows Mr Durham struggling with a person over a knife in the moments before he was shot and killed at the scene.

“The loss of life in any type of incident like this is always tragic, and it’s something we take very seriously,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said on Thursday.

The force is investigating the incident.

Mr Durham called 911 to report multiple people were outside shooting at his residence in Las Vegas’ Sunset Park neighbourhood, where he had been staying with his 15-year-old daughter, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reports.

It was one of multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting in the area.

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Mr Durham then said someone had managed to get into his home through the front and back doors of the property and he was locking himself in the bathroom, according to a police statement from 14 November, two days after the incident.

Officers reported to the scene at approximately 12:40am and could hear screaming from inside the residence.

One of the officers, Alexander Bookman, kicked open the front door and once inside, saw Mr Durham and another individual, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux, struggling over a knife in a doorway.

Mr Bookman ordered them to drop the knife and about two seconds later, the officer fired the gun and Mr Durham appeared to be struck, the bodycam footage shows.

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Both Mr Durham and Mr Boudreaux fell to the ground and the officer fired another five shots. Roughly three seconds are believed to have gone by between the first and last shot, NBC reports.

Attempts were made to save the 43-year-old but he died at the scene.

Ms Boudreaux was taken into custody and is facing charges of home invasion with a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon domestic violence; willful or wanton disregard of safety of persons resulting in death; and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.

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Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

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Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

A homeless man has been arrested and charged over a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

The 30-year-old man from Florida, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempting to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce, having unveiled some of his plans to undercover agents, according to the FBI.

They began investigating Yener in February based on a tip that he was holding “bomb-making schematics” in a storage unit.

Bomb-making sketches, many watches with timers, electronic circuit boards and other electronics that could be used for building explosive devices were found, the FBI said.

It also said he told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate the bomb the week before Thanksgiving and that the stock exchange in lower Manhattan would be a popular site to target, and that doing so “will wake people up”.

An agent also allegedly recorded him saying: “I feel like Bin Laden.”

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He described how he hoped the bomb would “reboot” the US government, explaining that it would be “like a small nuke went off,” killing everyone inside the building, according to court documents.

The documents also claim he had rewired two-way radios so that they could work as remote triggers for an explosive device and planned to wear a disguise when planting the explosives.

Yener, who had also searched online for things related to bomb-making since 2017, was sacked from his job at a restaurant in Florida last year after his former supervisor said he threatened to “go Parkland shooter in this place”, the FBI added.

He had his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon and will be detained while he awaits a trial.

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