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It was like a game of telephone, only with no cell phone service.

Theories about Thursday massive disruption swirled on social media, with blame for the widespread outage leveled at US foes Russia and China, as well as aliens, solar flares and even Netflix — which some suggested created the havoc to promote an apocalyptic film with an eerily similar tech blackout.

No official reason has yet surfaced for why there more than 74,000 AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon users reported that they lost cell service Thursday morning. Countless others didn’t lodge a report even though they were impacted by the outage.

Some police departments stopped receiving 911 calls during the ongoing outage, while similar issues were reported at smaller carriers like Boost Mobile, Consumer Cellular and Straight Talk Wireless.

The most credible-sounding scenario focused on the sun, which emitted two solar flares on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) warned the “strong flare event” could include “temporary degradation or complete loss of [high frequency radio] signal on much of the sunlit side of the Earth.”

The government agency, however, quickly shot down the theory that flares caused the loss of cell service.

“Bottom line: this outage appears to be a coincidence not connected to the X class solar flares,” an NOAA told The Post.

A separate statement prepared by the NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center read: “Based on the intensity of the eruption and associated phenomena, it is highly unlikely that these flares contributed to the widely reported cellular network outages.”

Users on X pointing to more terrestrial threats like Russia, whose leader Vladimir Putin has been apparently been looking into nuking US satellites, as The Post previously reported.

“Russia out here shutting down our cell phone service!” one user declared.

“I really dont want to jump the gun here and point a finger at Russia but this cell phone outage thing is screaming it,” another said.

The outage came one week after Russias alleged satellite-killing and nuclear ambitions in space sent some members of Congress into full-blown panic mode.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby confirmed that the uproar on Capitol Hill was indeed over an anti-satellite capability that Russia is developing” that the US believes could fundamentally cripple the military and the American way of life.

The names of other US enemies were also floated by mainstream politicians.

“Todays cell phone outage should serve as a stark reminder of the cyber security threat that America faces every day,” Michigan’s Mike Rogers, who is running for a Senate seat, wrote on X:

Im no conspiracy theorist, but if I were, I would put the cell phone outage on China doing a test run

“We must be prepared in the event that China, Russia, Iran, or any of their proxies launch an attack on our critical infrastructure and harden our defenses to protect Americans,” Rogers added.

Another user shared to X: “Im no conspiracy theorist, but if I were, I would put the cell phone outage on China doing a test run.”

Others, however, guessed that it could be aliens.

“Complete Lockdown, Phone Outage Nationwide. If Aliens ever were to Attack, now would be the perfect time…just saying,” one X user posted.

Another far-out theory suggested that Netflix was behind the blackout as part of an elaborate marketing scheme to promote its horror film starring Julia Roberts, “Leave the World Behind” — where satellites go offline in an apparent cyberattack, leaving all communications offline as characters panic about a societal breakdown.

Well played #Netflix .. if you wanted us to watch #leavetheworldbehind then all you had to do was say that… This whole taking down #att network is a bit much.. but the marketing strategy is working. #sosonly #attoutage pic.twitter.com/HOrn6Oo5qq

“Leave the World Behind” has been at the center of other conspiracy theories after counting former president Barack Obama as one of its producers.

This time, amid a nationwide outage eerily similar to the one featured in the movie, viewers said: “Well played #Netflix .. if you wanted us to watch #leavetheworldbehind then all you had to do was say thatThis whole taking down #att network is a bit much.. but the marketing strategy is working. #sosonly #attoutage.”

The movie, however, isn’t new. It debuted in select theaters last November, and premiered on Netflix the following month.

Still, another wrote, “WHAT IN THE LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND IS GOING ON,” while a third chimed in: “Obama told us in that Netflix movie we was gone start having outages.”

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Science

Earth’s Oceans Enter Danger Zone Due to Rising Acidification, New Study Warns

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Earth’s Oceans Enter Danger Zone Due to Rising Acidification, New Study Warns

The oceans of Earth are in worse condition than it was, thought, said the scientists. This is because of the increased acidity levels that led the sea to enter the danger zone five years ago. As per the new study, oceans are more acidic by releasing carbon dioxide from industrial activities such as fossil fuel burning. This acidification of the oceans damages marine life and the ecosystem, in turn threatening the coastal human communities that are dependent on healthy waters for their life.

Oceans May Have Crossed the Danger Zone in 2020

In the study published on Monday, June 9, 2025, in the journal Global Change Biology, researchers have found that acidification is highly advanced tha it was considered in the previous years. Our oceans might have entered the danger zone in the year 2020. Previous research suggested that the oceans of Earth were approaching a danger zone for ocean acidification.

How Ocean Acidification Happens

Ocean acidification is driven by the absorption of ocean of excess CO2 into the ocean, which is rapidly contributing to the global crisis. CO2 dissolves in seawater, forming carbonic acid, lowering pH levels and invading the vital carbonate ions. This threatens the species in the water, such as corals and shellfish, which depend on calcium carbonate to build their skeletons and shells.

The Planetary Boundary May Be Breached

Recent research depicts that the ocean acidification levels may now be breached, crossing the previous estimate of a 19% aragonite decline from the previous industrial levels. Scientists are alarmed that this change could destabilise the ecosystems of marine and, in turn, the coastal economies. This is a ticking bomb with socioeconomic and environmental consequences.

Global Consequences of Acidification

The recent findings suggest that scientists have feared in the past. Ocean acidification has reached dangerous levels, exceeding the limit that is needed to maintain a healthy and stable environment. As critical habitats degrade, the rippling effects are expected to cause harm to biodiversity, impact food security for many of the people who depend on the oceans for their livelihood.

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Science

NASA Chandra Spots Distant X-Ray Jet; Telescope Faces Major Budget Cuts

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NASA Chandra Spots Distant X-Ray Jet; Telescope Faces Major Budget Cuts

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory has detected an enormous X-ray jet from quasar J1610+1811, observed at a distance of about 11.6 billion light-years (roughly 3 billion years after the Big Bang). The jet spans over 300,000 light-years and carries particles moving at roughly 92–98% of the speed of light. It is visible in X-rays because high-energy electrons in the jet collide with the much denser cosmic microwave background at that epoch, boosting microwave photons into X-ray energies. These results were presented at the 246th AAS meeting and accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.

Discovery of the Distant X-ray Jet

According to the study, Chandra’s high-resolution X-ray imaging, combined with radio data, allowed the team to isolate the jet at such a great distance. At the quasar’s distance (about 3 billion years after the Big Bang), the cosmic microwave background was much denser. As a result, relativistic electrons in the jet efficiently scatter CMB photons to X-ray energies. From the multiwavelength data the researchers infer that the jet’s particles are moving at roughly 0.92–0.98 c. Such near-light-speed outflows are among the fastest known.

These powerful jets carry enormous energy into intergalactic space and provide a unique probe of how black holes influenced their surroundings during the universe’s early “cosmic noon” era.

Chandra’s Future at Risk

However, the Chandra mission now faces possible defunding: NASA’s proposed budget calls for drastic cuts to its operating funds. For nearly 25 years, Chandra has been a cornerstone of X-ray astronomy, so its loss would constitute a major setback. The SaveChandra campaign warns that losing Chandra would be an “extinction-level event” for U.S. X-ray astronomy. Scientists warn that ending Chandra prematurely would cripple X-ray science.

Andrew Fabian commented Science magazine, “I’m horrified by the prospect of Chandra being shut down prematurely”. Elisa Costantini added in an interview with Science that if cuts proceed, “you will lose a whole generation ” and it will leave “a hole in our knowledge” of high-energy astrophysics. Without Chandra’s capabilities, many studies of the energetic universe would no longer be possible.

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Politics

Vietnam legalizes crypto under new digital technology law

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Vietnam legalizes crypto under new digital technology law

Vietnam legalizes crypto under new digital technology law

Vietnam has passed a sweeping digital technology law that legalizes crypto assets and outlines incentives for AI, semiconductors, and infrastructure.

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