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Vanilla, a 28-year-old chimpanzee, has lived her entire life in captivity without an unobscured view of the sky. But now, a heartwarming new video shows the great ape seeing the sky for the first time at an island chimp sanctuary in Florida.

For a portion of her early life, Vanilla lived inside a New York biomedical research facility, where she and dozens of other chimps (Pan troglodytes) were housed in small cages “suspended from the ground like bird cages,” according to a statement from Save the Chimps, a sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida, that rescued her and 29 of her peers.

After being removed from the New York facility in 1995, Vanilla and other captive chimps were shipped to the Wildlife Waystation, an animal rescue facility in California that shuttered in 2019, where she was boxed inside a roofed enclosure, cut off from the outside world, according to the Daily Mail.

“In California, Vanilla lived with a handful of chimps inside a chain-link-fence cage with no grass and very little enrichment,” Andrew Halloran, a primatologist and director of Save the Chimps, told the New York Post. 

Related: Chimps learned tool use long ago without human help

After the Wildlife Waystation closed, Vanilla and members of her cohort came to Save the Chimps via a FedEx airplane that’s part of FedEx Cares, a global community engagement program, before arriving to the organization’s sanctuary in a semi-truck. 

After spending time in quarantine, a standard procedure at the sanctuary, the chimps were gradually introduced into one of the facility’s larger family groups, according to a statement.

In the recently released video, Vanilla, at first hesitant, can be seen leaping out of a doorway and embraced by Dwight, a male chimp. Throughout the clip, she repeatedly looks skyward as she explores her new grassy, open-air habitat on the 3-acre (1.2 hectares) island.RELATED STORIES—Wild chimps and gorillas can form social bonds that last for decades

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“Shake [another rescued chimp] went out onto the island without hesitation, but Vanilla was a bit more apprehensive when the door opened to this new world,” Save the Chimps representatives wrote in the statement. “She sat in the doorway until Dwight, the alpha male, encouraged her to join him.”

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Science

NASA and ISRO Confirm Japan’s Moon Lander Resilience Crashed at Mare Frigoris

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NASA and ISRO Confirm Japan’s Moon Lander Resilience Crashed at Mare Frigoris

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and India’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter have captured images of Japan’s Resilience lunar lander after it suffered a catastrophic crash on the Moon. Resilience, developed by private firm ispace, had been attempting to touch down in the Mare Frigoris region on June 5. The lander was carrying scientific experiments and a small European lunar rover, Tenacious, slated to deploy an art model on the surface. Contact was lost about 100 seconds before the planned touchdown, and the new images show debris scattered around the impact site. These images provide the first confirmation of Resilience’s fate.

Crash site images reveal debris field

According to the captured crash site image by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter on June 11, 2025, there is a dark smudge of disturbed regolith where Resilience hit the surface. India’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter captured follow-up images on June 16 showing the debris field in greater detail. Astronomy experts identified at least a dozen fragments of the lander and its small rover Tenacious in these photos.

One enthusiast catalogued at least 12 separate debris items, though their exact spread is unclear. A faint bright halo of ejected dust surrounds the smudge, consistent with a violent impact. These detailed views provide clues to investigators piecing together how Resilience broke apart on impact.

Laser rangefinder fault pinpointed as cause

Resilience’s onboard laser altimeter began lagging about 100 seconds before landing, causing the descent to proceed too fast. On June 24, ispace confirmed that this rangefinder malfunction during descent prevented the lander from decelerating to the planned touchdown speed. The hard impact “likely tore the spacecraft apart” and destroyed all scientific payloads.

Investigators are examining factors like lunar surface reflectivity or hardware degradation as possible triggers of the failure. Resilience was ispace’s second Hakuto-R moon lander; its predecessor (April 2023) likewise crash-landed. CEO Takeshi Hakamada said the company is working on fixes and “will not let this be a setback” as it pursues future lunar missions.

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Environment

Trump administration moves to count crypto as a federal mortgage asset

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Trump administration moves to count crypto as a federal mortgage asset

FHFA preps to consider cryptocurrencies as an asset for mortgages

In a landmark shift for the U.S. housing finance system, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has issued a directive ordering Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to formally consider cryptocurrency as an asset in single-family mortgage loan risk assessments.

The move, signed by FHFA Director William J. Pulte on Wednesday, signals a new era of crypto integration into traditional financial infrastructure — this time within the core of American home lending.

The order directs both housing finance giants to develop proposals that include digital assets — without requiring borrowers to liquidate them into U.S. dollars prior to a loan closing.

Pulte said in a post on X that the move aligns with President Donald Trump‘s vision “to make the United States the crypto capital of the world.”

Historically, cryptocurrency has been excluded from underwriting frameworks due to volatility, regulatory uncertainty, and the inability to easily verify reserves. This directive changes that.

Read more CNBC tech news

The decision comes at a time of increasing institutional embrace of crypto across banking, payments, and federal policy.

“Cryptocurrency is an emerging asset class that may offer an opportunity to build wealth outside of the stock and bond markets,” the order states, acknowledging crypto’s growing role in household financial portfolios.

The directive restricts consideration to digital assets that are stored on U.S.-regulated, centralized exchanges and can be clearly evidenced. It also requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to develop internal adjustments to account for crypto’s market volatility and ensure that any risk-weighted reserves comprised of crypto do not compromise underwriting standards.

Under the directive, both enterprises must submit their assessment proposals to the boards of directors for approval and then to the FHFA for final review.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were put under government control in September 2008 as entities that are known as government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs.

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Environment

This new San Diego battery can power 200,000 homes during peak hours

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This new San Diego battery can power 200,000 homes during peak hours

Arevon Energy just brought a massive new battery storage project online in San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood, and it’s built to keep the lights on when the grid gets stressed.

The new Peregrine Energy Storage Project clocks in at 200 megawatts (MW)/400 megawatt-hours (MWh), making it one of the biggest battery storage facilities in the San Diego region. That’s enough stored energy to power around 200,000 homes for two hours during peak demand.

Built for $300 million, Peregrine is the fifth utility-scale energy storage project Arevon has launched in California. It uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are known for their safety and thermal stability. LFP batteries use iron, phosphate, and lithium to create a strong chemical bond that resists overheating, making them safer than other lithium-ion chemistries. They also have a longer lifespan and are less prone to degradation over time.

The facility created more than 90 construction jobs and is expected to generate over $28 million in property tax revenue over its lifetime.

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Energy storage projects like this are key to making California’s grid more stable and reliable. By soaking up clean energy when demand is low and discharging it when the grid is under strain, Peregrine helps reduce blackouts and avoid spikes in electricity prices.

“The successful completion of Peregrine Energy Storage is a result of the collaborative efforts of the project’s stakeholders and the local community who collectively support California’s renewable energy goals,” said Kevin Smith, CEO of Arevon.

Arevon already operates more than 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy projects in California, with another 800 MW under construction. Nationwide, it owns and operates 4.7 GW of solar and storage projects across 17 states.

Read more: SpaceX alums just supercharged EV charging at Costco


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