By Marcia Dunn
NASA held its first public meeting on UFOs Wednesday a year after launching a study into unexplained sightings.
The space agency televised the hourslong hearing featuring an independent panel of experts. The team includes 16 scientists and other experts selected by NASA including retired astronaut Scott Kelly, the first American to spend nearly a year in space.
Several committee members have been subjected to “online abuse” for serving on the team, which detracts from the scientific process, said NASA's Dan Evans, adding that NASA security is dealing with it.
“It’s precisely this rigorous, evidence-based approach that allows one to separate the fact from fiction," Evans said.
The study is a first step in trying to explain mysterious sightings in the sky that NASA calls UAPs, or unidentified aerial phenomena.
The group is looking at what unclassified information is available on the subject and how much more is needed to understand what's going on in the sky, according to astrophysicist David Spergel, the committee's chair who runs the Simons Foundation.
No secret military data are included, such as anything surrounding the suspected spy balloons from China spotted flying over the U.S. earlier this year.
The meeting was held at at NASA headquarters in Washington with the public taking part remotely.
A final report is expected by the end of July.
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Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the first case of COVID-19 in the Senate and raising fears about the further transmission of the virus among Republicans at the Capitol.
Americans capable, willing, and able to donate blood are encouraged to do so during an era of social distancing.
New York is joining California in seriously altering daily operations after Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he will sign an executive order mandating that 100 percent of the non-essential workforce stay home. The order will go into effect Sunday night.
Stocks turned lower Friday on Wall Street after New York became the latest major state to mandate nearly all workers stay home to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams on Thursday warned young people that they are not immune to the worse consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.
The demographics of U.S. victims reflect adults most at risk — those who have died from COVID-19 range in age from their 50s to their 90s, and the overwhelming majority suffered from pre-existing conditions like diabetes, emphysema, and heart problems.
In the morning conference, the governor also waived mortgage payments for 90 days and revealed the spike in new cases bringing the full total to 4,152, the most in the nation.
The drug, hydroxychloroquine, was developed more than a half-century ago and is approved for treating malaria, arthritis, and other ailments. Reports out of China and Italy suggest the drug may help, but there is no hard data yet.
As the U.S. struggles to ramp up testing and respond to the spread of novel coronavirus within the nation’s borders, the president announced a series of stepped-up efforts to help the country and individuals.
Global coronavirus cases have surpassed 200,000 Wednesday morning and more than 8,200 have lost their lives since a novel virus appeared in the Hubei province of China late last year.
