There's new information about the world's oldest flying reptile, which was discovered in Australia. The giant creature is known as a pterosaur and lived about 107 million years ago. According to a study published today in the journal History Biology, the animal had a wingspan that was 6.5 feet long and was the first vertebrate able to fly. It lived alongside dinosaurs during the Mesozoic Era, which began 252 million years ago.
SHARK SPOTTING
Meanwhile, this shark was recently spotted circling around a man and his son who were taking a dip at Orange Beach, Alabama. The footage was captured on a drone by a 15-year-old who was monitoring sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf is home to 50 species of sharks, only about half of which are known to have encounters with people.
BEE SWARM
Finally, a huge swarm of bees was filmed over a crowd of spectators at the Indianapolis 500 Race over the weekend. The video shows the bees hovering above spectators. The man who shot the video says the crowd was unfazed by the bees and was mostly focused on the race. There was even a beekeeper sitting a few rows away from the swarm who helped remove the bees after the race. He said there were an estimated 12,000 to 16,000 bees in the stands.
Carlo and Baker cover the latest developments after a devastating tornado outbreak over the weekend, plus an eye on Omicron and inflation, and not even Spielberg can save the box office.
Reusable rocket developer Stoke Space Technologies raised $65 million in a Series A round led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a firm founded by Bill Gates. Stoke says its reusable rockets provide the satellite industry with low-cost, on-demand access to and from orbit. As companies like SpacX and Blue Origin are also making commitments to rocket reusability, Stoke says it is taking a different approach with a system designed to be 100% reusable, comprised of rockets designed to fly daily, like an airplane. Stoke co-founder and CEO Andy Lapsa joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Humans are set to return to a place we have not been in nearly 50 years: the moon. NASA's Artemis program is expected to have astronauts back on the lunar surface by 2025. NASA says it will use what it learns on the moon to take the next giant leap - sending the first astronauts to Mars. The Artemis program also includes contributions from private companies like SpaceX, as well as academic research institutions like Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech professor of practice and former NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus joins Future of Space: Humankind's Leap Forward to discuss.
The CDC warns that COVID-19 is rapidly spreading with Omicron variant cases doubling every two days in the United States. How do current vaccines hold up against the new strain, and what does it mean for your upcoming holiday travel? Cheddar News breaks things down with infectious diseases specialist Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
President Joe Biden is expected to meet with his COVID-19 response team as the omicron variant continues to surge across the country. Experts say Delta is driving this surge but Dr. Anthony Fauci says Omicron will take over. Emergency physician Dr. Daniel Fagbuyi joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Omicron is on course to become the dominant COVID strain in the U.S., even as Delta is causing another spike in cases. According to Johns Hopkins University data, cases across the country are up 40% from last month, with New York City as a major hotspot. Outbreaks are now causing Broadway performances to be canceled, colleges and universities to shift to online classes, sports leagues to postpone games, and more. Dr. Jen Caudle, family physician and associate professor at Rowan University, joined Cheddar to discuss the surge in cases and how we can best protect ourselves against the new variant.
