Musk says SpaceX will keep funding internet service for Ukraine
Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX, abruptly reversed his decision Saturday, saying his company would continue to fund the operation of the Starlink internet service in Ukraine, where it has become a digital lifeline for both soldiers and civilians.
Musk, the world’s richest man, drew criticism Friday when he said on Twitter that his company could not “indefinitely” fund Ukraine’s use of Starlink. The service has been crucial for the Ukrainian army’s communication as it advances into territory occupied by Russia and defends against continued Russian attacks.
CNN reported that SpaceX had sent a letter to the Pentagon last month asking it to take over the funding of Ukraine’s use of Starlink, which is built and operated by SpaceX.
But on Saturday Musk changed course, again posting his decision on Twitter.
“The hell with it,” he wrote. He added that “even though Starlink is still losing money” and “other companies are getting billions” in tax dollars, “we’ll just keep funding” the Ukrainian government for free.
Musk had helped provide Ukraine with access to the service after Russia invaded in late February. About 20,000 Starlink terminals, which were designed to work with satellites orbiting in space to provide online access, have been delivered to Ukraine.
It is not clear who is footing the bill for the service. A document obtained by The New York Times showed that as of September, Starlink terminals had been funded in part by the United States, the United Kingdom and Poland.
The document showed that while SpaceX donated about 3,000 terminals to Ukraine, other governments and allies provided funds for nearly 17,000. Musk has previously said that SpaceX is footing the monthly bill for the service that is streamed to the terminals.
Musk’s Starlink comments come a week after he drew a fierce rebuke from Ukrainian officials for proposing a peace plan to end the war that included ceding territory to Russia.
Serial killer suspect: A man suspected of killing six men and wounding a woman in Northern California was arrested before dawn Saturday as he was apparently searching for another victim, police said.
Acting on tips and police work, investigators tracked and watched a man and stopped him in a car at about 2 a.m. in Stockton, where five of the shootings took place, Police Chief Stanley McFadden said.
Wesley Brownlee, 43, of Stockton, was dressed in black, had a mask around his neck, had a gun and “was out hunting,” McFadden said.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Brownlee had an attorney to speak on his behalf.
Police had been searching for a man clad in black who was caught on video at several crime scenes in Stockton, where five men were ambushed and shot to death between July 8 and Sept. 27.
Yellowstone recovery: Four months after raging floodwaters swept through Yellowstone National Park, forcing it to close for about a week and chasing more than 10,000 visitors to safety, the rebuilding reached a milestone on Saturday as the park reopened its Northeast Entrance Road to vehicular traffic, the National Park Service said.
Five sections of the road were significantly damaged
in June when four days of record rainfall, combined with melting snow and rising temperatures, brought flooding and mudslides that tore out bridges and changed the course of rivers.
The northern reaches of Yellowstone, which is the oldest national park in the United States, were hit the hardest.
Marine Corps vehicle: The Marine Corps has halted some operations of its new amphibious combat vehicles after one of the armored vehicles rolled over in surf during training off California’s Camp Pendleton.
The three crew members weren’t injured, a Marine Corps statement said Friday.
The Marine Corps banned the eight-wheeled vehicles from going into or out of surf zones, except for testing, while more analysis is performed. The vehicles can still be used on land, in protected waters and in the open ocean.
It was the second time this year that restrictions have been placed on the use of amphibious combat vehicles. Open-water operations were halted after one of the vehicles rolled onto its side and another was disabled in unusually high surf July 19. The pause was lifted last month.
The new vehicles, which are being tested and used in California, are designed to transport troops and their equipment from Navy ships to land. They are being rolled out to replace the Marine’s aging amphibious assault vehicle, which is lighter, slower and runs on tracks instead of wheels.
Turkey mine explosion:
Funerals for miners killed in a coal mine explosion in northern Turkey began Saturday as officials raised the death toll to at least 41 people. There were 110 miners working below ground at the time of the explosion Friday evening.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived Saturday at the state-owned mine in the town of Amasra, in the Black Sea coastal province of Bartin, and was flanked by officials, miners and rescuers as he vowed to bring an end to mining disasters, while saying he believes in “fate.”
Eleven were injured and hospitalized, with five in serious condition, while 58 others managed to get out of the mine on their own or were rescued unharmed.
Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said rescue efforts were complete.
Turkey disinformation:
Turkey’s parliament has passed sweeping new legislation intended to stamp out disinformation, allowing the government to jail journalists and social media users for up to three years for spreading information deemed to be false or misleading.
The final piece of the
legislation, which also requires social media companies to hand over the personal details of users suspected of spreading “fake news,” was approved Thursday night with votes from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s governing party and its allies, who control a parliamentary majority.
Erdogan, who has concentrated more power in his hands in recent years while growing less tolerant of dissent, had argued it was necessary to fight disinformation and called social media a threat to democracy.
But critics — including opposition lawmakers, media freedom advocates and legal scholars — have criticized the law itself.
The see it as a threat to democracy, saying its vague provisions could have a chilling effect on free expression and enable the government to prosecute critics or journalists who publish information about wrongdoing or corruption.