3D-printed rocket fails after launch
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A rocket made mostly of 3D-printed parts made its launch debut Wednesday night, lifting off amid fanfare but failing three minutes into flight — far short of orbit.
There was nothing aboard Relativity Space’s test flight except the company’s first metal 3D print made six years ago.
The startup wanted to put the souvenir into a 125-mile-high orbit for several days before having it plunge through the atmosphere and burn up along with the upper stage of the rocket.
As it turned out, the first stage did its job following liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and separated as planned. But the upper stage appeared to ignite and then shut down, sending it crashing into the Atlantic.
It was the third launch attempt from what once was a missile site. Relativity Space came within a half-second of blasting off earlier this month, with the rocket’s engines igniting before abruptly shutting down.
Most of the 110-foot rocket, including its engines, came out of the company’s huge 3D printers in Long Beach, Calif. Relativity Space said 3D-printed metal parts made up 85% of the rocket, named Terran.
Kidnapping suspect killed in FBI rescue
HOUSTON — A hostage rescue that left a suspect fatally shot Thursday in Houston began days ago when three migrants were kidnapped from a vehicle in a neighboring county, according to a prosecutor.
The three migrants had been traveling in a vehicle on Interstate 10 in the southern part of Waller County on March 18 when they were stopped by kidnappers and forced into another vehicle, said Sean Whittmore, a prosecutor with the Waller County District Attorney’s Office.
Gunfire broke out between FBI agents and the hostage-takers before daybreak Thursday, leading to one of the kidnappers being killed and another being arrested, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
Agents with the FBI’s hostage rescue team were rescuing the migrants when the shots broke out, said James Smith, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Houston office, during a brief Thursday news conference where he took no questions.
Smith said one suspect was fatally shot while another suspect was taken into custody by the Harris County sheriff’s office. Senior Deputy Thomas Gilliland, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said he could not provide any information on the suspect as that person was arrested by the FBI.
Smith said agents rescued two people who were being held at a motel.
Court: Trial of parents in shooting OK
DETROIT — The parents of a teenager who killed four students at a Michigan high school can face trial for involuntary manslaughter, the state appeals court said Thursday in a groundbreaking case of criminal responsibility for the acts of a child.
The murders would not have happened if the parents hadn’t purchased a gun for Ethan Crumbley or if they had taken him home from Oxford High School on the day of the shooting, when staff members grew alarmed about his extreme drawings, the court said.
The court noted that the legal threshold at this stage of the case is fairly low under Michigan law.
“Whether a jury actually finds that causation has been proven after a full trial, where the record will almost surely be more expansive — including evidence produced by defendants — is an issue separate from what we decide today,” the court said in a 3-0 opinion.
James and Jennifer Crumbley are accused of failing to secure a gun and ignoring the mental health needs of their son before the shootings. Besides the deaths of four students, seven people were wounded.
Crumbley, 16, has pleaded guilty to terrorism and murder and could be sentenced to life in prison without parole. He was 15 at the time of the November 2021 shooting.
Attorneys for the parents insist that what happened that day was not foreseeable. They acknowledge that bad decisions were made but not ones that should rise to involuntary manslaughter charges.
Judge Michael Riordan said parents shouldn’t be hauled to court for “subpar, odd or eccentric” care of their kids. But the evidence against the Crumbleys, he said, is much more serious.
Arizona court rejects most of Lake case
PHOENIX — The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear most of Republican Kari Lake’s appeal in a challenge of her defeat in the governor’s race but revived a claim that was dismissed by a trial court.
In an order Wednesday, the state’s highest court said a lower court erroneously dismissed Lake’s claim challenging the application of signature verification procedures on early ballots in Maricopa County. The court sent that claim back to a trial court to consider.
Lake, who lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs by slightly more than 17,000 votes, said she’s thrilled with the ruling.