Amazon's first batch of internet satellites rocketed into orbit, the latest entry in the mega-constellation market currently dominated by SpaceX's thousands of Starlinks.

The United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket carried up 27 of Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites, named after the frigid fringes of our solar system beyond Neptune. Once released in orbit, the satellites will eventually reach an altitude of nearly 400 miles (630 kilometers).

Two test satellites were launched in 2023, also by an Atlas V. Project officials said major upgrades were made to the newest version. The latest satellites are also coated with a mirror film designed to scatter reflected sunlight in an attempt to accommodate astronomers.

Stargazers oppose the fast-growing constellations of low-orbiting satellites, arguing they spoil observations. Others fear more satellite collisions.

Founded by Jeff Bezos, who now runs his own rocket company, Blue Origin, Amazon aims to put more than 3,200 of these satellites into orbit to provide fast, affordable broadband service around the globe.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has already launched more than 8,000 Starlinks since 2019. The company marked its 250th Starlink launch on the night of April 27. More than 7,000 Starlinks are still in orbit, some 300-plus miles (550 kilometers) above Earth.

The European-based OneWeb satellite constellation numbers in the hundreds in an even higher orbit.

Amazon has already purchased dozens of rocket launches from United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin for Project Kuiper, as well as others.

There are some things you can only learn in flight, despite extensive testing on the ground, said Rajeev Badyal, the project's vice president.

No matter how the mission unfolds, this is just the start of our journey, he said in a statement ahead of the evening liftoff.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Many Nigerians aren't able to access primary health care, according to numerous studies into the country's public health system. Now, an enterprising Lagos doctor has set up in a market to treat traders forced to prioritize work over their own health.

In Nigeria’s bustling markets, where traders work from dawn to dusk, health often takes a back seat. Many market women and men prioritize their businesses over doctor visits, sometimes ignoring health issues until they become serious problems.

Now, the traders have become familiar with another business plying for trade in the marketplace: Dr. Yetunde Ayo-Oyalowo, a health entrepreneur.

Ayo-Oyalowo recognized the need to bridge the gap in healthcare access for underserved communities. Rather than waiting for patients to visit clinics, she brings healthcare directly to them. She sets up mobile medical stations in the markets, offering consultations, health screenings, and minor treatment at affordable rates.

Ayo-Oyalowo says her Market Doctors initiative has reached over 400,000 patients, creating greater accessibility to basic medicine and treatment.

Market Doctors is as a result of the experience I've had in the healthcare sector. One, I found that people could really not afford medical care, so you see people discharging themselves in hospitals against medical advice. But they got to this point because they didn't have access to primary healthcare, she says.

There's a hidden cost of healthcare: the cost of transportation, the cost of not going to work, and the long queues. So, by bringing healthcare to people in their natural habitat, we've cut out all of those costs so they can add healthcare to their shopping bags.

Ayo-Oyalowo launched the project in 2017, and she employs 17 people and works with hundreds of volunteers. Some of her funding comes from private or corporate donations.

Market Doctors say their services are subsidized, and they are able to partner with major pharmaceutical companies for drugs and consumables.

People who need more intensive care are referred to hospitals.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Harmful bleaching of the world's coral has grown to include 84% of the ocean's reefs in the most intense event of its kind in recorded history, the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) announced in April.

It's the fourth global bleaching event since 1998, and has now surpassed bleaching from 2014-17 that hit some two-thirds of reefs, said the ICRI, a mix of more than 100 governments, non-governmental organizations and others. And it’s not clear when the current crisis, which began in 2023 and is blamed on warming oceans, will end.

“We may never see the heat stress that causes bleaching dropping below the threshold that triggers a global event,” said Mark Eakin, executive secretary for the International Coral Reef Society.

Last year was Earth’s hottest year on record, and much of that is going into the oceans.

That's deadly to corals, which are key to seafood production, tourism and protecting coastlines from erosion and storms. Coral reefs are sometimes dubbed “rainforests of the sea” because they support high levels of biodiversity—approximately 25% of all marine species can be found in, on and around coral reefs.

Corals get their bright colors from the colorful algae that live inside them and are a food source for the corals. Prolonged warmth causes the algae to release toxic compounds, and the coral ejects them. A stark white skeleton is left behind, and the weakened coral is at heightened risk of dying.

The bleaching event has been so severe that NOAA’s Coral Reef Watch program has had to add levels to its bleaching alert scale to account for the growing risk of coral death.

Efforts are underway to conserve and restore coral but scientists say it's essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet, such as carbon dioxide and methane.

“The best way to protect coral reefs is to address the root cause of climate change. And that means reducing the human emissions that are mostly from burning of fossil fuels … everything else is looking more like a Band-Aid rather than a solution,” Eakin said.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The Force was with many Japanese, as well as visitors from abroad, at a Star Wars event where Lucasfilm announced that the next installment in the franchise will hit theaters in May 2027, starring Ryan Gosling.

Appearing on stage before a lightsaber-waving crowd at Makuhari Messe center outside Tokyo, Gosling showed a photo of his childhood bedsheets, plastered with illustrations from the space epic created by George Lucas.

I guess I was dreaming about Star Wars even before I saw the film, Gosling said.

Shawn Levy, who will direct the movie, told the crowd that Star Wars: Starfighter will not be a prequel or a sequel, but a new standalone adventure with new characters set several years after Episode IX. Filming starts later this year, he said.

Levy, who also directed the 2006 film The Pink Panther and the recent Netflix series Stranger Things, said little else, noting, I can't say much about it because I understand the rules.

Only the title was shown on a giant screen, although that was enough for the crowd to burst into cheers.

The event, called Star Wars Celebration, is full of Star Wars-themed merchandise including T-shirts, toys, books, manga comics, AC chargers, cellphone covers, autographs, posters and more.

The LEGO booth featured a man wearing the ominous black mask and cloak of Darth Vader, made out of LEGO bricks. The deep-breathing villain also appeared as traditional Japanese lacquerware decorating earphones in a limited edition of ten, each selling for 990,000 yen ($7,000). Darth Vader T-shirts were more affordable at 8,000 yen ($56).

It makes me so happy to think everyone here loves Star Wars, said Yoshiki Takahashi, 26, who was holding a remote-controlled R2-D2 miniature robot.

I love the directing, the sound of the gun and the lightsaber, but above all the story, with great fight scenes and, of course, human drama, he added.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

It's spring in Detroit—warm weather, a few clouds, and a 100% chance of marshmallow downpours.

The source? A helicopter zooming above the green lawn of Worden Park, unloading sackfuls of fluffy treats for hundreds of kids waiting eagerly below, some clutching colorful baskets or wearing rabbit ears.

The children cheered and pointed as the helicopter clattered by on its way to the drop zone. Volunteers in yellow vests made sure kids didn't rush in and start grabbing marshmallows until after the deluge was complete.

For anyone worried about hygiene, don't fret. The annual Great Marshmallow Drop isn't about eating the marshmallows—kids could exchange them for a prize bag that included a water park pass and a kite.

The Great Marshmallow Drop has been held for over three decades in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak, Michigan, hosted by Oakland County Parks.

One toddler, Georgia Mason, had no difficulty procuring a marshmallow at her first drop, her dad Matt said.

“Probably the most exciting part was seeing the helicopters. But once we saw the marshmallows drop, we got really excited,” Matt Mason said.

“And, yeah, we joined the melee,” he said, “We managed to get one pretty easy.”

Organizers said 15,000 marshmallows were dropped in all.

The helicopter made four passes, dropping marshmallows for kids in three age categories: 4-year-olds and younger, 5-7-year-olds, and those ages 8 to 12. A drop for kids of all ages with disabilities came later in the day.

“We do it because it’s great for community engagement,” Oakland County recreation program supervisor Melissa Nawrocki said.

“The kids love it,” she continued. “The looks on their faces as they’re picking up their marshmallow and turning in the marshmallow for prizes is great.”

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Dozens of tourists gather outside a wood-paneled restaurant in Madrid’s oldest neighborhood. They’re here for more than just the food.

Botín claims to be the oldest continuously operating restaurant in the world. The Guinness World Records says Botín has been in business for 300 years. Founded in 1725, it’s become a global tourist destination.

We’ve heard it’s very good, and also it’s allegedly the oldest restaurant in the world, which has been verified by Guinness. So that’s why I’m here, says British tourist Thomas Donegan.

Botín was first opened by a French chef, Jean Botín, and later run by his nephew. Back then, customers brought their own ingredients. The kitchen cooked them. Selling food directly was banned under local laws.

By the 19th century, it had become a full restaurant—still in the same spot, on Cuchilleros Street, just steps from Madrid’s Plaza Mayor.

It's the oldest in the world because Guinness World Records says so, based on four conditions. The first, it has been operating continuously. The second, in the same location. The third, with the same name. And the fourth, with the same activity, explains restaurant owner José Gonzalez.

One of Botín’s most prized features is its wood-fired oven. It’s made of graphite and fireproof brick, and it has never gone cold. Even during COVID lockdowns, staff kept the fire alive. Letting it cool, they fear, could cause the oven to crack.

The prized oven cooks the restaurant’s signature dish—roast suckling pig. It’s seasoned with garlic, onion, parsley, laurel, paprika and white wine.

Over the years, Botín has welcomed celebrities and world leaders—names like Woody Allen, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and even Ernest Hemingway, who wrote about it in two novels.

But not everyone is completely sold on the restaurant’s history.

There is some controversy, explains Pedro Montoliú, a historian and chronicler of Madrid.

The existing documentation corresponds to the second half of the 19th century, and there is no documented proof of the relationship between that restaurant from the mid to late 19th century and the one from 1725, he adds.

Still, Guinness says the history holds up.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Starting with brushing his teeth before 4 a.m., influencer Ashton Hall says he also swims, meditates, journals, rubs his face with a banana peel, lifts weights, submerges his face in ice water and accomplishes much more every day before breakfast around 9:30.

A video of his morning routine has racked up millions of views on social media, while sparking reactions that range from disbelief to awe. It also jump-started the conversation online about how best to start the day, even if a six-hour regimen is ambitious to say the least.

A professor of workplace psychology at The University of Oklahoma, Shawn McClean, said accomplishing tasks in the same order every morning is helpful because people have limited mental bandwidth before they have to recharge. The brain subconsciously reserves resources for tasks that require higher-level thinking, so routines are a type of mental shortcut.

“We’re cognitive misers,” McClean said. “We don’t like to use our mental energy on things that aren’t important.”

His research has found that employees perform better and are calmer throughout the day when they complete their morning regimen uninterrupted. Conversely, employees with disruptive mornings report higher levels of mental depletion late in the day.

It’s hard to define what a good routine is, and there is no formula that is best for everyone.

“It’s going to be idiosyncratic to each person,” McClean said. “It’s what helps them function. Now, can we have destructive routines? Yes.”

Rushing around in the morning to shower, eat and get out the door just on time is an example of a destructive morning routine, Kamalyn Kaur, a psychotherapist in Cheshire, England, said. The stress of a rushed morning produces extra cortisol. Too much cortisol in the bloodstream, however, creates a feeling of restlessness and anxiety that can be similar to drinking coffee on an empty stomach, Kaur said.

Kaur recommends adding at least two or three quick activities to your morning that have been shown to improve mood. Research shows that completing a task first thing in the morning promotes the secretion of the feel-good hormone dopamine, she said.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Uber, alleging that it enrolled consumers in its Uber One subscription program without their consent and made it too difficult for them to cancel the service.

Uber One members pay $9.99 per month or $96 per year for a range of services, including fee-free Uber Eats food deliveries and cash back when they take Uber rides.

In its lawsuit, the FTC said multiple customers complained that Uber signed them up for Uber One without their permission or charged them for the service before a free trial period was over. In at least one case, a person was charged $9.99 per month even though they didn’t have an Uber account, the lawsuit said.

The FTC said Uber also made it extremely difficult for subscribers to cancel Uber One. The agency said Uber requires customers to take at least 12 different actions on at least seven screens to cancel the service. Cancellation gets even harder for consumers within 48 hours of their billing date, the FTC said, requiring them to navigate as many as 23 screens and still contact customer service.

“Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson, who has led the FTC since January after he was tapped as chairman by President Donald Trump.

In a statement, Uber said it was disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with the lawsuit. Uber said its sign-up and cancellation process is clear, simple and lawful.

“Uber does not sign up or charge consumers without their consent, and cancellations can now be done anytime in-app and take most people 20 seconds or less,” Uber said.

Uber said at one point it did require customers to contact a service representative if they wanted to cancel within 48 hours of a billing period, but that is no longer the case.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Climate change isn't funny. But more comedians are using humor to bring awareness to it. A university in the U.S. is showing students that laughs can sometimes achieve more than lectures.

Climate comedy is a long-time tradition at the University of Colorado Boulder. In a dark theater, students—largely environmental studies majors—stand in a circle while they warm up their faces, vocal cords and bodies to prepare for a not-so-typical class.

They listen closely to drama professor Beth Osnes-Stoedefalke, who has been teaching a creative climate communication course for 13 years with environmental studies professor Maxwell Boykoff. “We're doing the arts. There are no rules. You're getting as close to the edges what can be said as possible because it's comedy,” she tells the students.

They are among a growing group of comedians using humor to raise awareness of climate change. On stage, online and in classrooms, they tell jokes to tackle topics such as the Inflation Reduction Act, fossil fuel industries, and convey information about the benefits of plant-based diets that emit less planet-warming emissions.

They hope to educate people about the climate crisis, relieve anxiety with laughter and give people hope. And although the impacts of climate change are deadly and devastating, experts say using humor to talk climate is an important part of the larger ecosystem of how it's communicated.

“If we’re engaging these students in creative climate communication through comedy, they just don’t have room for their anxiety,” Osnes-Stoedefalke says.

Here, students learn how information about climate issues and solutions can be conveyed creatively.

They have virtual guest talks by professional comedians and producers, and work on their own sketch comedy or stand-up routines, which they later perform at the annual “Stand Up for Climate Comedy” showcase.

Climate comedy can also be used to make sense of the political moment.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

There are around 5,000 potato varieties worldwide, but in Australia, many shoppers struggle to distinguish a Kipfler from a King Edward. But some potato suppliers want to widen our taste for spuds.

In Australia, potatoes are a big deal. The industry is worth 1.1 billion Australian dollars annually (approx. 690 million US dollars). But the choice for consumers is limited.

“At a supermarket, they'll only be offered a washed potato or an unwashed potato, or a red potato and a white potato, and then quite often you'll see a lot of misinformation,” says potato supplier Kerri Farrell.

For the past 35 years, “Spud Sisters” Farrell and Catherine Ramage have been selling potatoes. They say the majority of consumers don’t even know about the best potatoes available. Some lesser-known varieties are called King Edward, Midnight Pearl and Fontane.

“The kookier the potato, the better for us, but we're all about championing what doesn't necessarily look nice, but tastes nice,” says Ramage.

Every year, each Australian eats about 17 kilograms (37 pounds) of potatoes. But such high aesthetic standards required by supermarkets are a challenge, say farmers.

“To achieve that amazing white or red, whichever they’re doing, your wastage is very high,” explains potato farmer Terry Buckley. That means consumers pay more at the checkout and farmers are forced to get rid of some of their produce even though it's still perfectly edible.

“You could kind of double their shelf life if you haven't washed them and you keep them in the dark and you package them well,” adds Buckley.

The vast differences in shapes, size, taste and texture of the many varieties of potatoes grown in Australia are a big plus for chefs.

Chef Alejandro Saravia discovered that the most efficient way for him to get his favorite varieties was to deal directly with the farmers. “Our main focus is the taste and the freshness of our ingredients. Not how they look,” says Saravia, executive chef at Morena restaurant.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.