Possible signs of ancient Martian life: What did NASA really discover?

Organic compounds found in Mars rocks are too abundant to rule out the possibility of Martian life in the red planet’s history, NASA scientists say.

In March of 2025, NASA’s Curiosity rover discovered oily chemicals on Mars. These chemicals, called decane, undecane, and dodecane, are types of long molecules made of carbon and hydrogen.

Scientists first considered that they might come from rocks or meteorites. But after studying the data, NASA scientists said those sources don’t explain where the chemicals came from, which has left the door open to possible Martian life that may have existed a long-time ago.

“Scientists combined lab radiation experiments, mathematical modeling and Curiosity data to ‘rewind the clock’ about 80 million years — the length of time the rock would have been exposed on the Martian surface,” NASA planetary science writer Lonnie Schekhtman wrote on the scienceNASA.gov website. “This allowed them to estimate how much organic material would have been present before being destroyed by long-term exposure to cosmic radiation: far more than typical nonbiological processes could produce.”

—The Baltimore Sun

Parents of 3 Florida girls who died in barge-sailboat crash sue barge company

MIAMI — The parents of the three Miami Yacht Club summer campers who were killed last summer when a 60-foot barge slammed into their sailboat sued the company that owns the barge, alleging negligence and irresponsible hiring.

The wrongful death lawsuit, filed Dec. 29 against Waterfront Construction, states that on the morning of July 28, 2025, Mila Yankelevich, 7, Erin Ko, 13, Arielle Buchman, 10, and Calena Areyan Gruber, a 7-year-old who survived the crash, boarded a 17-foot Hobie Getaway sailboat to “learn the basics of sailing under the supervision and guidance of a camp counselor.”

The sailboat, carrying five girl campers and a 19-year-old female camp counselor, was among the first boats to leave the Miami Yacht Club’s dock near the MacArthur Causeway and head east toward Hibiscus Island in Biscayne Bay, according to the suit. The weather was clear and the water calm, but the barge being pushed by a tugboat “made no attempts to slow down or change its course,” as it became clear a collision was imminent, the suit alleges.

Witnesses on Hibiscus Island saw the vessels were on a collision course and began shouting warnings to the tugboat operator, but it was too late. The barge struck the sailboat head-on, causing it to tip and capsize, the lawsuit alleges.

—Miami Herald

Brief closure of El Paso airport was because of Mexican cartel drones, US government sources say

WASHINGTON — A short-term closure of United States airspace near the Mexican border was due to an intrusion by drones belonging to Mexican cartels, according to a U.S. government official on Wednesday.

The Department of Defense took "measures" to disable the drones, a high-ranking government official told dpa. There was no danger to commercial air traffic and the closure was lifted a short time later.

On Wednesday morning, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration unexpectedly banned all take-offs and landings at the airport in El Paso, Texas, which lies on the border with Mexico. The ban applied to both passenger and cargo flights, was initially set to last for 10 days, and was imposed for "special safety reasons," the FAA said.

Many flights were shown as canceled or delayed on the Flightradar24 website. The closure only applied to the airspace of the United States. The FAA warning did not apply to Mexico.

—dpa

Trump, Netanyahu keep Iran meeting behind closed doors — continuing trend

WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump met behind closed doors Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the latest world leader to meet with the president this year without facing a torrent of reporters’ shouted questions.

Rather than bring in journalists, Trump opted for a social media post to summarize the meeting, which he dubbed “very good,” albeit shy of any agreement or progress.

“There was nothing definitive reached other than I insisted that negotiations with Iran continue to see whether or not a Deal can be consummated. If it can, I let the Prime Minister know that will be a preference,” Trump wrote after the nearly three-hour session. Officials from the U.S. and Iran met in Oman last week for indirect talks over Tehran’s nuclear program, and further bilateral discussions are expected.

“Last time Iran decided that they were better off not making a Deal, and they were hit with Midnight Hammer — That did not work well for them,” the president added, referring to U.S. bomber strikes he ordered last year. “Hopefully this time they will be more reasonable and responsible.”

—CQ-Roll Call