logo
Civilian jet breaks sound barrier in historic first

Civilian jet breaks sound barrier in historic first

Yahoo28-01-2025

(NewsNation) — The XB-1 aircraft manufactured by Boom Supersonic broke the sound barrier while making a historic test flight over the Mohave Desert.
It's the first time an independently developed jet has done so, and Boom Supersonic touted the plane as the 'first supersonic jet made in America.'
The XB-1, nicknamed 'Baby Boom,' was piloted by Tristan 'Geppetto' Brandenburg and reached an altitude of 35,290 feet before accelerating to Mach 1.122, which is 750 miles per hour.
Medicaid portals down in all 50 states: US senator
Air Force pilot Capt. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time in 1947, flying a rocket-propelled experimental aircraft in the same location.
XB-1 underwent 11 test flights prior to Tuesday's historic flight. The company said the jet includes features like an augmented reality system to help with takeoff and landing and is made almost entirely from carbon fiber composite materials.
Boom Supersonic's next project is Overture, an aircraft that will build on the success of XB-1, with the goal of being able to carry between 64 and 80 passengers at Mach 1.7, around 1,295 miles per hour.
Drones sighted in Northeast 'not a threat': White House
'XB-1's supersonic flight demonstrates that the technology for passenger supersonic flight has arrived,' said Boom founder and CEO Blake Scholl. 'A small band of talented and dedicated engineers has accomplished what previously took governments and billions of dollars.'
Around 130 Overture planes have been preordered including orders from American Airlines, United Airlines and Japan Airlines. The company built a factory in North Carolina in 2024 and will eventually produce 66 planes a year.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Not Lovin' It: McDonald's Suffers Third Downgrade in as Many Trading Days
Not Lovin' It: McDonald's Suffers Third Downgrade in as Many Trading Days

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Not Lovin' It: McDonald's Suffers Third Downgrade in as Many Trading Days

Could GLP-1 weight loss drugs and changing economic winds really take a bite out of the almighty Big Mac? Analyst after analyst after analyst seems to think so, as Redburn Atlantic on Tuesday became the third firm in as many trading days to downgrade McDonald's stock, often heralded as recession-proof. READ ALSO: Meta's Scoping Out a Superintelligence Lab and Robinhood, AppLovin Locked Out of S&P 500 Yet Again For years, McDonald's has been like the Dennis Rodman of the market. No, not for the ear piercings or the wild publicity antics or the Van Damme action movie: for being possibly the best defensive stock in the business. Shares in the fast food company outperformed the market in the 12 months leading up to all five recessions in the past 40 years and in the majority of recessionary periods that followed. With 41,000 locations, its massive scale allows it to set competitive prices, and 90% of its locations are franchises, meaning it obtained that scale with minimal capital investment. That has allowed McDonald's to focus on its chief proposition to customers: value. The sudden spate of downgrades, however, has called into question whether both behavioral and financial realities could erode the defensive prowess of the Golden Arches by rendering that proposition insufficient on its own: First under threat is McDonald's value proposition to consumers worried about the economy. McDonald's has seen same-store sales drop in the US for two straight quarters, with a 3.6% dip in the latest period and executives flagging even more concerning 10% drop-offs in traffic from lower- and middle-income consumers in the same period. On top of that, Redburn Atlantic analysts argued as they double-downgraded McDonald's from 'buy' to 'sell' on Tuesday, there are 'new behavioral challenges': the proliferation of glucagon-like peptide-1 drugs such as Ozempic, they said, could have a 'cumulative' impact on the chain's business, noting 'a 1% drag today could easily build to 10% or more over time.' There's also, according to Morgan Stanley analysts, a threat to McDonald's value proposition to investors: They pointed out on Monday upon their downgrade of the stock that the fast food chain is trading at nearly 25 times this year's earnings estimates. Compare that with Burger King-owner Restaurant Brands, Wendy's and Jack in the Box, which trade at 19, 12, and 4 times earnings estimates, respectively. An ongoing 'value war' among these and other chains, they noted, also means McDonald's 'pricing power has eroded,' reducing its leverage against its bargain-priced competitors. What Others Are Saying: Loop Capital, which downgraded McDonald's on Friday, cited negative feedback about the company's new chicken strips. Other words on the street might not bode well for business either. In April, Pepsico CEO Ramon Laguarta said GLP-1 consumers were 'keeping our brands in their repertoire, probably in a smaller portion,' hinting that food brands might have to cope with less consumptive consumers. Campbell's CEO Mick Beekhuizen said earlier this month that the budget-friendly canned goods company is observing people eating at home the most since the start of the pandemic in 2020. McDonald's shares fell 1.4% on Tuesday, paring this year's gains to 2.7%. Still, if you don't believe in the Cramer curse, CNBC clairvoyant Jim Cramer says the analysts betting against the Golden Arches are wrong. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive delivering razor sharp analysis and perspective on all things finance, economics, and markets, subscribe to our free The Daily Upside newsletter. Sign in to access your portfolio

Florida lawmakers close to finalizing 2025-26 state budget after weeks of deadlock
Florida lawmakers close to finalizing 2025-26 state budget after weeks of deadlock

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Florida lawmakers close to finalizing 2025-26 state budget after weeks of deadlock

For Gov. Ron DeSantis, the budget coming together during negotiations among lawmakers is several days late and several million dollars short in key areas. In talks between House and Senate leaders June 9 and June 10, lawmakers agreed to a spending plan that doesn't include a cut in property taxes used for schools, falls shy of what DeSantis wanted for raises for state troopers and leaves out funding for Hope Florida, a conservative alternative to welfare championed by First Lady Casey DeSantis. 'Any attempt to try to shortchange Highway Patrol will not be viewed favorably, certainly (not) by me and I know (not) by the people of Florida,' DeSantis said during a Cabinet meeting June 10. DeSantis called for a 25% raise for all veteran state law enforcement officials and a 20% hike for entry-level officers. The budget deal includes a 10% raise for new hires and 15% increase for veteran officers. The Legislature is already 40 days past its originally May 2 deadline to pass a budget. A stalemate between the chambers over Miami Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez's plan to cut the state sales tax pushed the session into overtime. Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton eventually agreed to a deal to cut taxes but not the overall rate. Under the agreements reached June 10, another proposal pushed by DeSantis hit the cutting room floor, at least for the next year. The K-12 schools budget is poised to get a $945 million increase, but $674.5 million of that is from an increase in property tax revenues. DeSantis wanted to eliminate the state portion of the property tax for homeowners with a homestead exemption and use state money to backfill it. DeSantis, though, has railed against the very concept of property taxes in recent months, arguing homeowners aren't really secure in their ownership if they have to pay taxes to the government each year for their property. He's floated the idea of an expanded property tax exemption, something that would have to go before voters on the November 2026 ballot, but also wanted to use the state portion of the school property tax to provide a $1,000 rebate to some homeowners next year. 'We need to do more. We need people to actually own their property,' DeSantis said. 'It's not something that can be simply done by legislation. It is going to require a ballot initiative and I'm going to be leading the charge to be able to get that done for the people of this state because it's pinching a lot of people.' Lawmakers are also prepared to deny funding for four new positions in DeSantis' office to host a Hope Florida office, which would coordinate efforts of the initiative. But the bill to put that into place failed during the session, amid a House probe into a $10 million payment by a Medicaid vendor to a charity tied to the initiative. That money was then moved to two other nonprofits, which then passed them on to a political committee led by James Uthmeier, who at the time was DeSantis' chief of staff and has since been named Attorney General. The money was used to combat proposed constitutional amendments on last year's ballot that would have legalized recreational marijuana and installed abortion rights. Senate Appropriations chair Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, said there could still be more money added for Hope navigators, the state workers who coordinate aid for residents among agencies, charities and businesses with the aim of getting them off government assistance. 'We're having discussions about other opportunities for those programs to do what they need to do,' Hooper told reporters June 10. 'I think in chatting with the governor's office, they're OK with where we are in language right now, but there's still a couple of days left to land this plane.' Before the budget is finalized, each chamber often adds a supplemental funding packet at the end of budget negotiations, offering a last-gasp opportunity for programs that missed out in initial negotiations. It's better known in Capitol circles as the 'sprinkle lists,' a nickname from the idea that lawmakers are "sprinkling" extra money across the state – often to favored districts or causes – after the core budget already has been finalized. These lists, created behind closed doors by House and Senate leadership, have been decried by watchdogs like Florida TaxWatch. At the same time, DeSantis is getting much of what he requested from lawmakers for cancer research. The pending budget is set to provide more than $200 million for cancer research, including a program named after Casey DeSantis, who overcame breast cancer. The House initially resisted a push for a $30 million pot of money dedicated to pediatric cancer research. Another cancer fund, however, the Mary Brogan Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, is set to be eliminated, at least under the latest budget offer. The program, named after the late wife of former Lt. Gov. Frank Brogan, provides screenings for breast and cervical cancer. Mary Brogan died in 1999 from breast cancer. Hooper indicated that program could get another look before the end of budget talks: 'It may be zeroed out on the budget line, but it may be possibly available for some further consideration,' Hooper told reporters June 10. 'I happen to be a big believer in the Mary Brogan program.' Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@ Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis loses ground as key state budget items dropped or downsized

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store