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CBS News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
The Book Report: Ron Charles on new summer reads (May 25)
By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles Here are five hot new books to check out this summer: Penguin Press If you're trying to figure out what's happening with artificial intelligence, pick up "Empire of AI." Journalist Karen Hao investigates the rise of OpenAI and its visionary co-founder, Sam Altman. With alarming detail, she shows how this once idealistic company became everything it said it would not be, even as it remakes and gobbles up the world. READ AN EXCERPT: "Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI" by Karen Hao "Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI" by Karen Hao (Penguin Press), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Viking Everybody knows about Amelia Earhart's mysterious final flight. But what about the years before she disappeared? In "The Aviator and the Showman" (to be published July 15 by Viking), Laurie Gwen Shapiro draws on newly-uncovered sources to explore the famed pilot's life and her marriage to wealthy publisher George Putnam. Theirs was a relationship that lifted love, publicity and especially risk to mythic heights. READ AN EXCERPT: "The Aviator and the Showman" by Laurie Gwen Shapiro "The Aviator and the Showman: Amelia Earhart, George Putnam, and the Marriage that Made an American Icon" by Laurie Gwen Shapiro (Viking), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available July 15 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Simon & Schuster/Summit Books Take a chance on a new writer, and you may be delighted: Rob Franklin's debut novel, "Great Black Hope," follows a young African American man whose family launched him for success – but after an arrest for drug possession and the death of a close friend, his once-bright future feels anything but guaranteed. READ AN EXCERPT: "Great Black Hope" by Rob Franklin "Great Black Hope" by Rob Franklin (Simon & Schuster/Summit Books), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available June 10 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and MIRA/HarperCollins What better escape this July than a novel called "A Summer for the Books"? Michelle Lindo-Rice tells the story of Jewel, a bestselling writer, and Shelby, a bookstore owner – two old friends who went their separate ways years ago ... but! When Shelby loses her memory after a bike accident and reaches out to Jewel for help, how can she refuse? READ AN EXCERPT: "A Summer for the Books" by Michelle Lindo-Rice "A Summer for the Books" by Michelle Lindo-Rice (MIRA/HarperCollins), in Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available July 15 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and HarperCollins Jess Walter, the bestselling author of "Beautiful Ruins," is back with a new novel called "So Far Gone." It's about Rhys Kinnick, a journalist who's been living off the grid. But when his grandchildren are kidnapped by a right-wing militia, Rhys is forced back into the world – and he charges off on a wild adventure to save them. READ AN EXCERPT: "So Far Gone" by Jess Walter "So Far Gone" by Jess Walter (HarperCollins), in Hardcover, Large Print Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available June 10 via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and That's it for the Book Report. For these and other suggestions about what to read this summer, talk with your local bookseller or librarian. I'm Ron Charles. Until next time, read on! For more info: Produced by Cameron Jimenez. Editor: Carol Ross. For more reading recommendations, check out these previous Book Report features from Ron Charles:
CBS News
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Book excerpt: "The Aviator and the Showman" by Laurie Gwen Shapiro
Viking We may receive an affiliate commission from anything you buy from this article. Everybody knows about Amelia Earhart's mysterious final flight. But what about the years before she disappeared? In "The Aviator and the Showman" (to be published July 15 by Viking), documentary filmmaker and journalist Laurie Gwen Shapiro draws on newly-uncovered sources to explore the famed pilot's life and her marriage to wealthy publisher George Putnam. Theirs was a relationship that lifted love, publicity and especially risk to mythic heights. Read an excerpt below. "The Aviator and the Showman" by Laurie Gwen Shapiro Prefer to listen? Audible has a 30-day free trial available right now. Amelia Earhart was sitting across from George Palmer Putnam. He was on the phone, not acknowledging her, taking his sweet time. He was a flamboyant, career-making publisher who liked to be in the news. Putnam was always photographed with famous people: standing next to Charles Lindbergh, first man to fly solo across the Atlantic; posing with Commander Byrd, the man who conquered the South Pole; smiling with Howard Carter, the man who discovered King Tut. Amelia was thirty-one years old, a Boston social worker. She was not a famous person. But unknown to her that spring of 1928, Putnam had decided he wanted to create a new hero—the first woman to cross the Atlantic in an airplane!—the counterpart to the world's most famous man, Charles Lindbergh. Putnam sent out feelers to find candidates for such a heroine, who merely had to be the first female Atlantic passenger to get famous. The idea was familiar: sponsor the wildly risky adventure, find someone physically attractive and willing to imperil their own life, sign them to an exclusive tell-all deal, publicize the thing to the max, and make a fortune on book sales. Soon word came from Boston: George Putnam's old friend, a PR guy named Colonel Hilton Howell Railey, had found a perfect candidate: Miss Earhart was an experienced flier, she was well spoken, and she had pleasing looks. George's response was swift and decisive: "She must be in my office by the start of the next morning!" When George Palmer Putnam wanted things done, there was no room for argument. Railey told Amelia that someone in New York City wanted to see her about a possible flying venture. She was a committed full-time social worker and only a part-time aviator, but Amelia's heart beat faster at the prospect of sponsored flying, a rarity for any woman, even the most accomplished pilot. She agreed to go to New York. Railey escorted her down from Boston by train. At 2 West Forty-Fifth Street, just off Fifth Avenue, a colossal Putnam banner fluttered from the rooftop. A landmark of New York's Jazz Age publishing district, the Putnam Building reached sixteen stories skyward. An elegant retail bookstore graced its lobby, and its prime location was often touted in newspapers as "just 100 feet off Fifth." Times Square, now ablaze with neon, was just a couple blocks west and had recently eclipsed Herald Square as the energetic heart of Manhattan. On the day of Amelia's arrival, thirty skyscrapers had already reshaped the Midtown skyline, transforming the area into a bustling hub aglow with neon lights. The district housed titans like The New York Times, the city's most respected newspaper, and The New Yorker, a sharp-witted rising star on the media scene that, even in 1928, held outsize influence among the cultural elite. Railey brought Amelia to the elegant reception room of G. P. Putnam's Sons and introduced her to George's neat and professional brunette secretary, Miss Josephine "Jo" Berger. Dressed in the day's standard attire for working women in publishing—back-seamed stockings and practical T-strapped low heels—Jo exuded an air of efficiency, and in her respectable brown day dress, with a powdered nose and a touch of rouge, Amelia, too, seamlessly blended into the office's urbane ambiance. Amelia Earhart and George Putnam's official wedding portrait, 1931. International News Photos/Wikimedia Commons Unbeknownst to her at that moment, Amelia Earhart was poised to become his next great triumph. George, the peacock at the handsome desk, was still conducting his power phone call, his deep voice filling the office. Impeccably dressed in a flawless double-breasted suit, he was well versed in commanding the room—and absorbing the admiring glances that often followed. To kill more minutes, Amelia's eyes might have scanned what the bookcase held: there was Lindbergh's famous G. P. Putnam's Sons book, "WE" (those peculiar quotes around all caps), probably signed by the fabled Lindbergh himself. Should she confess to having a clipped newspaper picture of Lindbergh tacked up in her social worker's bedroom? Would that be seen as genuine admiration or as an overly starry-eyed gesture for a woman her age? At last, the publisher ended his call, allowing dramatic silence before inquiring, "And how about you? Do you consider yourself a risk-taker?" Amelia replied, "It depends. I'm here to learn more." Weighing how much to disclose, and after securing her promise of secrecy, he shared glimpses of the confidential project: he was scouting for a female passenger to be the first across the Atlantic. Years later, when Amelia's name rang louder than even George's, Railey candidly admitted—off the record—that he had been in that very room the day the very married George Palmer Putnam met Amelia Earhart. Thinking back to that significant meeting, Railey would muse all those years later: For George, it was undeniably "love at first sight." From "The Aviator and the Showman," published by Viking, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2025 by Laurie Gwen Shapiro. Get the book here: "The Aviator and the Showman" by Laurie Gwen Shapiro Buy locally from For more info:
Hans India
20-05-2025
- Science
- Hans India
National Women in Aerospace Day: Honoring trailblazers and inspiring the future
National Women in Aerospace Day, observed on May 20, shines a powerful spotlight on the women who have helped shape the skies—and who continue to reach for the stars. From pioneering aviators to cutting-edge aerospace engineers, women have made remarkable contributions to flight, space exploration, and technological innovation. This day is a tribute to the women pushing boundaries in the present—pilots, scientists, mission controllers, astronauts, and aerospace leaders whose work drives the industry forward. Icons like Amelia Earhart and Dr. Mae Jemison paved the way, but countless others have followed, contributing to missions, designing spacecraft, managing satellite systems, and transforming the future of aerospace technology. The day serves as a reminder of the ongoing need for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the importance of creating pathways for young women to pursue STEM education and aerospace careers. By spotlighting women's achievements and promoting inclusive opportunities, this day inspires the next generation of innovators, explorers, and dreamers. Whether through mentorship programs, scholarships, internships, or public outreach, efforts to encourage more women to enter aerospace help fuel the future of the industry—and ensure a wider range of perspectives, ideas, and solutions.
National Geographic
06-05-2025
- General
- National Geographic
Amelia Earhart's life is way more interesting than her mysterious death
From a curious Midwestern girl to a legendary aviator, Amelia Earhart's life was a daring pursuit of freedom, flight, and self-definition. Amelia Earhart with her airplane. Earhart was an American aviatrix, making history as the first woman to cross Atlantic. Photograph by Bettmann, Contributor, Getty Images When Amelia Earhart stepped into the cockpit of her Lockheed Electra in June 1937, her sights were set on an accomplishment no woman had ever made—a female-piloted solo flight around the globe. Amelia Earhart at age six months old (left) and at seven-years-old (right). Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas and grew up to defy gender norms of the time. Photograph by Keystone-France, Contributor, Getty Images Newspaper reporters crowded around the plane, documenting everything from her blue eyes to her bobbed hair to her pre-flight banter about her airplane's fuel capacity and speed. Though many of the reporters asked about the potential danger of her trip, she shrugged off their questions. 'It is to be a safe and sane flight along scheduled airlines,' she assured them—a 27,000 mile journey that would take her to five continents. The lauded female flyer would never complete the ambitious task. She and her plane disappeared later that month, and the details of her final resting place remain one of the greatest unsolved mysteries of modern times. But the flying pioneer is remembered for more than her mysterious end. Here's how Amelia Earhart changed flight forever as history's best-known female aviator. Amelia Earhart's adventurous childhood Born in Atchison, Kansas, in 1897 to Edwin and Amy Earhart, Amelia Mary Earhart was the oldest of two daughters. Her father had risen from a modest background to a career as an attorney, and her mother was part of a socially prominent local family that prioritized education and philanthropy. Amy was an adventurer herself, solo climbing a Colorado mountain as a young woman, and some family histories claim she was denied a college education by her traditional father. Amy didn't want that fate for her daughters. 'I advocate for every girl training along some line so she has something she can do to support herself,' Amy wrote in 1944. Bulgaria's cultural capital And so Amy's girls flouted convention at a young age by wearing bloomers instead of skirts as they played sports outside. 'Unfortunately I lived at a time when girls were still girls,' Earhart later wrote in her 1932 autobiography, remembering that she and her sisters were seen as anomalies for their energetic athleticism and interest in a world beyond Kansas. The world the girls grew up in was deeply conflicted about women's growing social roles. Women's rights were rapidly expanding, and women would gain the right to vote during Amelia's twenties. But many Americans were skeptical of women's growing participation in realms they considered 'unladylike'—public places once reserved for men only. Instead of prioritizing marriage and childbirth, Amelia wanted a career and freedom. But options were limited so Earhart went into service work, first as a nurse's aide in a Canadian military hospital during World War I, then as a social worker in 1925. Amelia Earhart holds a motorized scooter on Oct. 22, 1935. Earhart was active growing up and frequently played sports outside with her sister. Photograph by Corbis, Getty Images Amelia Earhart helps test a commercial parachute training device in Prospertown, New Jersey. Earhart's daring personality drove her to break records in the aviation industry while also spreading awareness of the safety in air travel. Photograph by Bettmann, Contributor, Getty Images Amelia Earhart takes flight Social work was considered a respectable career for a woman at the time. But Earhart had another, less socially acceptable passion on the side—aviation. She had grown up alongside the fledgling field, which exploded after the Wright Brothers' successful first flight in 1903. Amelia saw her first airplane at a fair in 1907—and the ten-year-old was unimpressed by what she saw as a rusty, uninteresting contraption. That changed in 1920, when the college student attended an 'air rodeo' in Long Beach, California, with her father. Such events were common amusements in the early 1920s, and usually featured daredevil former flying aces showing off the skills they had honed in combat. The day after the event, Amelia was a passenger on a 10-minute flight with barnstormer Frank Hawks. The plane only rose 2,000 feet, but it swept Amelia off hers. 'As soon as we left the ground, I knew I myself had to fly,' she later recalled. She begged her parents to allow her to take flight lessons, and arranged for one of the few women in the field, test pilot Neta Snook, to instruct her. In 1923, she was licensed by the governing body of sports aviation, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale—the 16th woman to gain the coveted license. Earhart's rising fame and record-breaking flights Plagued with both financial and health issues during her early 20s, Earhart took odd jobs to finance her flight education and buy her first plane. She also became involved in her local chapter of the National Aeronautical Association. 'None of this was what you could call important—except to me,' she later wrote in her 1932 autobiography. 'It was sheer fun.' Then, in 1928, Earhart was asked if she wanted to become the first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean by plane. The dangerous crossing was undertaken by pilot Wilmer Stultz and a copilot Louis Gordon, both of whom were compensated for the flight. By contrast, Earhart would be an unpaid passenger. 'She was invited on board to represent the liberated, yet still feminine, all-American girl—an educated, socially-gracious woman comfortable with modern technology,' writes historian Amy Sue Bix. Earhart wanted to fly the plane during the crossing, but poor visibility and pilot decisions meant that she did not spend time behind the rudder. But the stunt was historic nonetheless. Suddenly, Amelia Earhart was a household name. How 'Lady Lindy' took the world by storm Earhart used her sudden celebrity to aviation's advantage. Meeting with celebrities, she used their endorsements and connections to finance future flights. She helped popularize the idea of women in aviation through writing about her experiences for national publications. She even set fashions, including a velvet, turban-style hat inspired by her leather flying helmet that was advertised as, 'smart for traveling by train or motor, as well as for flying.' Earhart continued to fly, earning records for altitude and becoming the first woman to fly solo across the United States. Amelia Earhart arrives in Derry after her solo transatlantic flight on May 20, 1932, in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Earhart was one of the first women to break barriers in the aviation industry. Photograph by API, Gamma-Rapho, Getty Images 'Lady Lindy'—so known for her resemblance to Charles Lindbergh, the biggest aviation celebrity of the age—was just getting started. After marrying publicist George Palmer Putnam, Earhart began emulating Lindbergh's signature achievements, starting with being the first woman pilot to complete a nonstop flight solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932. In the decade that followed, she added more firsts to the list, becoming the first person to solo flight across the Pacific Ocean. Buoyed by her successes, she began planning the most ambitious flight ever undertaken by a woman to date—a solo flight around the world. The mystery of Amelia Earhart's disappearance Earhart's trusty Lockheed Electra took off from Oakland, California on June 1, 1937, to international fanfare. Fans tracked Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan as they touched down to refuel at locations around the world. But after departing Lae, New Guinea, for one of the final stretches of the journey on June 29, they disappeared. Earhart, Noonan, and the plane were never seen again. Amelia Earhart's disappearance marks the front page of the Daily News on July 3, 1937. After months of searching, Earhart was pronounced dead on Jan. 5, 1939. Photograph by New York Daily News Archive, Contributor, Getty Images An unsuccessful manhunt turned up no plane and no remains. But though Earhart was pronounced dead a few weeks after her disappearance, searches for her final resting place—and more information about the doomed flight—have continued ever since. Theories abound on what happened to Amelia Earhart and her navigator. Were they captured by the Japanese and executed as suspected spies? Did they run out of fuel and crash into the Pacific, leaving the wreckage of their plane at the ocean floor? Or did they spend their last days as castaways on a remote Pacific island? The answer is still unclear. Generations of explorers have searched and recently used modern technology like sonar and autonomous underwater vehicles to find her plane. (Has Amelia Earhart's plane really been found?) Earhart's fate will likely never be known. But her significance as a female aviation pioneer live on. Earhart not only used her celebrity to lobby for aviation legislation, but she paved the way for public acceptance of independent, adventurous women. She was far from the first accomplished female pilot. But her worldwide fame helped other women get their start in aeronautics and technology, blazing a trail for women in aviation and elsewhere. Women are still underrepresented in aviation. According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, just 4.9 percent of pilots, air traffic controllers, and airplane maintenance technicians were women in 2023. But that number grows every year—thanks in part to the trailblazing woman who helped the world take flight. (Meet the women who risked everything to be the first to fly.) 'All kinds of minds…are trying to work out theoretical details of efficient flight,' Earhart wrote in 1932. 'That women will share in these endeavors, even more than they have in the past, is my wish—and prophecy.'
Newsweek
05-05-2025
- General
- Newsweek
US Redeploys Pacific Warship As Iran Threat Grows
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A United States destroyer, USS Milius, which is based in the Western Pacific Ocean, is now operating in Middle Eastern waters as part of the American military presence aimed at Iran. Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. Central Command and the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, which oversee military operations in the Middle East, for comment by email. "The U.S. Navy is a professional maritime force, focused on ensuring that we maintain the capabilities to deter, defend against, and, if necessary, defeat aggression," the U.S. Seventh Fleet, which operates in the Western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, told Newsweek. The United States Navy destroyer USS "Milius," right, pulls alongside the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS "Amelia Earhart" for an underway replenishment in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility in the Middle East... The United States Navy destroyer USS "Milius," right, pulls alongside the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS "Amelia Earhart" for an underway replenishment in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility in the Middle East on April 27, 2025. More U.S. Navy Why It Matters Newsweek previously reported that the Milius and its sister ship, USS Ralph Johnson, which are assigned to the Destroyer Squadron 15, have been operating in the Indian Ocean over the past month. The squadron is the Japan-headquartered Seventh Fleet's principal surface force. The Pentagon is reinforcing its force posture in the Middle East amid continued tensions with Iran over the nuclear talks, as well as the attacks on ships in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Several American warships operating in the Western Pacific Ocean were re-tasked earlier to the Middle East, including a naval strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. What To Know An official released photo reveals that the Milius shifted its operating area to the Central Command's area of responsibility on April 25. The destroyer, which is homeported in Japan and joined the Destroyer Squadron 15 in 2018, was still in the Indian Ocean the day before. While another official photo, which was taken on April 24, mentioned the Milius was part of the Destroyer Squadron 15, the warship is now operating as part of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group. Satellite imagery captured the aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on April 24. 🇺🇸Carrier Strike Group 8 & 1🇺🇸 CSG 8 (Truman) & CSG 1 (Vinson) continue operations in @CENTCOM area of responsibility Red Sea (23 Apr): CVN-75, 3x Arleigh Burke, 1x Ticonderoga Arabian Sea (24 Apr): CVN-70, 1x Arleigh Burke, 1x Ticonderoga@Schizointel — MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) April 24, 2025 The Milius, which is one of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, provides what the U.S. Navy called "multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities." This class of multi-mission surface combatant is capable of operating independently or as part of a carrier strike group. In addition to the Milius, USS Wayne E. Meyer, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that was initially assigned to the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group for a deployment in the Western Pacific Ocean, has been operating with the Carl Vinson in the Middle East since at least April 13. Apart from the Milius and the Wayne E. Meyer, three other warships were assigned to the Carl Vinson; the cruiser USS Princeton, as well as a pair of destroyers, USS Sterett and USS William P. Lawrence, the U.S. Naval Institute News reported on April 28. An F/A-18E fighter jet launches from the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS "Carl Vinson" in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility in the Middle East on April 30, 2025. An F/A-18E fighter jet launches from the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS "Carl Vinson" in the U.S. Central Command's area of responsibility in the Middle East on April 30, 2025. U.S. Navy What People Are Saying The U.S. Seventh Fleet told Newsweek: "The U.S. [Seventh] Fleet operates its forces from the Western Pacific to the Indian Ocean, promoting regional stability and maritime security in support of a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific." The U.S. Central Command said: "Crews embarked on USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) resupply at sea and operate 24/7, targeting Iran-backed Houthi terrorists within Houthi controlled areas of Yemen." The Harry S. Truman is the second U.S. aircraft carrier deployed in the Middle East. What Happens Next It remains to be seen whether the Ralph Johnson will become the next Japan-based U.S. warship to join the combat operations in the Middle East or remain in the Indian Ocean.
