Latest news with #Coulthart
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Report of possible life on remote planet a ‘big deal': Journalist
(NewsNation) — News that scientists have found potential evidence of life on a faraway planet is exciting but shouldn't be taken as a certainty, says investigative journalist and podcaster Ross Coulthart, who studies UFOs and claims of alien visitations. Scientists at the University of Cambridge say they have detected what could be chemical signs of life on a planet known as K2-18b, which is 124 light-years away from Earth. They say they came to their conclusion by analyzing data from the James Webb Space Telescope. Specifically, the researchers say dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide appears to be present in the atmosphere of K2-18b, which orbits a star. The compounds are produced primarily by microbial life, such as marine phytoplankton, on Earth. Boots on Mars by 2029? Futurist says Musk plan is doable Coulthart is among the observers who find the information encouraging — but well short of a firm conclusion. 'It's a big deal, but it's still very, very tentative,' Coulthart told 'NewsNation Prime' on Sunday. 'There are doubters and debunkers.' Still, he said, it's notable that scientists can interpret data generated by the Webb Telescope. 'I really do think we are on the cusp of finding planets that are habitable for life,' Coulthart said. As for getting closer to confirm whether K2-18b has life, that's not realistic, he said. 'There's no way we can send a robotic drone there because it would take billions of lifetimes to get there,' Coulthart said. 'There's no really solid way of proving it, beyond doing more accurate measurements of the wavelengths of light.' The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Congress continues to seek answers on UFOs
Some lawmakers are hoping for more transparency on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), more commonly known as UFOs, as whistleblower David Grusch heads to Washington for a new role. Grusch will be a senior adviser for Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), helping the lawmaker with issues related to UFOs and will hold that position for a four-month period. In June 2023, he made claims that the Pentagon was operating a UAP retrieval program that was being hidden from lawmakers and the public. A House Oversight Committee hearing on the issue of UFOs was held in July of that year. Grusch and others who said they were former members of the retrieval program testified. Journalist Ross Coulthart said Burlison hiring Grusch for this role was a great move toward getting transparency on UFOs from the government. 'There's nothing quite like being in the Congress to be able to get in the ear of different lawmakers to let them know what to ask for,' Coulthart said during his Tuesday appearance on NewsNation's 'The Hill.' Burlison is part of the House Oversight Committee and on a subcommittee for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Coulthart said if the claims of the Pentagon's UAP program are true, DOGE could possibly look at it as something to review with government spending. With the release of files on the assassinations of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., former President Kennedy and former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Coulthart said he hopes to see classified files on UFOs released by the Trump administration soon, as President Trump expressed his support for disclosing UFOs. 'The ball is now in President Trump's court,' Coulthart told host Blake Burman. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
26-03-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Congress continues to seek answers on UFOs
Some lawmakers are hoping for more transparency on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), more commonly known as UFOs, as whistleblower David Grusch heads to Washington for a new role. Grusch will be a senior adviser for Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), helping the lawmaker with issues related to UFOs and will hold that position for a four-month period. In June 2023, he made claims that the Pentagon was operating a UAP retrieval program that was being hidden from lawmakers and the public. A House Oversight Committee hearing on the issue of UFOs was held in July of that year. Grusch and others who said they were former members of the retrieval program testified. Journalist Ross Coulthart said Burlison hiring Grusch for this role was a great move toward getting transparency on UFOs from the government. 'There's nothing quite like being in the Congress to be able to get in the ear of different lawmakers to let them know what to ask for,' Coulthart said during his Tuesday appearance on NewsNation's 'The Hill.' Burlison is part of the House Oversight Committee and on a subcommittee for Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Coulthart said if the claims of the Pentagon's UAP program are true, DOGE could possibly look at it as something to review with government spending. With the release of files on the assassinations of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., former President Kennedy and former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy (D-N.Y.), Coulthart said he hopes to see classified files on UFOs released by the Trump administration soon, as President Trump expressed his support for disclosing UFOs.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The biggest takeaway from the new JFK files? The CIA ‘failures': Coulthart
For more from Ross Coulthart on the JFK assassination and other stories the media is supposedly not meant to tell, watch his series, 'Reality Check,' on YouTube now. (NewsNation) — The latest release of formerly classified files related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy are mostly, according to investigative journalist Ross Coulthart, a 'nothingburger,' but he believes it's likely there isn't anything the government can do to dispel conspiracy theories related to the case. 'Frankly, I do think there are arguments that are worthy of investigation, that there should be a broader investigation into claims that there were multiple shooters and the unanswered questions surrounding the forensics in the Warren Commission that have only recently come to light,' said Coulthart. The long-awaited file release has so far yielded little new information. Despite hopes that the files might contain groundbreaking details, early reviews suggest much of the material has been previously available in some form. JFK assassination files: Read them here Coulthart believes it is unlikely that any revelation about the killing of a president would be found written in a government document, let alone allowed in the National Archives. 'It is a bit naive of us to expect to think that there might have been something in those files suggesting some kind of CIA conspiracy,' he said. 'Why would they put it in writing?' Coulthart, however, believes President Donald Trump's decision to release the remaining files shows a degree of transparency not seen in previous administrations. 'That truly is an extraordinary achievement and a great moment in accountability and transparency,' he said. What Coulthart believes is most evident in the files? The CIA's 'failures.' 'The history of the CIA, sadly, is one of an intelligence agency that has, frankly, missed so much.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What JFK files have been released, and what have we learned?
(NewsNation) — Following up on a promise from President Donald Trump, the National Archives released thousands of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Many of the documents are handwritten or blurred due to age and difficult to search, so historians and journalists are still pouring through them to uncover new details, but here is what is known so far. The White House said Tuesday that more documents would be released Wednesday. JFK files don't highlight conspiracy theories: Ross Coulthart Exactly what information is new and what is old is difficult to determine. Investigative journalist Gerald Posner told NewsNation the release was a document dump and a 'master class' in how not to release documents. 'They don't tell you what's new in them,' he said. The only way to clearly tell what information is new is to compare the documents to older versions previously released by the National Archives, a laborious process. The documents also were not classified or sorted in any way, so it could take days to determine what new information was actually released. So far, there hasn't been any 'smoking gun' that would validate decadesold conspiracies about the assassination, but independent journalist Jefferson Morely told NewsNation the files don't debunk conspiracies either. NTSB releases preliminary report on near-miss at Midway Airport 'They undermine the official story that one man alone killed the president for no reason,' Morely said. NewsNation contributor Ross Coulthart also notes that a document clearly laying out a planned conspiracy is unlikely to exist, and people would be unlikely to admit in no uncertain terms to taking part in one. 'Just because it's not written down on paper doesn't mean the evidence doesn't point to more than one shooter,' Coulthart said. The main conspiracy theories around the Kennedy assassination have centered around the identity or number of the shooters and the motivation behind the shooting. Many theorize that Lee Harvey Oswald was not the shooter and was set up or that he was one of multiple shooters and will be searching for evidence of that in the files. People will also be looking for references to the CIA, FBI, Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Mafia, which have all been accused of being behind the assassination, either individually or as part of a larger conspiracy. Dramatic car chase in Florida ends in discovery of missing Texas teen Many are also interested in how much intelligence the U.S. or other countries, including Mexico, had on Oswald prior to the shooting. Coulthart noted the documents also provide a glimpse into the bigger picture of Cold War clandestine actions, including the U.S. being behind the deaths of leaders who were deemed a threat to America's goal of stopping communism. Another revelation was the number of CIA agents placed overseas as State Department employees, said to be about 1,500. The CIA has historically used State Department employment as a cover for agents, but a 1961 memo to Kennedy revealed the number was beginning to be seen as a threat to the ability of the agency to control its own policy. Morely also noted that the documents suggest that CIA surveillance of Oswald prior to the assassination was more extensive than previously known. Announcing the release of the documents, Trump promised no redactions, but that does not appear to have been true. Trump will run and win again in 2028: Steve Bannon Posner noted that some redactions include Social Security numbers for still-living individuals. There are also redactions related to files on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. because they are related to information that was sealed by a judge for 50 years. Despite executive orders to release information, those files cannot be made public for another two years. All the files released have come from the National Archives. A question remains on if or how files from other agencies, including the CIA and FBI, would be made public. Following Trump's executive order, the FBI conducted a review and found 2,400 unreleased records relating to the JFK assassination. Those were not included in Tuesday's drop, and there has been no information on if or when they could be released. Trump defends deportation flights as judge calls for more information In addition to the Kennedy files, Trump also promised the release of files related to the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. A release date for those files has not yet been announced. The files are being released in the name of transparency, but Posner said he doubts they will satisfy those who think the government is hiding something. The fact that information has been kept secret for so many decades despite public questions about the official narrative may lead people to think incriminating files are still being obscured, he told NewsNation. 'The average person thinks they must have been hiding something to keep them hidden for so long,' Posner said. 'So people think maybe they're destroyed or kept elsewhere in government.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
