NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising toward records Tuesday after Donald Trump’s latest talk about tariffs created only some ripples on Wall Street, even if they could roil the global economy were they to take effect. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% and was on track to top its all-time high set a couple weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 81 points, or 0.2%, to its own record set the day before, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher, with less than an hour remaining in trading. Stock markets abroad were down, but mostly only modestly, after President-elect Trump said he plans to impose sweeping new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office. Stock indexes were down 0.1% in Shanghai and nearly flat in Hong Kong, while Canada's main index edged down by just 0.1%. Trump has often praised the use of tariffs , but investors are weighing whether his latest threat will actually become policy or is just an opening point for negotiations. For now, the market seems to be taking it more as the latter. Unless the United States can prepare alternatives for the autos, energy products and other goods that come from Mexico, Canada and China, such tariffs would raise the price of imported items all at once and make households poorer, according to Carl Weinberg and Rubeela Farooqi, economists at High Frequency Economics. They would also hurt profit margins for U.S. companies, while raising the threat of retaliatory tariffs by other countries. General Motors sank 8.2%, and Ford Motor fell 2.6% because both import automobiles from Mexico. Constellation Brands, which sells Modelo and other Mexican beer brands in the United States, dropped 3.9%. Beyond the pain such tariffs would cause U.S. households and businesses, they could also push the Federal Reserve to slow or even halt its cuts to interest rates. The Fed had just begun easing its main interest rate from a two-decade high a couple months ago to offer support to the job market . While lower interest rates can boost the overall economy and prices for investments, they can also offer more fuel for inflation. “Many” officials at the Fed's last meeting earlier this month said they should lower rates gradually, according to minutes of the meeting released Tuesday afternoon. Unlike tariffs in Trump's first term, his proposal from Monday night would affect products across the board. Trump’s tariff talk came almost immediately after U.S. stocks rose Monday amid excitement about his pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. The hope was the hedge-fund manager could steer Trump away from policies that balloon the U.S. government deficit, which is how much more it spends than it takes in through taxes and other revenue. The talk about tariffs overshadowed another set of mixed profit reports from U.S. retailers that answered few questions about how much more shoppers can keep spending. They’ll need to stay resilient after helping the economy avoid a recession, despite the high interest rates instituted by the Fed to get inflation under control. Kohl’s tumbled 17.6% after its results for the latest quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations. CEO Tom Kingsbury said sales remain soft for apparel and footwear. A day earlier, Kingsbury said he plans to step down as CEO in January. Ashley Buchanan, CEO of Michaels and a retail veteran, will replace him. Best Buy fell 4.7% after likewise falling short of analysts’ expectations. Dick’s Sporting Goods topped forecasts for the latest quarter thanks to a strong back-to-school season, but its stock lost an early gain to fall 1.4%. A report on Tuesday from the Conference Board said confidence among U.S. consumers improved in November, but not by as much as economists expected. J.M. Smucker jumped 5.4% for one of the biggest gains in the S&P 500 after topping analysts' expectations for the latest quarter. CEO Mark Smucker credited strength for its Uncrustables, Meow Mix, Café Bustelo and Jif brands. Big Tech stocks also helped prop up U.S. indexes. Gains of 2.8% for Amazon and 2% for Microsoft were the two strongest forces lifting the S&P 500. In the bond market, Treasury yields rose following their big drop from a day before driven by relief following Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary. The yield on the 10-year Treasury climbed to 4.30% from 4.28% late Monday, but it’s still well below the 4.41% level where it ended last week. In the crypto market, bitcoin continued to pull back after topping $99,000 for the first time late last week. It's since dipped back toward $91,600, according to CoinDesk. It’s a sharp turnaround from the bonanza that initially took over the crypto market following Trump’s election. That boom had also appeared to have spilled into some corners of the stock market. Strategists at Barclays Capital pointed to stocks of unprofitable companies, along with other areas that can be caught up in bursts of optimism by smaller-pocketed “retail” investors. AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach contributed. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is on holiday break and reportedly reflecting on his future, his former top adviser Gerald Butts said he could soon be stepping down. Butts, who now works for the think tank Eurasia Group, published an article on Dec. 27 going over the political saga of the last weeks around Chrystia Freeland’s resignation from cabinet and the future of the Liberal Party. Butts argued against the Liberal caucus anointing Freeland as the new leader after she quit in dramatic fashion on Dec. 16, hours before she was scheduled to deliver the Fall Economic Statement. Freeland publicized her resignation letter to Trudeau, in which she accuses him of using “costly political gimmicks” when the country should be fiscally responsible to prepare for a trade war with the incoming U.S. administration. Freeland also wrote Trudeau was stripping her of the finance portfolio. Butts said Freeland’s team now believes she will be thanked with Trudeau’s job after having done the Liberal Party and the a country a “favour by ringing a loud buzzer alarm into the ear of a Prime Minister who was sleepwalking toward electoral oblivion.” “I’m not so sure,” he added. Whereas Freeland attempted to distance herself from Trudeau in her resignation letter, saying they’ve been “at odds” over a number of weeks on how the “best path forward for Canada,” Butts remarked the two politicians’ trajectories have long been closely linked. “Chrystia Freeland was the first person recruited to Team Trudeau to help shape that agenda and make it real for people,” Butts wrote about how the Liberal Party soared back to power in 2015 promising to boost the middle class. Butts, who served as principal secretary to Trudeau from 2015 to 2019, added he had not expected the political partnership between Freeland and Trudeau would “end in tears.” This development makes it more likely Trudeau won’t lead the Liberal Party in the next election, Butts said, with the election now likely coming sooner and with greater odds of a Conservative majority. Trudeau has also not commented publicly on his future, but it was reported by MPs after the Liberal caucus meeting he attended on the evening of Dec. 16 that he is taking time to reflect on the matter. Pressure has been building on Trudeau to step down since the Liberal Party lost a stronghold riding to the Tories in a Toronto byelection in June. Since then, the party also lost a Montreal stronghold in September. This led to a mini-caucus revolt in October, with 23 MPs presenting a letter to Trudeau asking for his resignation. That number is now reportedly much higher, with some MPs saying the majority of caucus wants him gone. Some Liberal MPs like Anthony Housefather are pressing Trudeau to step down so that the next federal election is not a referendum on the prime minister. Polls have the Liberals trailing the Tories by over 20 points, putting the Conservatives in firm majority territory. Trudeau has several options to choose from in whether he decides to resign or stay on, including the prorogation of Parliament. He is facing opposition parties intent on making the government fall once the House of Commons reconvenes on Jan. 27.Stock market today: Wall Street rises toward records despite tariff talk
Evolus, Inc. ( NASDAQ:EOLS – Get Free Report ) insider Rui Avelar sold 2,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $10.85, for a total value of $24,434.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 366,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,977,555.75. This trade represents a 0.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link . Evolus Stock Down 2.3 % Shares of NASDAQ EOLS opened at $11.09 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.73. The company has a market capitalization of $702.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.19 and a beta of 1.27. Evolus, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.80 and a 1 year high of $17.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.58, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts have recently commented on EOLS shares. Barclays raised their price target on Evolus from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $22.00 target price on shares of Evolus in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Evolus in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Evolus in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Evolus A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOLS. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Evolus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Evolus during the 2nd quarter worth $54,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Evolus in the third quarter valued at $132,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Evolus in the third quarter valued at $191,000. Finally, Profund Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Evolus during the second quarter worth about $130,000. 90.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. About Evolus ( Get Free Report ) Evolus, Inc, a performance beauty company, focuses on delivering products in the cash-pay aesthetic market in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company offers Jeuveau, a proprietary 900 kilodalton purified botulinum toxin type A formulation for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines in adults. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Evolus Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Evolus and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .The secret to making successful financial New Year’s resolutionsDavid Hilzenrath, Jodie Fleischer, Cox Media Group | (TNS) KFF Health News In March, newly installed Social Security chief Martin O’Malley criticized agency “injustices” that “shock our shared sense of equity and good conscience as Americans.” He promised to overhaul the Social Security Administration’s often heavy-handed efforts to claw back money that millions of recipients — including people who are living in poverty, are elderly, or have disabilities — were allegedly overpaid, as described by a KFF Health News and Cox Media Group investigation last year. “Innocent people can be badly hurt,” O’Malley said at the time. Nearly eight months since he appeared before Congress and announced a series of policy changes, and with two months left in his term, O’Malley’s effort to fix the system has made inroads but remains a work in progress. For instance, one change, moving away from withholding 100% of people’s monthly Social Security benefits to recover alleged overpayments, has been a major improvement, say advocates for beneficiaries. “It is a tremendous change,” said Kate Lang of Justice in Aging, who called it “life-changing for many people.” The number of people from whom the Social Security Administration was withholding full monthly benefits to recoup money declined sharply — from about 46,000 in January to about 7,000 in September, the agency said. Asked to clarify whether those numbers and others provided for this article covered all programs administered by the agency, the SSA press office did not respond. Another potentially significant change — relieving beneficiaries of having to prove that an overpayment was not their fault — has not been implemented. The agency said it is working on that. Meanwhile, the agency seems to be looking to Congress to take the lead on a change some observers see as crucial: limiting how far back the government can reach to recover an alleged overpayment. Barbara Hubbell of Watkins Glen, New York, called the absence of a statute of limitations “despicable.” Hubbell said her mother was held liable for $43,000 because of an SSA error going back 19 years. “In what universe is that even legal?” Hubbell said. Paying down the overpayment balance left her mother “essentially penniless,” she added. In response to questions for this article, Social Security spokesperson Mark Hinkle said legislation is “the best and fastest way” to set a time limit. Establishing a statute of limitations was not among the policy changes O’Malley announced in his March congressional testimony. In an interview at the time, he said he expected an announcement on it “within the next couple few months.” It could probably be done by regulation, without an act of Congress, he said. Speaking generally, Hinkle said the agency has “made substantial progress on overpayments,” reducing the hardship they cause, and “continues to work diligently” to update policies. The agency is underfunded, he added, is at a near 50-year low in staffing, and could do better with more employees. The SSA did not respond to requests for an interview with O’Malley. O’Malley announced the policy changes after KFF Health News and Cox Media Group jointly published and broadcast investigative reporting on the damage overpayments and clawbacks have done to millions of beneficiaries. When O’Malley, a former Democratic governor of Maryland, presented his plans to three congressional committees in March, lawmakers greeted him with rare bipartisan praise. But the past several months have shown how hard it can be to turn around a federal bureaucracy that is massive, complex, deeply dysfunctional, and, as it says, understaffed. Now O’Malley’s time may be running out. Lang of Justice in Aging, among the advocacy groups that have been meeting with O’Malley and other Social Security officials, said she appreciates how much the commissioner has achieved in a short time. But she added that O’Malley has “not been interested in hearing about our feelings that things have fallen short.” One long-standing policy O’Malley set out to change involves the burden of proof. When the Social Security Administration alleges someone has been overpaid and demands the money back, the burden is on the beneficiary to prove they were not at fault. Cecilia Malone, 24, a beneficiary in Lithonia, Georgia, said she and her parents spent hundreds of hours trying to get errors corrected. “Why is the burden on us to ‘prove’ we weren’t overpaid?” Malone said. It can be exceedingly difficult for beneficiaries to appeal a decision. The alleged overpayments, which can reach tens of thousands of dollars or more, often span years. And people struggling just to survive may have extra difficulty producing financial records from long ago. What’s more, in letters demanding repayment, the government does not typically spell out its case against the beneficiary — making it hard to mount a defense. Testifying before House and Senate committees in March, O’Malley promised to shift the burden of proof. “That should be on the agency,” he said. The agency expects to finalize “guidance” on the subject “in the coming months,” Hinkle said. The agency points to reduced wait times and other improvements in a phone system known to leave beneficiaries on hold. “In September, we answered calls to our national 800 number in an average of 11 minutes — a tremendous improvement from 42 minutes one year ago,” Hinkle said. Still, in response to a nonrepresentative survey by KFF Health News and Cox Media Group focused on overpayments, about half of respondents who said they contacted the agency by phone since April rated that experience as “poor,” and few rated it “good” or “excellent.” The survey was sent to about 600 people who had contacted KFF Health News to share their overpayment stories since September 2023. Almost 200 people answered the survey in September and October of this year. Most of those who said they contacted the agency by mail since April rated their experience as “poor.” Jennifer Campbell, 60, a beneficiary in Nelsonville, Ohio, said in late October that she was still waiting for someone at the agency to follow up as described during a phone call in May. “VERY POOR customer service!!!!!” Campbell wrote. “Nearly impossible to get a hold of someone,” wrote Kathryn Duff of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who has been helping a disabled family member. Letters from SSA have left Duff mystified. One was postmarked July 9, 2024, but dated more than two years earlier. Another, dated Aug. 18, 2024, said her family member was overpaid $31,635.80 in benefits from the Supplemental Security Income program, which provides money to people with little or no income or other resources who are disabled, blind, or at least 65. But Duff said her relative never received SSI benefits. What’s more, for the dates in question, payments listed in the letter to back up the agency’s math didn’t come close to $31,635.80; they totaled about a quarter of that amount. Regarding the 100% clawbacks, O’Malley in March said it’s “unconscionable that someone would find themselves facing homelessness or unable to pay bills, because Social Security withheld their entire payment for recovery of an overpayment.” He said that, starting March 25, if a beneficiary doesn’t respond to a new overpayment notice, the agency would default to withholding 10%. The agency warned of “a short transition period.” That change wasn’t automated until June 25, Hinkle said. The number of people newly placed in full withholding plummeted from 6,771 in February to 51 in September, according to data the agency provided. SSA said it would notify recipients they could request reduced withholding if it was already clawing back more than 10% of their monthly checks. Nonetheless, dozens of beneficiaries or their family members told KFF Health News and Cox Media Group they hadn’t heard they could request reduced withholding. Among those who did ask, roughly half said their requests were approved. According to the SSA, there has been almost a 20% decline in the number of people facing clawbacks of more than 10% but less than 100% of their monthly checks — from 141,316 as of March 8 to 114,950 as of Oct. 25, agency spokesperson Nicole Tiggemann said. Meanwhile, the number of people from whom the agency was withholding exactly 10% soared more than fortyfold — from just over 5,000 to well over 200,000. And the number of beneficiaries having any partial benefits withheld to recover an overpayment increased from almost 600,000 to almost 785,000, according to data Tiggemann provided. Lorraine Anne Davis, 72, of Houston, said she hasn’t received her monthly Social Security payment since June due to an alleged overpayment. Her Medicare premium was being deducted from her monthly benefit, so she’s been left to pay that out-of-pocket. Davis said she’s going to need a kidney transplant and had been trying to save money for when she’d be unable to work. Related Articles National News | Traveling this holiday season? 10 things the TSA wants you to know National News | California case is the first confirmed bird flu infection in a US child National News | Colorado funeral home owners who let bodies decay plead guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse National News | Another E. coli recall: falafel bites from Florida, California and 16 other states National News | US budget airlines are struggling. Will pursuing premium passengers solve their problems? A letter from the SSA dated April 8, 2024, two weeks after the new 10% withholding policy was slated to take effect, said it had overpaid her $13,538 and demanded she pay it back within 30 days. Apparently, the SSA hadn’t accounted for a pension Davis receives from overseas; Davis said she disclosed it when she filed for benefits. In a letter to her dated June 29, the agency said that, under its new policy, it would change the withholding to only 10% if she asked. Davis said she asked by phone repeatedly, and to no avail. “Nobody seems to know what’s going on” and “no one seems to be able to help you,” Davis said. “You’re just held captive.” In October, the agency said she’d receive a payment — in March 2025. Marley Presiado, a research assistant on the Public Opinion and Survey Research team at KFF, contributed to this report. ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
November 24, dawn of a new era for Pakistan: PTIThe Denver Center for the Performing Arts puts on a wonderful performance of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” every year, and is now celebrating its 30th year of doing so. Denver Center for the Performing Arts uses Richard Hellesen’s 1987 stage adaptation, which sticks to the original story while extending and enhancing some parts. One of my favorite moments that improves upon the original story occurs when the Ghost of Christmas Present takes Ebenezer Scrooge to visit the home of Scrooge’s employee Bob Cratchit, and they hear Cratchit deliver a dinnertime toast to Scrooge’s health. Instead of the short toast to Scrooge from Dickens’ story, Hellesen gives us a wonderful speech from Cratchit to his family. In the Denver Center for the Performing Arts performance, Geoffrey Kent’s Bob Cratchit has the perfect mix of casual delivery and deliberate pause as he searches for words and finds the exact language needed for the moment. The speech is masterful and stirring, starting with Cratchit pointing out that Christmas is not a static event. “When I listen to you talk about your hopes, I can’t but think about how Christmas changes as we grow older,” he says. Cratchit was talking about his own experience with Christmas, but I often think about that line with how the holiday changes each year for society as a whole. One marker of modernization is mail delivery, that under-appreciated yet absolutely crucial part of Christmas for so many families hoping to have presents delivered to loved ones across the country. The first people to make skis and use them regularly in the West were mail carriers. Among the best-known was Norway native John Tostensen, better known as Snowshoe Thompson, who braved avalanches, bears and blizzards to deliver the mail over the Sierra Nevada mountain range between California and Nevada in the 1860s. Today, a monument exists in his honor in Soda Springs, California, with an inscription describing him as “probably the first skier of the West.” Snowshoe Thompson’s counterpart in Colorado was Snowshoe Johnson, a man who used homemade skis to deliver mail from Crystal to Crested Butte in the 1880s. In a description of an exhibit that once adorned the Colorado Snowsports Museum in Vail, Al Johnson was said to have “learned to ski fast by outrunning avalanches.” In the decades to come, technological improvements would make the job much safer and easier. The Rocky Mountain News, in December of 1926, ran a story with the headline “Air Mail is newest recruit among aids of Santa Claus,” describing how the Christmas rush had ushered in a new era of night flight, in which lights would be used to illuminate runways to allow for more packages to be delivered out of Denver to meet holiday demands. By the 1930s, skis had gone from being homemade tools built for utility to mass-produced gadgets crafted for recreation, and that fact was reflected in the letters to Santa published in area newspapers. Skis, bindings and boots began popping up in those letters by the mid-to-late 1930s (along with, somewhat disturbingly, machine guns), before disappearing altogether decades later as skis became everyday items given to children automatically as a way of life each winter, like a jacket or a pair of shoes. (Thankfully, machine guns have also disappeared from local kids’ Christmas lists.) From the Steamboat Pilot: Dec. 13, 1935, from Jay Outsen: “Dear Santa — Please bring me a pair of skis and bindings and please bring me a machine gun that shoots sparks and my sister would like you to bring her a sewing machine and a piano.” Dec. 15, 1938, from Ralph Yates: “Dear Santa — I would like a pair of skis and a pair of ice skates and a machine gun and a train and a tool set.” Dec. 14, 1939, from Maynard Smith: “Dear Santa — I want a pair of skis and a machine gun. Don’t try to come down my chimney or you will land in the basement.” Dec. 12, 1940, from Ted Kolb: “Dear Santa — I want a cowboy set. I want a machine gun. I want some skis.” In thinking about those letters to Santa, the post office and mail carriers, and all the other details where I find meaning in Cratchit’s speech about the way Christmas changes, an old joke comes to mind. I will attempt to retell it here, adapting it to our area and enhancing it slightly like Hellesen did with “A Christmas Carol.” In addition to the newspaper editor receiving many of the letters to Santa each Christmas, the other person who gets piles of them is your local postman. Oftentimes, in the back offices and break rooms of mail carriers’ workplaces, those letters would be opened and read aloud for the entertainment and enjoyment of the workers, as there’s no real place to deliver a letter addressed to the “North Pole.” As I mentioned earlier, skis and boots and bindings in mountain towns went from a common request 85 years ago to being almost nonexistent in letters to Santa in recent decades as skis started becoming regarded as parental responsibility rather than a special gift. But one year, not long ago, the post office workers here received a letter from a local third grader with beautiful handwriting who said she would love to learn how to ski. Her dad might even be able to get her a ski pass through his work, she said, but there’s no way her parents would ever be able to afford skis and bindings and boots. “If I could just get those three items, Santa — skis, bindings and boots — then I could join my friends on the mountain, where they seem to have so much fun every weekend,” she said. The post office workers, all skiers themselves, felt terrible. No child who wants to learn to ski should be held back by a lack of equipment, they said. So they passed a collection cup around among themselves, seeing if they could raise enough money to buy her the equipment she needed. Some donated $50, some $100, and at the end of the day, they had raised enough to get her a nice pair of skis with bindings in a size that she would be able to use for several seasons. But there wasn’t enough money left over for ski boots, and they didn’t know what size she was anyway, so they figured if they delivered the skis and bindings to the return address on the letter, someone would find a way to get the child a pair of boots so she could get on the mountain. A week went by and another envelope addressed to the North Pole was received, a rare post-Christmas letter to Santa. The workers immediately recognized the beautiful handwriting and opened it to see what the girl had to say. “Dear Santa — thank you so much for the skis and bindings,” the letter said. “I know you got me a pair of ski boots also, but the stupid idiots at the post office must have lost them.”
Space exploration's most stunning photos in 2024 READ MORE: Shocking truth about the most iconic photos from space revealed By ELLYN LAPOINTE FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 14:39 EST, 27 December 2024 | Updated: 14:58 EST, 27 December 2024 e-mail View comments This year was historic for space research and exploration, and we have the photos to prove it. In 2024, rare astronomical events captured the attention of sky watchers across the US, including a total solar eclipse , aurora that stretched as far south as Florida and striking meteor showers . There were stunning accomplishments in the world of spaceflight, too. SpaceX performed the first commercial spacewalk and caught a giant rocket with a pair of 'chopstick' arms , NASA completed the first flight of an aircraft on Mars , and International Space Station astronauts beamed amazing images back to Earth . Telescopes in space and on Earth snapped some incredible shots too, capturing stars, other planets and even entire galaxies in unprecedented detail. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and European Southern Observatory (ESO) are just a few of the highly-sophisticated imaging instruments that changed our understanding of the universe this year. Below, DailyMail.com highlights some of 2024's most jaw-dropping space photos. Star-forming region NGC 604 JWST captured this near-infrared view of the star-forming region NGC 604, which sits in the Triangulum galaxy 2.7 million light-years from Earth JWST 's NIRcam instrument is a powerful near-infrared camera that can capture images of distant nebulae in astonishing detail. This year, the telescope snapped this photo of the star-forming nebula known as NGC 604. This enormous cloud of gas and dust is located 2.7 million light-years from Earth in the Triangulum galaxy. Stretching almost 1,500 light-years across, NGC 604 is nearly 100 times larger than the Orion Nebula in our own galaxy. NHC 604 contains more than 200 hot, massive young stars — significantly more than the Orion Nebula's four. This JWST image shows the nebula's arms of gas and dust, which serve as a nursery for young, still-forming stars. Starlink satellites captured by ISS astronaut Don Pettit, a NASA astronaut aboard the ISS, shared this photo he took in November, which shows Starlink satellites streaking by In November, NASA astronaut Don Pettit shared this image taken from the ISS, which shows Starlink satellites streaking by. In a post on X , Pettit compared the satellites to 'a miniature version of the monolith from '2001: A Space Odyssey', where the large flat face of the monolith points towards earth and the solar panel protrudes outward like the fin on the back of a Dimetrodon.' He described the image, saying: 'Compared to the well-defined streaks from star trails, this time exposure shows wonky streaks flashing ISS. 'These are Starlink satellites reflecting pre-dusk or pre-dawn sunlight off their solar panels. They are only seen from 5 to 18 degrees preceding or trailing the sun. 'They create bright flashes, perhaps lasting for a few seconds each due to the orientation of their outward pointing solar panels.' Pettit is well-known for his orbital astrophotography, which he creates from the unique vantage point of the ISS. SpaceX's 'chopsticks' rocket catch SpaceX achieved a historic spaceflight maneuver this year when the Mechazilla launch tower's 'chopstick' arms caught the Super Heavy booster in mid-air, executing a bull's eye landing Elon Musk's SpaceX made spaceflight history in October with the successful execution of a 'chopstick' maneuver. It was the fifth time the spaceflight company launched its 400-foot-tall Starship rocket, but this launch was anything but routine. In a world's first, SpaceX aimed to return the rocket's Super Heavy booster directly to its launch mount, snatching it out of mid-air with a pair of 'chopstick' arms attached to the launch tower. Just seven minutes after liftoff, Super Heavy executed a bull's eye landing, hovering near the 'Mechazilla' launch tower as the metal arms caught it. The bold, historic maneuver marked a major achievement for SpaceX and the spaceflight industry at large. 'Are you kidding me?' SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot added from the launch site following the event. 'Even in this day and age, what we just saw — that looked like magic.' Supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* In 2024, astronomers captured the first image of the polarized light and magnetic fields that surround Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way This year, astronomers captured the first image of the polarized light and magnetic fields that surround Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole that sits at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. This image was made using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), a global network of radio telescopes that can observe a supermassive black hole's event horizon, or the boundary where the velocity needed to escape exceeds the speed of light. At just 26,000 light years from Earth, Sagittarius A* is one of very few black holes in the universe where astronomers can actually observe the flow of matter around it. This historic image provides the first direct visual evidence of this supermassive black hole's existence. Although we cannot see the black hole itself — as it is completely dark — the glowing whirls of gas around it reveal a telltale signature: a dark central region (or 'shadow') surrounded by a bright ring-like structure. The image therefore shows light bent by the black hole's extreme gravity. HP Tau: An infant star The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the infant star HP Tau this year, located 550 light-years from Earth The Hubble Space Telescope snapped this stunning photo of the infant star HP Tau this year. HP Tau is located roughly 550 light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus. At just 10million years old, it is the youngest among its neighbors. It can be seen at the top of a trio of stars captured in this Hubble image. These three stars reside within a hollow cavity in a huge cloud of gas and dust, 'looking like a glittering cosmic geode,' as NASA described it. HP Tau is a T Tauri star, a type of young variable star that has not begun nuclear fusion yet, but will eventually evolve into a hydrogen-fueled star similar to our sun, according to NASA. At 4.6 billion years old, our sun is far older than this infant. First-ever commercial spacewalk Tech billionaire and SpaceX astronaut Jared Isaacman made history when he emerged from the Polaris Dawn capsule to complete the first civilian spacewalk In September, SpaceX's Polaris Dawn crew made history by executing the first privately-funded spacewalk. The achievement marked a major milestone for the commercial spaceflight industry, of which SpaceX is a key leader. In this image, tech billionaire and Polaris Dawn mission commander Jared Isaacman can be seen emerging from the Crew Dragon capsule 434 miles above Earth's surface as the sun rises over the eastern portion of the US. He spent 12 minutes testing the mobility and functionality of SpaceX's new extravehicular activity (EVA) suits, which had never been used in space before. After Isaacman retreated back into the capsule, Polaris Dawn mission specialist Sarah Gillis, emerged and performed the same EVA test maneuvers. 'Back at home, we all have a lot of work to do,' said Isaacman as he looked down at our planet. 'But from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world.' 'Doomed' star Eta Carinae The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the unusual nebula that surrounds Eta Carinae, a star that is likely to explode at any time This 2024 image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope brings out details in the unusual nebula that surrounds Eta Carinae, a star that may be about to explode. Scientists aren't sure exactly when this explosion could occur. According to NASA, it could be next year, or it could be a million years from now. But when it does blow, it will likely cause a supernova — the biggest type of explosion known to man. Eta Carinae is about 100 times more massive than our sun. Located 7,500 light-years away in the Keyhole nebula, its violent death would not impact Earth. But still, Hubble has been monitoring Eta Carinae for the last 25 years, waiting for it to explode. In this image, two distinct lobes of the surrounding Homunculus Nebula encompass the hot central region, while some 'strange' radial streaks are visible in red extending toward the right, according to NASA. Total solar eclipse On April 8, skywatchers in 15 US states witnessed a total solar eclipse On April 8, millions of Americans looked up at the sky in unison to witness a total solar eclipse. All of North America experienced at least a partial solar eclipse. But 15 US states from Texas to Maine were in the 115-mile-wide path of totality, which also stretched through Canada and Mexico. In this area, spectators experienced several minutes of near-total darkness as the sun disappeared behind the moon's shadow. Images of the eclipse were shared widely on social media, including this one which shows solar prominences erupting from the sun's surface - the squiggly red lines that appear to be jetting out from the perimeter of the sun. Solar prominences are eruptions of solar plasma, a hot gas made of electrically charged hydrogen and helium. US sees far-reaching aurora The aurora borealis is typically only seen at northern latitudes. But in October, this dazzling light display stretched as far south as Florida In an extremely rare event, the aurora borealis — also known as the northern lights — stretched as far south as Key Largo, Florida in October. The dazzling light display was triggered by a severe geomagnetic storm, or a major disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere that occurs when an outburst of solar radiation impacts out planet. This storm was a G5, the most severe class of geomagnetic storm. Aurora were visible at much lower latitudes than usual, with spectators sharing images from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and other southern states. Perseid meteor shower This long exposure photo shows the Perseid meteor shower over Osijek, Croatia on August 11 In August, the Perseid meteor shower streaked across the night sky, allowing stargazers to capture striking long-exposure photos like this one taken in Osijek, Croatia. The Perseid meteor shower occurs annually, and is considered the best meteor shower of the year. It can produce 50 to 100 shooting stars per hour, which frequently leave long 'wakes' of light and color behind them, according to NASA. This meteor shower results from the Earth passing through debris, or bits of ice and rock, left in the wake of the comet Swift Tuttle, which last passed close to Earth in 1992. The peak of the shower is from August 11 through 12, when our planet travels through the densest part of this debris trail. Share or comment on this article: Space exploration's most stunning photos in 2024 e-mail Add commentCBAK Energy Technology Stock Soars On Significant Order Win: Retail Chatter Shows Optimism