Blue Origin, the space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, hopes to launch its huge new rocket early Tuesday morning, but has flagged lousy overnight weather could mean a scrubbed lift-off for a second straight day.The inaugural launch of the towering 320-foot (98-meter) rocket, dubbed New Glenn in honor of legendary American astronaut John Glenn, had been initially scheduled during a three-hour window starting at 1:00 am (0600 GMT) Monday.After repeated stalls in the countdown, the launch was ultimately called off, with the company later saying it had discovered an issue related to “ice forming in a purge line on an auxiliary power unit” for some hydraulic systems.Blue Origin said it would aim for another three-hour window beginning at 1:00 am Tuesday, but warned “poor weather forecast at LC-36” — its launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida — “could result in missing this window.”With the mission, dubbed NG-1, Amazon founder Bezos is taking aim at the only man in the world wealthier than him: fellow tech innovator Elon Musk.Musk’s company SpaceX dominates the orbital launch market through its prolific Falcon 9 rockets, which have become vital for the commercial sector, Pentagon and NASA.Bezos, who founded Blue Origin in 2000 and celebrated his 61st birthday Sunday, watched Monday’s events unfold from the nearby launch control room. Musk, for his part, wished Blue Origin “Good luck!” on X.”SpaceX has for the past several years been pretty much the only game in town, and so having a competitor… this is great,” G. Scott Hubbard, a retired senior NASA official, told AFP, expecting the competition to drive down costs.Upping the high-stakes rivalry, SpaceX plans another orbital test of Starship — its gargantuan new-generation rocket — later this week.- Landing attempt -When New Glenn does fly, Blue Origin will attempt to land the first-stage booster on a drone ship stationed about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.SpaceX has made such landings now routine, but this will be Blue Origin’s first shot at a touchdown on the high seas.Meanwhile, the rocket’s upper stage will fire its engines toward Earth orbit, reaching a maximum altitude of roughly 12,000 miles above the surface.A Defense Department-funded prototype of an advanced spaceship called Blue Ring, which could one day journey through the solar system, will remain aboard for the roughly six-hour test flight.Blue Origin has experience landing its New Shepard rockets — used for suborbital tourism — but they are five times smaller and land on terra firma rather than a ship at sea.Physically, the gleaming white New Glenn dwarfs SpaceX’s 230-foot Falcon 9 and is designed for heavier payloads.It slots between Falcon 9 and its big sibling, Falcon Heavy, in terms of mass capacity but holds an edge with its wider payload fairing, capable of carrying the equivalent of 20 moving trucks.- Slow v fast development -Blue Origin has already secured a NASA contract to launch two Mars probes aboard New Glenn. The rocket will also support the deployment of Project Kuiper, a satellite internet constellation designed to compete with Starlink.For now, however, SpaceX maintains a commanding lead, while other rivals — United Launch Alliance, Arianespace, and Rocket Lab — trail far behind.Like Musk, Bezos has a lifelong passion for space.But where Musk dreams of colonizing Mars, Bezos envisions shifting heavy industry off-planet onto floating space platforms in order to preserve Earth, “humanity’s blue origin.”If New Glenn succeeds, it will provide the US government “dissimilar redundancy” — valuable backup if one system fails, said Scott Pace, a space policy analyst at George Washington University.

Donald Trump will be the one taking the presidential oath next week, but in some respects, billionaire Elon Musk might as well place his hand on the Bible too.In an unprecedented relationship for modern US history, Trump will be heading into the White House shadowed by an advisor who is not only the world’s richest person but matches the incoming president in terms of wild ambition, hard-right politics, and media influence.Will the Oval Office be big enough for two outsized personalities, let alone the mountain of conflicts of interest trailing Musk?It’s a political marriage that was sealed by Musk’s bankrolling of Trump’s third tilt at the US presidency.The duo have an extraordinary collective power over messaging, with Musk turning his X social media platform into a haven for right-wingers and Trump enjoying friendly coverage from an entire conservative media ecosystem.They also share a love for provocative theatrics.”Like Trump, Musk recognizes the value of getting attention for saying and doing things that some people see as outrageous… he likes challenging norms,” said Margaret O’Mara, a history professor at the University of Washington.Musk has made quite the impact with the once and future president, according to Peter Loge, director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.”Elon Musk is rich, and brash, and he is constantly reminding Donald Trump how wonderful Donald Trump is — which are all things Donald Trump likes,” Loge said.- Cutting and slashing -However, Lorenzo Castellani, a history professor at Rome’s Luiss Guido Carli, warns that “the chances of friction being generated in the long run are high.”Musk has been named in charge of a plan to slash federal spending and regulations. The ambitious plans are popular with right-wing ideologues but the Trump camp has not explained how such sweeping changes would avoid conflicts of interest, given that Musk is a major government contractor.Even before Trump’s inauguration — he takes the oath on January 20 — Musk appears to be running into his first doses of political reality.The Tesla and SpaceX boss had initially vowed to chop a highly improbable $2 trillion in government spending, but now says “we’ve got a good shot” at saving $1 trillion.Even that would be a colossal undertaking, with the government’s budget about $7 trillion overall — making such dramatic cuts difficult without losing crucial services or benefits.The South African native, 53, has appeared almost omnipresent with Trump since the November election.Musk has joined Trump’s meetings with business leaders and foreign delegations. The duo are frequently photographed dining together and even dancing together to campy classic “YMCA” on New Year’s Eve.According to Castellani, Musk’s close relationship with the incoming president recalls those of the “robber barons” of the late 19th and 20th centuries — men like Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie and JP Morgan — “who had enormous economic power and political influence.”Like his predecessors, Musk is using his political clout to protect his interests.He has used X, formerly Twitter, to boost far-right movements and start online fights in Europe.In Britain, where lawmakers adopted new restrictions on social networks, Musk has brutally attacked Prime Minister Keir Starmer including calling for his ouster.He has repeatedly praised Germany’s far-right party AfD, while criticizing the European Commission, as Brussels threatens X with a hefty fine.- Tech bros -Other businessmen have flocked to Trump’s orbit, echoing Musk’s libertarian, small government views.But the rise of the American oligarchs is stirring tensions within the right, where “Make America Great Again” stalwarts see the wealthy powerbrokers as symbols of the very globalization they thought Trump was going to combat.Silicon Valley businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Musk’s co-chair in the government efficiency effort, created a firestorm when he spoke out in defense of a visa program allowing highly skilled workers into the United States.The son of Indian immigrants lambasted what he called an “American culture” that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”This did not sit well with traditional Trump backers.”We welcomed the tech bros when they came running our way to avoid the 3rd grade teacher picking their kid’s gender,” Florida Republican Matt Gaetz wrote on social media.”We did not ask them to engineer an immigration policy.”

Donald Trump’s second presidential term promises a return to tariffs as he pressures partners and rivals to tackle everything from migration to drug trafficking, while protecting US industries — in moves that could trigger new trade wars.Even before taking office, Trump has raised the prospect of fresh levies on companies, countries and groups of states as he seeks to implement his agenda.He has vowed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China until they crack down on fentanyl and border crossings, and he threatened “economic force” against Ottawa after suggesting Canada should become the 51st US state.Trump also warned of 100 percent tariffs on BRICS nations — a bloc including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — if they create a rival to the US dollar.New trade wars could rock the global economy, worsen tensions with Beijing and upend ties with allies.US manufacturers, farmers and small business owners await his first moves, girding for higher import costs on anything from batteries to wines, while bracing for retaliation.”I’m not necessarily against all tariffs,” said Mark Pascal, a restaurant owner based in New Jersey.He said he understands the rationale of taxing a country that unfairly suppresses prices.But “we’re concerned about any tariff that would apply broadly to wine and spirits, which is an industry that is not unfairly competing in any way,” added Francis Schott, who co-runs restaurants with Pascal.Trump introduced a range of duties in his first term, including on steel and aluminum, and on Chinese imports as he waged an all-out trade war on the world’s second biggest economy.In 2019, he imposed tariffs on European food and drinks as Washington and Brussels clashed over aviation subsidies.While these were later suspended, restaurateurs worry their return would batter small establishments.”It raised our costs, so it raised our prices,” said Pascal.- Global impact -Trump has used tariffs as a bargaining tool and will probably do so again, said Joshua Meltzer of the Brookings Institution.But China is signaling pushback and Europe is more prepared policy-wise, he told AFP.Governments appear to have “reached a similar conclusion that they are better off threatening retaliation at least at this stage, rather than capitulating,” Meltzer added.EY chief economist Gregory Daco warned that tariffs and other measures could tip the world economy into stagflation — stagnation with elevated inflation — if pursued to their fullest.Trump’s other promises include an across-the-board levy of 10 percent or more, with a steeper rate on China.- Growth risks -Domestically, Trump has touted tariffs as a means to protect US manufacturing, coupled with policies like tax cuts and deregulation that he says will spur growth.His Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent said in a November interview that tariffs would not be inflationary even if there were a “one-time price adjustment.”But Daco estimates higher import costs could lift consumer price inflation by 1.2 percentage points after a year.”The long-run impact is that it shrinks the US economy and it reduces the value of our incomes,” said Erica York of the Tax Foundation.While the Congressional Budget Office estimated a uniform 10 percent hike and added 50 percent on Chinese goods would slash deficits, this could also lower real GDP.- Emergency? -Analysts expect Trump could implement tariffs quickly using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.This allows the president to regulate imports during a national emergency, although it could be hindered by lawsuits.A tried-and-tested method would be the trade law, with Trump previously using Section 301 as justification for tariffs.But this takes more time as it calls for a government probe.He could also use Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to hike tariffs on goods with national security implications.

Donald Trump has not yet returned to the White House but is already thrusting himself to the front of international stage as he once again shatters diplomatic niceties.As only the second former president elected to a non-consecutive term, Trump is at least a known quantity to world leaders. Even his knack for unpredictable behavior is predictable.But Trump has quickly made clear that he is still capable of jaw-dropping statements, an approach that has rattled allies, while pleasing his supporters, who see this is as a way to force results.As president-elect, Trump has refused to rule out the idea of military force to seize Greenland — an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark — as well as the Panama Canal, the vital waterway which the United States handed over 25 years ago.Trump has also taunted NATO ally and long-friendly neighbor Canada, suggesting it should become a 51st state of the United States or face tariffs — his favorite tool to pressure both friends and foes.Asked in a recent interview with ABC News if Trump was serious in his threats, Mike Waltz, his incoming national security advisor, said: “What he’s very serious about is the threats that we’re facing.”Pointing to Chinese companies’ influence in the Panama Canal and Russian exertion of power in the warming Arctic, Waltz said that Trump “is always going to leave all options on the table” in a way “unlike, frankly, his predecessor.”- After ‘America is Back’ -Outgoing President Joe Biden had declared that “America is Back” when he beat Trump in 2020 — and made no apologies for his stance in a valedictory address Monday at the State Department, insisting the United States was now stronger against its competitors.Secretary of State Antony Blinken, introducing Biden, said the president had tasked him with rebuilding US alliances.”I remember what you told me,” he said of Biden. “You said we don’t know when this is going to make a difference” but that close relationships eventually are “going to be critical.”Robert Benson,  a senior policy analyst at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said that Trump was correct “to be identifying the threat posed by a revanchist Russia and by an expansionist China.””But he’s completely and totally off with the way that he’s alienated our partners and our allies — really pushing our European partners, in particular, to distance themselves from the United States,” he said.- Up and running -Trump’s style, to put it mildly, has differed with the customary presidential transitions in which the incoming administration waits until the January 20 inauguration to make policy moves.In a scene without parallel in recent US history, the emir of Qatar — a key intermediary in brokering a ceasefire to end the bloody 15-month war in Gaza — met together Monday both with Trump’s Mideast envoy and the Biden White House’s Middle East chief.But despite Trump’s often unorthodox and bombastic style, there are also signs that in some areas he may take a more traditional approach than expected.Waltz, an Afghanistan veteran and congressman, and Senator Marco Rubio, his nominee for secretary of state, are both considered in the mainstream of the Republican Party.They favor a security-heavy approach, and Rubio is expected to put a greater focus on countering leftists in Latin America.Trump during his campaign had boasted that he could end the Ukraine war in a day, potentially by leveraging US aid to force Kyiv — which has received billions of dollars in weapons under Biden — into territorial concessions to Russia.But Trump appointed a respected retired lieutenant general, Keith Kellogg, as an envoy on Ukraine, and Waltz initially has spoken of strengthening Ukraine to give it a better negotiating position.Waltz said that Trump had already succeeded since his election of reviving prospects for diplomacy in a conflict that “had bogged down to a World War I-style meat grinder of people and resources with World War III consequences.”On a recent visit of European lawmakers to Washington, Lia Quartapelle, the chair of Italy’s foreign affairs committee, said she had expected, especially as she comes from a left-wing party, to expect a “very tense discussion” with Republicans on Ukraine.”That’s not what we found,” she said. “We found a clear idea of what US interests are, but also an availability to discuss things, starting with the continuation of support for Ukraine. Which surprised us.”

Days before Donald Trump returns to the White House with a vow of mass deportations, migrants in Mexico say they are increasingly nervous about whether their asylum appointments will be honored.Some of the appointments with US authorities are scheduled for days after Trump takes office on January 20, or even on Inauguration Day itself.”There is a kind of sense of despair,” Yusmelis Villalobos, a Venezuelan with a January 23 appointment, told AFP from the southern Mexican city of Tapachula, near the border with Guatemala.”It’s no secret that sometimes when Donald Trump says things, he does them,” Dayana Hernandez, a 36-year-old Venezuelan said.Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration in Caracas last week for a highly contested third term as president has added to the dilemma facing migrants from her country, Hernandez said.”We really don’t know what to do, whether to go back, keep going forwards — we really don’t know,” she added.Trump has accused immigrants of “poisoning the blood of our country” and threatened to carry out the largest deportation of migrants in American history.During his first term in the White House from 2017 to 2021, Trump put heavy pressure on Mexico to turn back a tide of migrants from Central America.Hernandez appealed to the president-elect not to kill her hopes of reaching the United States. “Just as there are bad people, there are good people who want to work,” she said.- ‘Tense’ situation -Hernandez was one of hundreds of migrants waiting in Tapachula this week for permission to travel to the border to request asylum, after having made an appointment through the US government’s CBP One mobile app.Without a permit, they risk being detained by Mexican authorities while on the move.But Mexican authorities are struggling to deal with the crowds waiting near the city’s immigration office.Some migrants, frustrated with the wait, have set off on foot in caravans from Tapachula in recent weeks, braving hunger, exhaustion and the cold.Hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence and poverty travel across Mexico every year for the US border, some of them paying people smugglers to transport them in trucks.CBP One was introduced by outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden to curb illegal migration.Although making an appointment through the app does not guarantee that migrants can remain in the United States, it allows them to obtain a work permit while they continue their process there.Anais Rojas, a 20-year-old Venezuelan traveling with her young son, is also worried about whether her appointment for January 23 will be canceled.”Thank God we got the appointment, but of course things are still uncertain. We don’t know what will happen,” she said.But Rojas said she did not “feel hate” toward Trump, despite his anti-immigrant rhetoric.If his policies succeed in boosting the US economy, that could be good for migrants, she added.”There’s a reason he won,” Rojas said. “If the economy is better, it benefits us too.”

In a city often maligned for its self-absorption and superficiality, residents of Los Angeles are rallying together to help wildfire victims, with shelters forced to turn away a surplus of volunteers and donations.At a converted parking lot in Arcadia, around 600 people showed up in a single day this weekend to distribute donated supplies to evacuees, organizers said.Many had been redirected from other shelters that also could not accommodate the extra help. “It gives me goosebumps,” said Kellie Krievs, a 38-year-old communications director.”It’s insane. It makes me emotional… LA is showing up,” agreed caterer Vanessa Abad, 30.This particular donation center sprung up organically last Tuesday from one resident’s TikTok post asking for food.It was forced to move to three different locations as it outgrew its surroundings each time, eventually settling on a sprawling lot next to the Santa Anita racetrack.On Monday, hundreds of people were sifting through boxes and stacks of everything from clothing and kids’ toys to bottled water, sanitary products and face masks — the latter of which are needed to combat the pervasive smoke from still-raging fires.Volunteer food stalls cooked up hot dogs and tacos, while a man played “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles on an acoustic guitar.The blazes, which have killed at least 24 people across Los Angeles, have not discriminated by wealth, race or age. Neighborhood blocks where residents have for decades assumed they were safe from wildfires have been reduced to ash.”It’s a very different experience than any other volunteering that I typically do. Because there’s really no difference between the people that are helping and the people that are being helped,” said 19-year-old student Gianna Karkafi. “It’s just, like, luck.”- ‘Heartwarming’ -Though Los Angeles is home to a plethora of food banks, community centers and charities, the explosion in volunteer activity contradicts the usual stereotypes of a city best known for its glamorous entertainment industry and dire homeless problem.One volunteer observed that many of those coming to collect free clothes and food were likely not in fact evacuees, but people who were already struggling to make ends meet long before the fires.But they were still welcome to make the most of the city’s outburst of generosity, said Elaine Hoang, who had made the hour-and-a-half drive up from Orange County to assist.”If they need it, we’re here for you guys,” said the 26-year-old pharmacist.The generosity also starkly contrasts with a spate of burglaries and fraud that has cropped up around the disaster-hit districts.Nine people have been charged over looting, with other arrests, including one man who dressed as a firefighter to break into homes.”Many of the shelters are being inundated with offers of help from the community, which is just so heartwarming,” said California Senator Adam Schiff.”There’s a lot to be inspired by in this time of trial. There’s also a lot to be infuriated by.” Several volunteers told AFP that the usual stereotypes about Los Angeles — deserved or not — had gone out the window in this time of extreme crisis.”Everyone’s so self-absorbed some days, but when it’s natural disaster and it’s so close to home, I feel like everyone’s like, ‘Oh yeah, no, we gotta go,'” said restaurant worker Alicia Carreon, 31.”We’re people, just like people in Florida who band together and help each other,” she said, referring to the recent hurricanes that hit the southeastern US state.”California’s home. Los Angeles is home. Palisades is home.”