Carter

Never Forget 9/11

[Voices of WW2 @VoicesofWW2]

On this day in 1944, Theodore Roosevelt Jr. died in his sleep in a stone farmhouse in Normandy. He was 56 years old, and he had spent almost his entire adult life trying to be worthy of a famous last name.

He was the eldest son of President Theodore Roosevelt. In the First World War he went to France and was gassed and badly wounded at Soissons leading his men. That same summer his younger brother Quentin, a pilot, was shot down and killed over France. Ted came home with lungs and a leg that never fully recovered, and before he even left Europe he helped found the American Legion so that ordinary soldiers would have someone looking out for them.

Between the wars he did almost everything. Governor of Puerto Rico. Governor General of the Philippines. Businessman, explorer, writer. He could have spent the Second World War safe behind a desk. Instead, at 54, arthritic and walking with a cane, he talked his way back into uniform and into combat.

By 1943 he was fighting in North Africa and Sicily under Terry Allen, and their loose, unpolished, soldier-first style rubbed General Patton the wrong way. Patton had them both relieved of command. Roosevelt didn't sulk. He asked for another job, any job, as long as it kept him near the fighting. They made him assistant commander of the 4th Infantry Division.

Then came D-Day. He hid a heart condition from the Army doctors. He wrote to his commander three separate times, in writing, begging to go in with the very first wave rather than watch from a ship. He was the only general to land in the first wave on any beach that morning, the oldest man in the invasion, walking through machine gun fire with a cane in one hand and a pistol in the other.

The boats came in a mile off course. Officers froze. Roosevelt limped up and down the beach under fire, studied the ground, and said, "We'll start the war from right here." Then he spent the morning waving men forward and sorting out the chaos so calmly that terrified 20 year olds looked at this old man with a cane and decided that if he wasn't scared, they wouldn't be either.

His son Quentin, named for the uncle killed in the last war, landed at Omaha Beach the same morning. They were the only father and son to come ashore together on D-Day.

He died a month later. A heart attack in his sleep. And here is the part that gets me. On the very day he died, the orders had just come through promoting him to major general and giving him his own division. He never saw the paperwork. He never knew he'd earned the Medal of Honor either.

At his funeral his pallbearers were seven of the most famous generals of the war, Bradley, Hodges, Collins, Barton, Huebner, and George Patton. The same Patton who had fired him. Patton wrote in his diary that Roosevelt was one of the bravest men he had ever known.

Years later Omar Bradley was asked to name the single most heroic thing he witnessed in all of World War II. He didn't pause. He said, "Ted Roosevelt on Utah Beach."

[Turbine Traveller @Turbinetraveler]

There is still good left in humanity.

Captain Jon Jackson was supposed to take his final retirement flight with Spirit Airlines today. But after Spirit's shutdown, he instead found himself as a passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight into Baltimore.

What happened next was truly special. Capt. Jackson was honored with a traditional water cannon salute and a surprise welcome celebration at the gate.

This is a powerful reminder that the aviation community is built on respect, compassion, and solidarity—especially when it matters most. Above all, this moment was about honoring a fellow aviator.

Congratulations, Capt. Jackson, and thank you for your years of service in the skies.
Well done Southwest Airlines 💙

[Dudes Posting Their W’s @DudespostingWs]

Possibly the best unboxing video on the internet

[NASA @NASA]

Hello, Moon. It’s great to be back.

Here’s a taste of what the Artemis II astronauts photographed during their flight around the Moon. Check out more photos from the mission: https://t.co/rzM1P0QbOl

[Nationals Park @NationalsPark]

⚾️🫶🇺🇸

[NASA Earth @NASAEarth]

That's us! 🌍

The Artemis II crew captured beautiful, high-resolution images of our home planet during their journey to the Moon. As @Astro_Christina put it: "You guys look great."

[NASA @NASA]

The weather's looking good for tomorrow's Artemis II launch, and our teams are getting the rocket ready for liftoff!

Read the latest updates on our mission around the Moon: https://t.co/doIjUqa1cx

[United Airlines @united]

The entire row is alllllll yours.

Welcome to United Relax Row, three adjacent United Economy seats with adjustable leg rests that can each be raised or lowered to create a cozy lie-flat space for stretching out...

You'll also get a mattress pad, blanket and two pillows. If you’re traveling with kids, a plushie too! United Relax Row will be available starting next year on more than 200 of our 787s and 777s, each with up to 12 of these brand-new rows.

https://t.co/bzHodhQ5Y8

[Matthew Cappucci @MatthewCappucci]

What a HORRIBLE forecast by meteorologists – especially myself.

Not only were we spectacularly wrong – we communicated poorly.

It became apparent last night that some of our initial expectations would prove fallacious.

I'd like to address what went wrong with our forecast:

[Matthew Cappucci @MatthewCappucci]

@MattForVA Matt – unclear if the stupidity you spew is because you're trying to garner engagement or you just lack education and critical thinking skills, but your five claims are easily demonstrably false.

[Matthew Cappucci @MatthewCappucci]

Hello Matt – Virginia meteorologist here.

Virtually everything you typed is fallacious, incorrect and grounded in a headspace incompatible with reality.

Your thought processes are the scientific equivlent of ingesting craft supplies and hoping to expel an ornament.

[Jennifer Homendy @JenniferHomendy]

Today would have been Melissa’s 30th birthday. She died on January 29, 2025, onboard Flight 5342. She should be here tonight celebrating with her fiancée Ben, her family, and her friends. Instead, they are relentlessly fighting for safety change in her honor.

This was preventable, and we issued 74 findings and 50 recommendations that, if fully implemented, would’ve saved her life… will save other lives.

[Turbine Traveller @Turbinetraveler]

No picture does it justice—Space Shuttle Discovery on display at the Steven F. Udvar‑Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

[Matt Devitt @MattDevittWX]

JELLYFISH CLOUD! New pictures coming in across Florida from the SpaceX launch this morning! It has this unique look because the rocket and the plume are high enough above Earth that it’s illuminated by sunlight, but down near the ground for us it's still dark before sunrise.

[John Kraus @johnkrausphotos]

Pleased to share the v1 public beta of the Space Jellyfish Predictor, which outputs text predictions and heatmaps for upcoming rocket launches and their potential to produce a “space jellyfish.” This effect occurs when a launch is illuminated by the sun while an observer is in relative local darkness.

You can try it out here: https://t.co/U4UZ8ICZx4 — please report any issues and suggest features in this thread. I am also eager to see real-world photos from upcoming missions at distances close and far to help refine the models.

Especially during this early v1 public beta period, please treat this site as potentially helpful guidance, not a guarantee. In the event of issues, I may pull it down at any time.

How it works:

The model evaluates the geometry between the observer, rocket, and sun to estimate whether a launch plume is likely to be sunlit, how high it may appear above the horizon, and how strongly it may contrast against the sky. It identifies the strongest post-liftoff moment and converts it into a likelihood/prominence label, and does so in increments for two hours on either side of the current T-0 so you have insight into the evolving forecast.

This tool is focused on immediate post-launch ascent visibility and does not model delayed illumination from residual plumes. Nighttime launches can still be visible from great distances, and only sunlit ascents will produce relevant forecasts. As always, real-world conditions (especially weather and atmospheric quality) can affect what is actually visible.

The default location for each launch prediction is the launchpad, which is generally sufficient for nearby viewers. For distant observers, you can change your location to generate a location-specific text output for a given mission.

The site currently supports Starlink missions with strong fidelity across groups, ISS crew/resupply launches, and GTO/similar missions. Other Falcon 9 missions may use a generalized fallback ascent profile once their launch azimuth (direction) is determined, but these predictions will likely be a bit less reliable.

It was fun to work on this outside of the day job. I hope it is useful. If there is strong interest, I will evaluate the feasibility of adding additional vehicle types and launch sites in the weeks ahead.

[Flightradar24 @flightradar24]

@AJEnglish Why have you removed our logo and why are you not giving credits to the source?

[Matt Devitt @MattDevittWX]

HEADS UP! 🚀 SpaceX rocket launch *tonight* will likely be visible along the US East Coast (weather permitting in your location). Liftoff time is currently scheduled for 9:56 PM with a 90% Go for launch. Share with your friends and take some pics too!

[FOX Weather @foxweather]

HIGH STAKES RESCUE 🚨: A hot air balloon carrying two passengers struck an approximate 925-foot cell tower in Longview, Texas, on Saturday. The local fire department called it a “highly technical and time-intensive” operation. Both occupants have been safely removed, and luckily no injuries have been reported.

[Open Source Intel @Osint613]

BREAKING 🔴

Multiple emergency crews are responding to a mass stabbing with gunfire reported on I 495 near Washington, D.C. At least 4 people were stabbed on the Beltway, and the suspect has been subdued.