NASA $4 billion rocket faces hurricane winds

Florida: NASA’s new $4 billion moon rocket endured fierce winds and heavy rains early Thursday as it rode out Hurricane Nicole on its Florida launchpad, apparently with only minor damage, according to an early NASA inspection in the storm’s aftermath. Sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (136.8 km per hour) were measured. REUTERS

Indian schools invited for Best School Prizes

London: Outstanding Indian schools are being urged to enter the $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes 2023 as applications opened in London this week. The organisers said that more schools in India were shortlisted for the inaugural prizes than any other country, with SDMC Primary School Lajpat Nagar III in New Delhi making the Top 10 shortlist for the World’s Best School Prize for Innovation 2022. PTI

Tobacco use among US teens down to 3 mn

Washington: An estimated 3.08 million US middle and high school students reported using a tobacco product in the last 30 days in 2022, down from 4.47 million in 2020 and 6.20 million in 2019, according to government data released on Thursday. REUTERS