A community in the southern US state of Texas that is home to tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX will be renamed Starbase after residents – nearly all employees of the firm – backed the move to formally organise it into a city.
In a vote on Saturday, 212 of the almost 300 residents eligible to cast ballots were in favour of the change at the site on Boca Chica Bay bordering Mexico, with only six against.
Bobby Peden, who is vice president of testing and launches at SpaceX, was also confirmed as mayor. He was the only name on the ballot.
Official documents show nearly 500 people live around the base in Cameron County, on land mostly owned by SpaceX or its employees.
“Starbase, Texas”, Musk wrote on X, a social media platform he owns, “Is now a real city”!
The vote came at a difficult time for Musk, a major donor to US President Donald Trump and a backer of European far-right groups. The South African-born entrepreneur is expected to reduce his role as the unofficial head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to instead focus more on his troubled electric car company, Tesla.
It was Musk who proposed the name Starbase in a social media post during a visit to the facility – a key testing location for the company’s rocket launches – four years ago. Then, last December, general manager of SpaceX Kathryn Lueders appealed to local authorities to grant municipality status to the site.
Saturday’s vote was never in doubt, but the change allows Starbase to control building and permitting and avoid other regulatory hurdles, while collecting taxes and writing local law.
However, not everyone has been upbeat about the prospect of a SpaceX town.
Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, was among those voicing concern over the environmental impact, warning of more “destruction”.
“They would attempt more illegal dumping, they would build up their dangerous rocket operations and cause more seismic activity, cause our homes to shake, and that they would destroy more of the wildlife habitat in the region”, she told the AFP news agency before election day.
Some reports in 2024 had also said SpaceX’s rockets had caused damage to wild bird nests. In response, Musk had said on social media at the time: “To make up for this heinous crime, I will refrain from having omelette for a week”.
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency and Texas authorities also found that SpaceX was responsible for repeated spills and the release of pollutants into Texas waterways.
Lueders argued in her letter in December that SpaceX already maintained infrastructure such as roads, education services and medical care at the site.
In Old Fangak, South Sudan, a Doctors Without Borders hospital was bombed, killing at least seven people and injuring 20 others. As fears of a return to civil war grow, MSF called the attack “a clear violation of international humanitarian law.”
Lady Gaga has been the reigning queen of pop for over a decade now, but many fans still don’t know the true meaning behind her unique stage name and why she ditched her birth name
Lady Gaga is a living legend (Image: Kevin Mazur, Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nationvia Getty Images)
Lady Gaga is once again the talk of the town following the release of her latest album, Mayhem. She’s also been hitting headlines due to her accompanying tour, which saw fans desperately scrambling for tickets. Her new tracks ‘Abracadabra,’ ‘Disease,’ and ‘Garden of Eden’ have been a hit with her fanbase, affectionately known as Little Monsters.
Her performance at Coachella was another highlight, despite technical difficulties with her microphone. The incident led to the festival being humorously dubbed ‘Gagachella’, as she dominated conversations. When her mic failed, she simply quipped: “At least you know I sing live.”
But despite everyone going gaga for Gaga recently – there’s some trivia people are only just learning about the star. They’ve been interested to learn how she got her stage name.
Where did the name Lady Gaga originate? (Image: GETTY)
Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, Lady Gaga shot to fame in 2008 with her debut album ‘The Fame,’ featuring hits like ‘Just Dance,’ ‘Poker Face,’ and ‘LoveGame. ‘ Her popularity has only grown since then.
She further cemented her status in pop culture with ‘Born This Way,’ an anthem for the LGBTQIA+ community, using its lyrics to foster inclusivity. But where did the stage name ‘Lady Gaga’ originate?
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While there’s some debate over the exact story, it’s thought that the name was born out of an autocorrect mishap by her ex-partner and music producer, Rob Fusari. He reportedly began calling her ‘Gaga’ after she reminded him of the 1984 Queen song ‘Radio Gaga’.
Later, when he tried to text ‘Radio Gaga,’ autocorrect changed it to ‘Lady Gaga’. Since then, she’s adopted the name with pride, and in a 2010 tell-all, she revealed her desire to “reinvent” herself.
In that interview, she reportedly stated: “So I said, ‘What about Lady Gaga?’ because Gaga is sort of crazy and Lady has such connotations.”
Her ex claimed that he was owed money for the name – but the case was tossed out the same year he brought it(Image: Noam Galai/NBC via Getty Images)
So why not stick with her distinctive real name, Stefani Germanotta?
Speaking with Rolling Stone, Gaga expressed a deep connection to her stage persona, admitting her childhood wasn’t a walk in the park.
She confessed: “I’ve always been Gaga… I suppressed all those eccentricities about myself so I could fit in. Once I was free, I was able to be myself.”
It was at the tender age of four that Lady Gaga, displaying early signs of her musical genius, self-taught piano by ear and composed ‘Dollar Bills’ using “Mickey Mouse staff paper”.
In another heartfelt admission during an interview, she recounted: “I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn’t fit in, and I felt like a freak.”
Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are back for the fourth instalment of their cross-country adventure series, riding vintage motorcycles through more than 15 countries in Scandinavia, the Baltics and continental Europe
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Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman are back for another cross-country road trip in a new season of their ‘Long Way’ series. Streaming May 9, Long Way Home sees the duo hit the road more than 20 years after the first instalment of their epic motorcycle adventure.
Across 10 episodes, the latest series will see the two best friends ride refurbished vintage motorbikes from McGregor’s home in Scotland to Boorman’s in England – but rather than take the shortest route, they go the long way. They head across the North Sea to Scandinavia, all the way up to the Arctic Circle and then down to the Baltics and through continental Europe, before eventually hopping back over the English Channel two months later.
The nine-week adventure takes them to 17 countries and along some of the greatest driving roads in the world. It marks the fourth iteration of the Emmy-nominated series, following Long Way Round, Long Way Down and Long Way Up.
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Long Way Home will launch exclusively on Apple TV+, which costs £8.99 per month after a seven-day-free trial. It joins the three previous seasons, all of which are available to stream on Apple TV+.
It comes as Disney+ launches a raft of its own docuseries, with National Geographic titles including Secrets of the Penguins, Tucci in Italy debuting May 19 and Limitless with Chris Hemsworth returning later this year. Throughout Long Way Home, McGregor rides a 1974 Moto Guzzi 850 El Dorado – previously used as a California police bike – while Boorman revives a 1972 BMW R75/5 once described as a ‘rust heap’.
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The bikes take them to countries including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands, where they immerse themselves in each country’s culture, meet the locals and try their hand at unique and eclectic activities.
“For the last 20 years, my best friend Charley Boorman and I have travelled to some of the farthest corners of the world,” McGregor says in the series trailer. “Yet, we’ve never properly explored the countries on our own doorstep, so this time, Europe is our playground.”
‘Europe is our playground’, Ewan McGregor says in the Long Way Home trailer
Long Way Home is executive produced by McGregor and Boorman, alongside longtime collaborators David Alexanian and Russ Malkin, who also direct. Writing on X ahead of the series premiere, one Long Way fan said: “I’m soooo excited for this. Feels like just the other day we were watching the first one.”
Another said: “Looking forward to this. Put it in the calendar.”
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A third said: “Sold. Great story and authentic people. I’ll take adventure stuff like this all day!
United States President Donald Trump on Thursday removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser (NSA), a key policy-shaping role, and tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take over the role in the interim.
Trump announced that he was nominating Waltz to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations. “Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
“I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation,” Waltz posted on X Thursday.
The senior official’s reassignment comes in the aftermath of the so-called “Signalgate” incident and his leaning towards aggressive military action against arch foe Iran.
What were the main reasons behind Waltz’s removal?
The army veteran came under heavy criticism after creating a group on the Signal messaging app with other top officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to discuss military attack plans on Yemen.
The group’s chat became public after the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to the group mistakenly. After Goldberg published extracts from the chat, Waltz said he took “full responsibility” for the mistake.
The scandal cast a doubt on Trump’s national security team, with both Waltz and Hegseth coming under fire. Several Democrats called for their resignation in the immediate aftermath of the scandal.
While attending a cabinet meeting held by Trump last week, Waltz was also photographed using a modified and less secure version of Signal to text top officials.
According to The Washington Post, he also upset Trump after engaging in “intense coordination” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the possibility of launching military strikes on Iran.
As the Trump administration continues to pursue Omani-mediated talks with Tehran, Waltz reportedly frustrated the president by adopting an increasingly hawkish stance that favoured military aggression.
Netanyahu’s office, however, denied the daily’s report that claimed he had “intensive contact” with Waltz.
Moreover, he was reported to have built up tensions with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who increasingly felt he was not fit for the Trump team.
Who else is Trump sacking?
Along with Waltz, the president is kicking out his deputy, Alex Wong, according to US media reports, becoming the first senior White House officials to be fired from the second Trump presidency.
A number of inspectors general, federal workers, and senior military officials, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command General James Slife, have also been fired.
During his first term, Trump sacked a large number of senior officials, including FBI Director James Comey, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, and NSAs John Bolton and Michael Flynn.
Why are MAGA supporters targeting Waltz?
Waltz has come under fire from some recognised figures in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) camp backing Trump, mainly for a perceived lack of loyalty to the president and a difference in policy approach.
Steve Bannon, a former chief White House strategist and influential figure, criticised Waltz for his hawkish foreign policy stance, particularly his support for military interventions.
Laura Loomer, a far-right activist, highlighted a 2016 video in which Waltz criticised Trump’s remarks about military service members as a sign of his disloyalty.
She also accused Waltz of appointing staffers with anti-Trump sentiments and targeted his deputy, Wong, for alleged ties to Chinese interests.
But JD Vance backed him, arguing that his reassignment was not a demotion but a strategic move that would allow Waltz to better serve the administration in a new diplomatic role.
Steve Bannon during a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, US, February 20, 2025 [American Conservative Union/Handout via Reuters]
What’s next for Waltz?
Waltz will now have to secure confirmation from the Senate to become the new US envoy to the UN, in what is expected to be a challenging path.
Waltz is a former army green beret with deployments to Afghanistan that earned him a bronze star for valour. He has written extensively about military strategy and robustly supports national defence.
The Republican is also a former member of the US House of Representatives and used to work as a counterterrorism adviser in the Pentagon during the George W Bush administration.
But the Signalgate controversy, his reported unauthorised communications with Israeli leaders, and opposition by Democrats in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee could work against him.
Who is Waltz’s replacement?
For now, and without any specific time period announced, Rubio is taking over as NSA.
Rubio, himself one of the more hawkish figures in the White House, is assuming more responsibility in a move that could be aimed at consolidating foreign policy leadership and streamlining the decision-making process.
Marco Rubio, left, and Mike Waltz interact with media in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 11, 2025 [Saul Loeb/Pool via Reuters]
This is the first time since the 1970s that the secretary of state is also acting as NSA.
Trump has not confirmed any potential replacements for Waltz in the future, but Stephen Miller, Steve Witkoff and Ric Grenell are some of the top figures in his circle.
Miller is a senior policy and homeland security adviser known for his hardline immigration and foreign policy stances. Witkoff is serving as special envoy, leading the talks with Russia, Iran, and the Palestinian group Hamas. Grenell is the acting director of national intelligence and a former ambassador to Germany.
Prince Harry is haunted by “the ghosts” of royal life, and a fortune teller known as the “Living Nostradamus” has shared his predictions for him, along with some “dangerous” events in his future.
The psychic has shared some worrying predictions for the prince(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)
The ‘Living Nostradamus’ has made some worrying predictions for Prince Harry’s future. The clairvoyant has said the Duke of Sussex since moving to California has lived under “constant hurricane” of family tension, but beyond this is a “deeper energetic layer” that is going to bring an “unexpected” and “disturbing” future.
Athos Salomé has been dubbed as the ‘living Nostradamus’ thanks to his countless corrected predictions over the years, and has now spoken out about the future for the prince who seems “trapped” between his new life in America with Meghan Markle and his “ghosts of royalty”.
He claimed there would be “painful” truths that would emerge in six areas where change was going to take place, from becoming a royal target to achieving reconciliation with his father.
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Living ‘Nostradamus’ Athos Salomé has shared some predictions for Prince Harry(Image: instagram.com/athos_salome)
A royal target
Salomé claimed that “secret documents” emerging that show “negligence” on the part of the UK. Harry should postpone his engagements until September 2025 in order to prevent a “serious” security lapse while on a humanitarian mission. The prince was declared unharmed by the psychic, but that the situation would be severe enough to prompt a public review of his vulnerability.
A resolution with the King
The expert claimed a “silent reconciliation” will take place between father and son which will be “intimate” and “away from cameras” as it will be motivated by a sense of urgency – in the midst of King Charles’ health crisis. However Salomé said Prince William will remain “distant” and bound by “duty and resentment”.
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A painful truth
According to the fortune teller: “A former employee of the Sussex family intends to reveal compromising recordings and documents in the second half of this year or next, negotiations are underway. This revelation will bring a new wave of empathy to the prince, but also an irreversible reputational loss for Meghan,” he told The Sun.
He claimed that the information will suggest that Meghan had a “strong influence” over his conflicts, which were frequently “conflict” with his values.
The Legacy of a Warrior
Salomé stated that the prince would work on a humanitarian project to improve veterans’ mental health. Harry’s “life mission,” he said, will receive the “informal support” of the monarchy, a nod to a subtle and strategic reunification, or “the beginning of redemption.”
Spiritual exile
The expert predicted Harry will relocate, and can see him settling in either South Africa or New Zealand and said: “The prince will leave California. Neither Hollywood nor Buckingham: his new home will be a third country. At 42, a number that symbolises Kabbalistic maturity, he will find a new purpose in life.”
book on transformation
“Harry is writing a new book – completely different from the controversial ‘Spare’. Due to be released in 2027, the book will be more introspective, philosophical and critical. It won’t be an attack on the monarchy, but a profound reflection on identity and mission. The book could be the turning point for him to regain global respect as an individual – not as a royal figure,” he insisted.
Salomé claimed that Harry’s future presents “intense trials” but also offers the chance for rebirth. Salomé claimed that the throne’s weight “still haunts him” despite the fact that he may have abdicated from the monarchy.
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