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26 Jan 2025 — 5 min read

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Yesterday, January 25, 2025, Pete Hegseth was sworn in as the United States Secretary of Defense, assuming leadership of the Department of Defense. This department oversees the U.S. military branches, shapes national defense policy, and ensures the countries readiness to confront external threats.
The Secretary of Defense advises the President on military strategy, supervises global operations, and manages the vast defense budget and resources necessary to maintain national security. Hegseth, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, also has experience as a leader of veterans advocacy organizations. He became widely known as a television host and commentator, frequently discussing military culture and national security issues.

On the same day, Kristi Noem was sworn in as the Secretary of Homeland Security, leading the Department of Homeland Security. This department has a broad mission, including border security, immigration enforcement, disaster response, counterterrorism, and cybersecurity. DHS is tasked with protecting the homeland from a wide range of threats, such as terrorist attacks, organized crime, natural disasters, and cyberattacks.
It oversees agencies like the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), ensuring a coordinated response to security challenges. Noem, a former Governor of South Dakota and member of Congress, gained significant attention for her strong stance on border security and her deployment of state resources to address immigration challenges.

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Environment & Weather:

Yesterday, January 25, 2025, Kanlaon Volcano, located on Negros Island in the Philippines, showed signs of volcanic activity, including ash emissions and volcanic earthquakes. Despite this, authorities have kept the alert level at 3, which means the volcano is showing signs of magmatic unrest, and an eruption could happen within days or weeks. This alert level advises people to avoid the 4-kilometer Permanent Danger Zone around the volcano due to the risk of sudden explosions, falling ash, and dangerous gases. However, no evacuations have been ordered at this time.

Kanlaon Volcano is the tallest point on Negros Island and one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines. It has a history of eruptions, with significant activity recorded recently. In December 2024, the volcano erupted, sending a massive ash plume 3 kilometers into the sky, which led to temporary evacuations and heightened monitoring. Kanlaon activity is being closely watched, and residents in nearby areas are being kept informed to ensure their safety.

Space:

Today, January 26, 2025, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune—are aligned in a rare phenomenon called a planetary alignment, also known as a “planetary parade.” This alignment has been visible since January 21 and will remain observable through mid-February.

The planets appear to align along the ecliptic plane, the path they follow across the sky, making it possible to see them all in the same region from Earth. Venus, Jupiter, and Mars can be seen with the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune require a telescope for observation. Alignments of this scale, involving six planets, are extremely rare, occurring only once every 20-30 years due to the varying speeds and distances of the planet orbits.

Science & Technology:

On January 23, 2025, scientists at the University of Seville achieved a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion by creating and sustaining plasma in their innovative SMART tokamak reactor. This plasma reached temperatures of 10 million degrees Celsius and lasted twice as long as expected. The SMART tokamak uses a new negative triangularity design, where the shape of the plasma is inverted compared to traditional reactors. This unique shape helps reduce energy loss and makes the system more efficient.

This breakthrough not only proves the potential of this design but also moves us closer to creating practical fusion reactors capable of producing clean, limitless energy. Fusion energy represents a future where unlimited power can drive everything from homes and cities to ships, vehicles, and even deep-space exploration. One of the greatest challenges in reaching other planets today is the lack of an unlimited energy source to power spacecraft over long distances, but fusion could change that.
With artificial intelligence now being integrated into fusion research, serving as both a tool for data analysis and predictive modeling, these advancements are accelerating. AI’s ability to analyze complex systems and optimize designs will bring us even closer to realizing a future of boundless energy and faster space travel.

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