Heather Vogell

The agency once said that pieces of space debris “pose a significant risk,” but the Trump administration has backed off a rule that would have required companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX to remove rocket parts from orbit within 25 years of launch.

The agency’s official safety alert comes as SpaceX looks to ramp up Starship tests. A recent ProPublica investigation found that explosions during previous Starship launches disrupted air traffic and forced pilots to scramble for safety.

The FAA predicted Elon Musk’s Starship would cause “minor or minimal” disruption. Then the rockets exploded twice in three months over busy airspace. Flight data reveals how many planes scrambled to protect passengers and avoid burning debris.

The settlement is the latest development following a 2022 ProPublica investigation that showed RealPage was helping landlords set rents in a way that legal experts said could result in cartel-like behavior.

Greystar, which manages nearly 950,000 apartments, has agreed to stop using “anti-competitive” algorithms to suggest rents. ProPublica previously showed how such software lets landlords set rents in a way that could result in cartel-like behavior.

Facing a significant increase in the number of SpaceX launches, British officials detailed their concerns about the safety of Turks and Caicos and other Caribbean territories after debris from an earlier failed launch littered beaches and roads.

“Persistent leaks” and “unaddressed contamination issues” are among the problems workers say they witnessed at one of the nation’s largest baby formula plants. “I can’t have this on my conscience,” one told ProPublica

The Trump administration has used strong language to disparage the federal workforce. A NASA official urges staff to “please use caution” in public amid the increasing “negative rhetoric” toward government workers.

The Trump ally and DOGE chief is expected to turn his budget-slashing sights on the FAA’s little-known commercial spaceflight office, which has proposed fines and grounded SpaceX after explosions and other incidents.

Federal prosecutors allege that the landlords have used RealPage pricing software to collude and artificially raise rents. The legal action is the latest development stemming from a 2022 ProPublica investigation.