Boeing, NASA pause experimental, sustainable plane project

Boeing and NASA will pause work on a new, experimental aircraft design meant to deliver more sustainable options for the future of aviation.

The aircraft project — called the X-66A Sustainable Flight Demonstrator — featured long, thin wings that would increase fuel efficiency and, consequently, lower carbon emissions.

Boeing will continue to study the thin-wing technology, but the aircraft project as a whole will be put on hold, Boeing and NASA said Thursday.

“We have learned a lot in the past few years partnering with NASA on the X-66 program that will influence the future generations of airplane design. Going forward, we will focus efforts on the single most-promising design feature … the thin-wing design,” Boeing said in a statement.

As a result, Boeing will move engineers from the X-66A experimental project to its commercial production lines, specifically the 777X and 737 Max factories.

The Sustainable Flight Demonstrator, launched in 2023, was part of a larger effort led by NASA to research fuel-efficient and sustainable designs, from wind tunnel tests to fluid dynamics models to structural design changes.

—The Seattle Times

CNN pundit Scott Jennings may seek Kentucky Senate seat

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Scott Jennings has become one of the most beloved — or loathed, depending on your political perspective — conservative commentators in America.

A favorite of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, the Kentuckian and CNN pundit has earned praise in the president’s MAGA World with his vigorous advocacy for Trump’s agenda and quippy rebuttals to Democratic pundits.

Could that translate into entering the race to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell in 2026? Several Republican strategists and political insiders say Jennings is definitely weighing a potential run.

Jennings has not responded to multiple Herald-Leader requests for comment.

But others are talking about a possible Jennings’ Senate campaign, and it’s more than empty chatter.

Five individuals deeply involved in Kentucky Republican politics, who were given anonymity to speak freely about the race given their connections to the field, confirmed to the Herald-Leader the 47-year-old communications professional is eyeing a run.

—Lexington Herald-Leader

Mass. governor says Trump withholding asthma-related grants

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey said the Trump administration terminated just under $1 million in grant dollars promised to the state to address asthma in Western Massachusetts, a move the governor argued undermines efforts to improve residents’ health.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency withheld almost $900,000 from the state Department of Public Health to support “in-home environmental remediations” like mold removal and improved ventilation in Chicopee, Holyoke, and Springfield, according to the Healey administration.

In a statement Friday morning, Healey said prioritizing improving air quality is “essential” as extreme heat, droughts, and wildfires become more common.

A spokesperson for the Environmental Protection Agency did not immediately respond to a Boston Herald inquiry.

The Healey administration said the Environmental Protection Agency promised $1 million over three years to Massachusetts but is withholding nearly all of the cash. The money was slated for projects that address asthma in “communities in residents and communities disproportionately at risk,” according to the Healey administration.

—Boston Herald

Colorado rock-thrower found guilty of killing driver in her car

DENVER — Jefferson County jurors on Friday found Joseph Koenig guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Alexa Bartell during a rock-throwing spree two years ago.

Koenig, 20, was also convicted of a number of underlying counts of attempted murder, assault, and attempted assault. He will be sentenced to life in prison on June 3.

He was accused of throwing a 9.3-pound rock into the windshield of a passing car on April 19, 2023, killing the driver, 20-year-old Alexa Bartell. The fatal attack near the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge was one of several times Koenig and two other teenagers threw rocks at cars that night. All three men were 18 at the time.

Koenig’s attorneys presented his actions during the 2023 rock-throwing spree as thoughtless teenage behavior, rather than first-degree murder. They admitted he was responsible for Bartell’s death, but argued he should be found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Prosecutors focused on how often the teenagers threw rocks at cars during the spree and how they encouraged each other by cheering when the rocks hit cars. The driver of the truck sped up before the attacks, witnesses testified, and Koenig whooped with excitement after Bartell was killed and her car drifted off the road.

—The Denver Post

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