World Signal

  The International Space Station held its change‑of‑command ceremony on August 5, 2025, while orbiting Earth. The event, which began at 1:10 pm Eastern Time, marked the official farewell for Crew‑10. During the ceremony, Takuya Onishi handed over command of the station to Sergey Ryzhikov as part of Expedition 73. A previous handover had taken place on April 18, 2025, when Aleksey Ovchinin passed command to Takuya Onishi. NASA carried out these changes as part of its routine crew rotation schedule, ensuring the smooth continuation of station operations. The International Space Station hosted a change‑of‑command ceremony on August 5, 2025. The ceremony happened while the station was in orbit around Earth. The event started at 1:10 pm Eastern Time. This activity was part of the farewell for Crew‑10. Takuya Onishi passed the role of station commander to Sergey Ryzhikov. Takuya Onishi was serving as part of Expedition 73. An earlier command handover had taken place on April 18, 2025. T...

On August 5, 2025, the White House removed five out of seven members of Puerto Rico’s financial oversight board. The members who were dismissed included Arthur J. González, Cameron McKenzie, Betty Rosa, Juan Sabater, and Luis Ubiñas, while Andrew Biggs and John Nixon continued to serve on the board. This financial oversight board was formed under the 2016 PROMESA law, and the original appointments were made by President Barack Obama. According to the White House, the board was removed because it was not performing effectively and needed new leadership. The salaries of the board’s employees are around $214,000 per year, which is more than 1,000 percent higher than Puerto Rico’s median household income. On August 5, 2025, the White House removed five of the seven people serving on Puerto Rico’s financial oversight board. The officials removed were Arthur J. González, Cameron McKenzie, Betty Rosa, Juan Sabater, and Luis Ubiñas. Board members Andrew Biggs and John Nixon stayed on the finan...

The Gifford Fire began on August 1, 2025, along State Route 166 in the Los Padres National Forest in Central California and quickly spread across rugged terrain. By August 4, 2025, the wildfire had destroyed over 72,000 acres, threatening Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, including areas about 30 miles east of Santa Maria. Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for regions south of Highway 166, covering Willow Springs Trailhead, Cottonwood Canyon Road, School House Road, and Upper Tepusquet Canyon, while evacuation warnings were announced for nearby zones such as Lower Tepusquet Canyon and areas east of Aliso Canyon Road. The fire grew from four smaller blazes that started west of Bakersfield and east of Santa Maria, forcing more than 1,000 firefighters to battle extreme heat, dry conditions, and unpredictable winds. Containment was only 3% by Monday morning and reached 5% by that evening, leaving 450 to 460 structures at risk. Three people were injured, including a m...

 Germany announced on August 1, 2025 that Germany will deliver two additional Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine under an agreement with the United States. German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany will send Patriot launchers to Ukraine in the coming days, and full Patriot system components within two to three months. Germany will receive new upgraded Patriot systems from the United States on an accelerated delivery schedule, funded by Germany, to replace the systems sent to Ukraine. Germany previously delivered three Patriot systems to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Germany currently maintains nine Patriot systems, with two deployed in southeastern Poland at Rzeszów airport and one used for training Ukrainian crews. The announcement followed a Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv that killed 31 civilians, including five children, and injured 159 people on July 31, 2025, increasing urgency for Ukraine’s air defence s...