HERE ARE THE TOP STORIES
Scientists have found “strong” evidence of liquid salt water on Mars, increasing the hopes of finding life there.
Yesterday’s findings don’t mean that alien beings are roaming about, but it’s a major breakthrough nonetheless. Researchers already knew that Mars has ice on its surface and that it might have had a large ocean as well as rivers and lakes a long time ago, the Guardian writes.
But now, NASA found lines on the surface of Mars known as “recurring slope lineae.” These lines are formed when salt water trickles down slopes. With a new technique, scientists detected “hydrated salts” in those lines, BuzzFeed News’ Kelly Oakes writes.
The salts were found in four different locations where those lines are present, but not in surrounding areas, which suggests that the lines were formed by contemporary salt water. These new findings, which were published in the journal Nature Geosciences, indicate that Mars ~currently~ has running streams of water, which is a key component of an inhabitable environment.
And a little extra.
Vacationing on Mars isn’t exactly in the cards just yet, since the red planet has polar ice caps and a surface temperature of about -55ºC (-67ºF), which is too cold for non-salt water to exist as a liquid.
But we can dream! Here are 13 potential activities for humans on Mars, including — but not limited to — Space ‘n Slide, Mars tanning, and freezing in the lawless abyss of space.
WE’RE KEEPING AN EYE ON
World leaders at the 70th United Nations General Assembly remained divided over the crisis in Syria.
Trading jabs at each other in dueling speeches, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin “essentially blamed each other” for the brutal civil war there, the New York Times writes. And while both the U.S. and Russia aim to defeat ISIS militants in Syria, they don’t see eye to eye on the approach.
The U.S. would like to see current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad replaced, whom Obama called a “tyrant” during his speech. Putin, in turn, said it would be an “enormous mistake” not to work together with Assad’s government.
Obama also scolded Russia for its annexation of Crimea. In response, Putin said the United States is “dangerously” undermining the United Nations, BuzzFeed News’ Mary Ann Georgantopoulos and Max Seddon write. The two world leaders also held their first official face-to-face meeting in more than two years yesterday, which didn’t result in any breakthroughs on the issue either.
What’s next?
Obama said he is willing to work with any nation, including Russia and Iran, to solve the conflict in Syria and defeat ISIS, Georgantopoulos and Seddon write. And Putin has said Russia might join the U.S. and its allies in launching airstrikes in Syria, but it won’t do anything without approval from the U.N., BBC News writes.
Meanwhile, the UNGA took on Junior High School levels of awkwardness. And here are four other key storylines to watch for this week, from the Washington Post.
If you want the latest news and stories on what’s going on at the U.N. General Assembly, download the BuzzFeed News app for iOS and Android.
Afghan forces have started an operation to take back the northern city of Kunduz, after the Taliban captured it yesterday.
It was the Taliban’s first victory of a major Afghan city since 2001 and one of the Afghan government’s biggest setbacks since the Taliban was driven from power 14 years ago, BBC News writes. Kunduz is a strategically located transportation hub in the northern part of the country.
The attack started yesterday around dawn, when Taliban fighters attacked the city from different directions. Key buildings were captured and they reportedly freed hundreds of inmates from the prison there, BBC News writes. The U.S. launched an airstrike on Kunduz earlier this morning.
This comes just months after the Taliban confirmed the death of its longtime leader and named Mullah Akhtar Mansour its new leader. Mansour, who is frequently described as a “moderate,” is also an advocate of peace talks with the Afghan government, which Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has made his top priority since taking office last September. The latest round of peace talks were postponed in July.
What’s next?
The future of American troops in Afghanistan is still undecided. General John F. Campbell, the American commander in Afghanistan, is scheduled to address Congress next week about the status of the war in Afghanistan and what America's role will be there, the New York Times writes. Roughly 10,000 American troops, largely tasked with helping and advising Afghan forces, are currently in the country.
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THIS?
Republican U.S. presidential candidate and billionaire Donald Trump revealed a tax plan that would include cuts for both the rich and the poor.
The Republican frontrunner says his plan would simplify America’s tax code, cut loopholes for the rich, and cut taxes altogether for single people earning less than $25,000 and families with an income under $50,000, NPR writes. According to Trump’s four-page proposal, this would exempt roughly 75 million households. (Instead of a tax form, those people would be sent a one-page document stating “I win.”)
Trump also wants to reduce the tax code to four tax brackets, instead of the current seven, lower taxes for high-income individuals to a flat rate of 25%, and reduce taxes on corporations to 15% from the current 35%.
Trump’s plan — which is pretty much in line with the Republican idea of lowering taxes — might not be as cheap as he claims. The richest Americans would still benefit from the plan most and the cuts could result in trillions of added debt over the coming decade, Vox writes.
Here’s how Trump’s ideas compare to those of his Republican rivals. But his math doesn’t always add up. And here’s a primer by Slate about America’s tax code.
Quick things to know:
Massive oil company Royal Dutch Shell suspended its efforts to find oil off the coast of Alaska after spending billions of dollars and seeing little in return. (BuzzFeed News)
California Congressman Kevin McCarthy formally announced his bid to become the new House Speaker. He was elected House majority leader last year. (New York Times)
The FBI announced it will start collecting more data on police shootings. (BuzzFeed News)
Lottery slot machines shortchange New York schools. Slot machines were supposed to pay the vast majority of their profits to education when they were legalized 14 years ago. Today, however, they pay less than half. (BuzzFeed News)
Pope Francis said government officials have a “human right” to refuse same-sex marriage licenses. (BuzzFeed News)
Apple has set a new record by selling more than 14 million of its new iPhones since they went on sale last Friday. (BuzzFeed News)
Today in food: Carnitas are back at 90% of Chipotle’s restaurants after not being available for nine months. But Chipotles in the Atlanta and Cleveland areas as well as North and South Carolina are still waiting for their pork. (BuzzFeed News) And Keurig’s new machine will let you brew your own Cola. (BuzzFeed News)
Fast and Furious actor Paul Walker’s 16-year-old daughter, Meadow Rain Walker, has sued Porsche, saying that the car her father was driving at the time of his death had design flaws. (CNN)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a project to connect refugee camps to the internet. (New York Times)
Journalist and author of Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates, is among this year’s MacArthur “Genius” Grant winners. (NPR)
Netflix has invented a “Netflix and Chill” button. (Quartz)
Smithers from The Simpsons is coming out as gay. His sexuality will be the subject of two episodes in season 27 of the wildly popular series. (Huffington Post)
Happy Tuesday
Meet Mariah Idrissi. She’s H&M’s first ever hijab-wearing model and she’s pretty awesome. The 23-year-old London native was discovered by the Swedish brand after a casting-director friend scouted her, BuzzFeed Life’s Julie Gerstein writes. “I think it's important to use women in hijab because Islam is the second largest religion in the world,” Idrissi said. Which is why it's great, she added, to see “covered women in the mainstream fashion world.”
Bonus! To celebrate the launch of our BuzzFeed News app for Android, we’re doing a mini-quiz every day this week. Do you know what’s going on in the news today? Take the quiz!
This letter was edited and brought to you by Claire Moses and Millie Tran. You can always reach us here.
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