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White House adds plaques below Biden and Obama portraits calling them ‘the worst President in American history’ and ‘divisive’
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White House staff updated the so-called “Presidential Walk of Fame” Wednesday by adding lengthy descriptions of each former president, in rhetoric that aligns with President Donald Trump’s – such as calling former President Joe Biden “the worst President in American History.”
As part of the president’s ongoing effort to customize the White House to his liking, Trump set his well-known opinions of each former president in stone by adding plaques underneath the portraits that now hang along the colonnade.
But rather than neutrally describing each president, Trump chose to invoke more color – claiming former President Barack Obama is “one of the most divisive political figures” and asserting former President Ronald Reagan “was a fan.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each President and the legacy they left behind. As a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself.”
“Sleepy Joe was, by far, the worst President in American History,” the plaque underneath Biden’s portrait, which is an autopen as opposed to his official portrait, reads. “Taking office as a result of the most corrupt Election ever seen in the United States.”
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The plaque underneath a photo of an autopen brands Biden ‘by far, the worst President in American History’ (AP)
As part of Obama’s description, the White House wrote: “As President, he passed the highly ineffective ‘Unaffordable’ Care Act, resulting in his party losing control of both Houses of Congress, and the Election of the largest House Republican majority since 1946.”
For former President Bill Clinton, the White House attributed his legislative successes to “Republicans in Congress,” and boasted that Trump terminated the North American Free Trade Agreement, the trade deal struck under Clinton. The White House also included a line about how Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 presidential election in Bill Clinton’s description.
However, some former presidents, more aligned with Trump on policies, such as Reagan, receive more of a doting description.
For Reagan, the White House wrote: “Known as ‘The Great Communicator,’ he was re-elected in a landslide in 1984, and left office with high approval… He was a fan of President Donald J. Trump long before President Trump’s Historic run for the White House. Likewise, President Trump was a fan of his!”
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The White House’s description of Reagan claims the former president ‘was a fan of President Donald J. Trump before President Trump’s Historic run for the White House’ (AP)
Under former President Richard Nixon, the description claims Nixon had “one of the greatest political comebacks in American History” and “won the largest popular vote victory in American History.”
The White House seemingly gave props to former President Gerald Ford in his description for issuing a “brave Pardon to Richard Nixon.”
The new plaques are part of the White House’s “Wall of Fame” – a once-blank wall outside the West Wing that now hangs portraits of every president in order of office. The only one exempt is Biden, whose portrait was replaced with a photo of the autopen – a reference to the claims by Republicans that Biden staffers utilized the device in the former president’s place.
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On the ‘Presidential Wall of Fame,’ the White House offered praise of Nixon and called Ford’s pardon ‘brave’ (AP)
Since returning to the White House in January, the Trump administration has used its prominence to “troll” the opponents of Trump through social media, speeches and other means.
The new “Wall of Fame” plaques appear to be the latest format for the administration to lash out at specific former presidents or policies that do not align with the current president.
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The White House included a line about Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, losing the 2016 presidential election to Trump in former President Bill Clinton’s description (AP)
Under former President George W. Bush, the White House included lines such as: “President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security, but started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which should not have happened;” and “Shortly before the end of his Administration, a Global Financial Crisis and major Recession took place.”
But to describe former President George H. W. Bush, the White House only included his accomplishments.
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White House ‘Wall of Fame’ plaques for former Presidents George H. W. Bush (left) and George W. Bush (right) contain different representations of the father and son as leaders (AP)
Former President John F. Kennedy’s plaque acknowledges the “failed Bay of Pigs Invasion,” and former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s says “discontent over the Vietnam War led to National unrest and greatly damaged his Presidency.”
To describe Former President Jimmy Carter, the White House listed mostly negative events such as the Iran hostage crisis, inflation, the spread of Communism, the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan and more. But the description ends by acknowledging Carter did “wonderful things for Humanity” after leaving office.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, no stranger to mocking Trump online, slammed the stunt.
“Inflation is up. Unemployment is up. Grocery prices are up. Electricity costs are up. And Donald Trump is spending his time doing this bull***t,” he wrote on X.
Retired US Army General Barry R McCaffrey also took to X to share his disbelief.
“Appalling. Embarrassing. Juvenile. Something very wrong here,” he wrote on X.
Sharif Osman Hadi was a leading figure during the uprising toppled former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a leader of Bangladesh’s 2024 student-led uprising who was flown to Singapore for treatment after being wounded in an assassination attempt, has died, Singapore officials said.
“Despite the best efforts of the doctors … Hadi succumbed to his injuries,” Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.
According to a report by Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune, Hadi, who was being considered as a potential candidate for the Dhaka-8 constituency in the country’s national elections next February, was shot in the head on December 12 in the capital, Dhaka, while travelling in a battery-powered auto-rickshaw.
The attacker shot him from a motorcycle, and Hadi was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for treatment.
Local physicians told the Dhaka Tribune that his brain stem was damaged and he was evacuated from Bangladesh to the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) neurosurgical intensive care unit on December 15 for further treatment.
Hadi, 32, was a senior leader of the student protest group Inqilab Mancha and has been an outspoken critic of India, an old ally of former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and where the ousted leader remains in self-imposed exile.
Announcing his death on Facebook late on Thursday, Inqilab Mancha said: “In the struggle against Indian hegemony, Allah has accepted the great revolutionary Osman Hadi as a martyr.”
Condolences have also poured in from leaders and political groups across the country.
The country’s interim government head, Muhammad Yunus, expressed his condolences and said his death “is an irreparable loss for the nation”.
“The country’s march towards democracy cannot be halted through fear, terror, or bloodshed,” he said in a televised speech on Thursday.
The government also announced special prayers at mosques after Friday prayers and a half-day mourning on Saturday.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, spokesperson of Inqilab Manch and independent candidate for Dhaka-8 constituency,” the acting chairman of the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), Tareq Rahman, said on Facebook.
In a press statement to local media reports, the National Citizen Party (NCP) said it was “deeply saddened” by Hadi’s death and expressed condolences to his family.
Police have launched a manhunt for the attackers who shot Hadi, releasing photographs of two key suspects and offering a reward of 5 million taka (about $42,000) for information leading to their arrest.
According to a report by Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star, the country’s police and border guards have arrested at least 20 people linked to the incident so far, but investigations into the murder are ongoing.
Yunus, the 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner leading Bangladesh until the February 12 elections, said last Saturday that Hadi’s shooting was a premeditated attack carried out by a powerful network, without providing a name.
He said “the objective of the conspirators is to derail the election”, and added that the attack was “symbolic – meant to demonstrate their strength and sabotage the entire electoral process”.
WORLD NEWS
Australia news live: NSW treasurer says ‘globalise the intifada’ is hate speech; Islamic State ‘proud’ of Bondi terror attack | Australia news
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Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke has been speaking on Radio National.
He said no government would ever be able to say they have done enough on antisemitism:
The fight against anti-Semitism is an ancient fight that will never end, and there will never be a point, never be a point where any government of the day will have the right to say they have done enough on anti-Semitism.
He goes back to 2014, when then Aboott government minister George Brandis moved to change the hate speech laws, saying Australians had the right to be a bigot.
Burke said:
We are no longer the nation where we had the government of the day a decade ago claiming that the right that mattered was the right to be a bigot. The right that matters is the right for people to be able to be free, to have a celebration at the beach and to do so safely.
That’s the freedom that matters, not the freedom that somehow under freedom of speech you can go off and belittle and demean and dehumanise your fellow Australians.
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Surfers pay tribute to victims of Bondi attack
About 700 surfers have been out on the water this morning in Bondi, forming a massive circle to pay tribute to the victims of the Bondi attack.
Their cheers could be heard from the shore.
The community has been organising swimming tributes this week to mourn the victims and begin to reclaim the iconic beach.
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Updated at 21.20 CET
Morning everyone, this is Cait Kelly. I will be with you today, bringing you all the updates.
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Updated at 21.14 CET
Daniel Mookhey’s comments come after the Albanese government mapped out a plan to crack down on hate speech.
The five key points are:
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A new aggravated hate speech offence for preachers and leaders who promote violence.
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Increased penalties for hate speech promoting violence.
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Making “hate” an aggravating factor in sentencing crimes for online threats and harassment.
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Developing a regime for listing organisations whose leaders engage in hate speech promoting violence or racial hatred.
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Developing a federal offence for serious vilification based on race and/or advocating racial supremacy.
Read our explainer here:
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Islamic State calls Bondi terrorism attack a ‘source of pride’
Islamic State has published an article on the Bondi Jewish festival shooting calling it a “source of pride”, Reuters reports.
The article published on the group’s Telegram channel praised the attack without explicitly claiming responsibility for it, the wire service said.
Jihadist media specialist Mina al-Lami, from BBC Monitoring, wrote on X about the article:
The group appeared to take credit for inspiring the attack, rather than for directly orchestrating it or being in contact with the attackers. It referred to the attackers as ‘heroes’ and ‘lions’.
It boasted about the influence of its ideology, narratives and online messaging, claiming that governments are unable to control its reach unless they shut down the internet entirely.
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Updated at 20.52 CET
NSW treasurer: Palestinian resistance phrase should be considered hate speech
Stephanie Convery
The NSW treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, says the Palestinian resistance phrase “globalise the intifada” should be considered hate speech as governments consider tougher laws on what can be said in public.
Mookhey was responding to questions at a press conference yesterday that came after British police announced this week they would arrest anyone chanting the phrase or holding a placard saying it.
Intifada means uprising or resistance, and is the term used by Palestinians for uprisings against Israel. The first intifada started in 1987, the second in 2000. For Palestinians it means resistance against oppression, but some Israelis associate the term with violence against them.
At the press conference yesterday, Mookhey responded to the question:
I think anyone who is saying something like ‘globalise the intifada’ is committing hate speech. I think that it’s clear, as we’ve seen, that the prime minister has just announced some reforms in these areas, but I personally think that any reasonable person would just see what the consequences of that has been on Sunday night. I think a person who is chanting globalise the intifada is chanting hate speech. They are dividing the community. They are jeopardising community cohesion. I don’t think that there’s a place for that in peaceful protest.
It is worth noting that, on Wednesday, the Victorian police commissioner, Mike Bush, said that since anti-vilification laws passed Victorian parliament earlier this year, there had been 40 investigations into hate speech but “globalise the intifada” was not considered hate speech under those laws.
Leading campaigners for Palestine in the UK called the crackdown on the phrase “political repression of protest for Palestinian rights”, while some Jewish groups welcomed it, saying the phrase was “intolerable” and “violent incitement”.
You can read more here:
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Updated at 20.51 CET
Welcome
Morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before the morning blogger takes over.
The New South Wales treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, told a press conference yesterday that the Palestinian resistance phrase “globalise the intifada” should be considered hate speech as governments consider tougher laws on what can be said in public. More coming up.
Police in Sydney detained seven men yesterday evening after an operation in Liverpool which was prompted by what police called “information received that a violent act was possibly being planned”. We’ll have more updates as they come in this morning.
And Islamic State has published an article about the Bondi attack overnight, calling it a “source of pride” but stopping short of claiming responsibility. More on that soon as well.
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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will expand access to cannabis, a long anticipated move that would mark the most significant shift in US drug policy in decades.
The order directs the US attorney general to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I narcotic, to a Schedule III drug – placing it under the same category as Tylenol with codeine.
Cannabis will remain illegal at the federal level. But classifying it as a Schedule III narcotic would allow expanded research to be conducted into its potential benefits.
Several Republican lawmakers cautioned against the move, with some arguing it could normalise cannabis use.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency notes that Schedule III narcotics – which also include ketamine and anabolic steroids – have only a “moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence”.
Speaking in the Oval Office during a signing ceremony on Thursday, Trump said that people have been “begging” for the change, particularly those in “great pain” from ailments including “incurable pain”, cancer, seizure disorders and veterans with service-related injuries.
The president compared cannabis to prescription painkillers that have legitimate uses “but can also do irreversible damages”.
The new classification also has tax implications for state-authorised cannabis dispensaries, as current regulations bar them from some tax deductions if they sell Schedule I products.
In addition to the rescheduling of cannabis, Trump has ordered White House officials to work with Congress to allow some Americans access to cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD.
Trump has also asked White House officials to work with Congress to allow some Americans access to cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD.
Health officials have also been tasked with developing “methods and models” to examine the real-world health benefits and risks of CBD.
A senior administration official said that the order was a “commonsense action that will let us better understand and study” cannabis and CBD.
In recent years, a majority of US states have approved cannabis for some medical use, and nearly half – 24 – have legalised recreational use. But since 1971, cannabis has been a Schedule I narcotic, which means it has no accepted medical use and a high potential to be abused.
The Biden administration proposed a similar reclassification, and in April 2024 the DEA proposed a rule change, but got bogged down under administrative and legal issues.
Trump’s order drew praise from organisations that have been working to change US cannabis regulations.
Tim Barash, chairman of the Coalition of Cannabis Scheduling Reform, said in a statement that the move represents a “fundamental shift” in government and social perceptions of the drug.
“This change will empower the 425,000 people working in the US cannabis industry and bring in new talent, capital, and awareness to an industry that has a positive impact on millions of people’s lives,” Mr Barash said.
But the reclassification order has met some resistance from Republican lawmakers.
On Wednesday, a group of 22 Republican Senators sent an open letter to the president, arguing that marijuana use would mean that “we cannot re-industrialise America”.
The Senators pointed to lingering concerns over the health impact of cannabis, as well as research suggesting that cannabis can be linked to “impaired judgement” and “lack of concentration”.
“In light of the documented dangers of marijuana, facilitating the growth of the marijuana industry is at odds with growing our economy and encouraging healthy lifestyles for Americans.”
In a separate letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi in August, nine Republican representatives argued that “no adequate science or data” exists to support the change.
“Marijuana, while different than heroin, still has the potential for abuse and has no scientifically proven medical value,” the letter said. “Therefore, rescheduling marijuana would not only be objectively wrong, but it would also imply to our children that marijuana is safe. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
More broadly, polls show that a majority of Americans support efforts to legalise marijuana.
One Gallup poll released in November found that 64% of Americans believe that it should be legalised, although support had drifted slightly from previous years because of a 13-point drop among Republicans.
Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal has breached core principles of European Union (EU) law, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on Thursday.
The court also found the tribunal cannot be considered independent or impartial because of serious irregularities in the appointment of judges.
The tribunal, dominated by judges appointed under the former nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) government, had previously declared Poland’s constitution superior to EU law , ignoring ECJ decissions and case law.
European Council challenged Poland at ECJ
The case stems from two 2021 Polish tribunal rulings rejecting ECJ decisions as unconstitutional, claiming the ECJ overstepped by interfering in Poland’s judiciary.
Brussels challenged those rulings, and the current pro-European government says it does not recognize them.
On Thursday, the ECJ ruled that Poland cannot disregard binding EU values, which all member states must uphold.
The court also criticized the way three of the judges and the tribunal’s president were appointed under the former ruling party.
PiS drastically transformed the country’s justice system, establishing political control over top courts such as the Constitutional Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
Polish tribunal remains defiant
The PiS lost power with the election of pro-European Prime Minister Donald Tusk in 2023, but his government has so far failed to roll back the changes, blocked by two subsequent nationalist presidents who support the PiS overhaul of courts.
On Thursday, Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek wrote on social media that the ECJ judgment obliged the state to take action, and the government was prepared to act.
The tribunal itself said the judgment had no impact on its functioning and that the European court had no authority over it.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
WORLD NEWS
Multiple dead after plane owned by NASCAR star Greg Biffle crashes at North Carolina airport
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A plane has crashed at a North Carolina airport, reportedly leaving multiple people dead.
The plane crashed around 10:15 a.m. Thursday, while landing at the Statesville Regional Airport, according to a statement from airport officials. Public records indicate the plane was operated by GB Aviation Leasing, which is owned by the former NASCAR star Greg Biffle, WCNC reports.
Six people were on board on plane, which was a Cessna C550 jet, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane was heading to Sarasota Bradenton International Airport in Florida, an airport official told WCNC.
There were multiple fatalities, but the exact number is still unknown, police told CNN. Officials have yet to confirm who owned the plane and who was on board.
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The plane crashed at the Statesville Regional Airport around 10:15 a.m. Thursday morning (AP)
The city-owned airport, which is located about 50 miles north of Charlotte, provides “corporate aviation facilities for Fortune 500 companies and several NASCAR teams,” according to its website.
Photos from the scene show the plane engulfed in flames near the airport’s runway. The plane took off from the airport before immediately turning back around and attempting to land, WCNC reports.
William Hamby, chief deputy for the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, told The Independent his agency has sent a “Mobile Command Unit to the scene to help with the investigation.”
“The investigation will be conducted by the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the FAA. Our agency was first on scene and reported back the initial information,” he said.
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Six people were on board the Cessna C550 jet, officials said (AP)
About 80 minutes after the crash, the airport’s weather station recorded light rain and visibility of less than three miles, though it’s unclear if these conditions were present during the crash, CNN reports.
A National Transportation Safety Board team is heading to the scene, and the agency plans to provide further updates at press conference scheduled for Friday.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
WORLD NEWS
Kennedy Center Board Member Says She Was Silenced During Vote to Rename Building After Trump
NEED TO KNOW
- Rep. Joyce Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, claims she was silenced while trying to voice opposition to renaming the arts organization after President Donald Trump
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that the Kennedy Center board voted “unanimously” on Dec. 18 to change the name of the Kennedy Center to the “Trump-Kennedy Center”
- “This was not consensus,” Beatty wrote on X. “This is censorship”
Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty is accusing White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt of misleading the public about the level of support behind renaming the Kennedy Center after President Donald Trump.
Beatty, who has an automatic seat on the Kennedy Center board as a congressional leader, spoke out after Leavitt announced on Thursday, Dec. 18, that the board had just voted “unanimously” to change the name of the John F. Kennedy Memorial for the Performing Arts to the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”
“I’m sitting here in my congressional office in Washington, D.C., just ending a call with the Kennedy Center, where I serve as an ex-officio member,” Beatty, 75, said in a video posted to X. “I am bringing this to you live today because what you may hear is that there was a unanimous vote to rename the Kennedy Center, the Trump Center.”
“Be clear: I was on that call, and as I tried to push my button to voice my concern, to ask questions and certainly not to vote in support of this, I was muted. Each time I tried to speak, I was muted. Participants were not allowed to voice their concerns who were online, yet it was said at the end it was a unanimous vote,” she continued.
“Clearly the Congress has a say in this. This center, the Kennedy Center, was created by the Congress,” the Ohio congresswoman added. “I think it’s important for us to know that this is just another attempt to evade the law and not let the people have a say.”
In a caption above her video, Beatty wrote, “Also for the record, this was not on the agenda. This was not consensus. This is censorship.”
Shortly after taking office, Trump seized control of the Kennedy Center by purging the appointed members of the board and installing his own MAGA loyalists. The Trump-friendly board then established Trump as chairman of the arts organization, which was dedicated in 1964 as a “living memorial” to slain President John F. Kennedy.
“I want to make sure it runs properly,” Trump said at the time. “We don’t need woke at the Kennedy Center, and we don’t need — some of the shows were terrible. They were a disgrace that they were even put on.”
Trump appeared to hint at his interest in renaming the Kennedy Center in August when he previewed the annual Kennedy Center Honors on social media.
“GREAT Nominees for the TRUMP/KENNEDY CENTER, whoops, I mean, KENNEDY CENTER, AWARDS. They will be announced Wednesday,” Trump, 79, wrote on Truth Social at the time.
Trump made history at the 2025 Kennedy Center Honors as the first sitting president to host the event, where he honored Sylvester Stallone, George Strait, KISS, Gloria Gaynor and Michael Crawford.
President Donald Trump tours the Kennedy Center in March after getting appointed as its chairman.
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty
JFK’s only grandson, Jack Schlossberg, previously spoke out against the possibility of renaming the Kennedy Center to honor Trump.
He argued on social media over the summer that the move would go against federal law, citing a congressional act that said, “no additional memorials or plaques in the nature of memorials shall be designated or installed in the public areas of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.”
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“The Trump Administration stands for freedom of oppression, not expression. He uses his awesome powers to suppress free expression and instill fear. But this isn’t about the arts,” Schlossberg, 32, wrote in a July Instagram post.
“Trump is obsessed with being bigger than JFK, with minimizing the many heroes of our past, as if that elevates him. It doesn’t,” he added. “But there’s hope — art lasts forever, and no one can change what JFK and our shared history stands for.”
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty
The Kennedy Center was opened as an interactive memorial for the late president, per Public Law 88-260, which explains why no other memorials are permitted within the center.
Kennedy, a devoted supporter of the arts, frequently advocated for what he called “our contribution to the human spirit,” per the center’s site. Though plans to open a national cultural center in D.C. were already in the works before Kennedy’s death, the establishment was redesignated as a JFK memorial in the months after his assassination. Construction began in 1964, and the center opened in 1971.
The Brown University mass shooting which killed two students may be connected to the assassination of an MIT professor two days later, police have said.
An unidentified gunman opened fire on the Brown campus in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday, and investigators failed to track the attacker down.
Two days later, an unknown assailant fatally shot Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Nuno Loureiro inside his Boston home around 50 miles away.
FBI agent Ted Docks said Tuesday ‘there seems to be no connection’ between the two shootings, but investigators told WPRI Thursday that there may be a link.
The outlet did not give further information about the connection, but said it marks ‘a new break in the case’ which has baffled investigators for days.
Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, of Virginia, and Ella Cook, of Alabama, were fatally gunned down during the mass shooting at Brown on Saturday.
They were in a study session held at the Ivy League’s School of Engineering Barus and Holley Building when a gunman burst in shortly after 4pm and opened fire.
The gunman fired 40 rounds, killing the two students and wounding 12 more.
The Brown University shooting which killed two students and the assassination of an MIT professor two days later may be connected, police have said. (Pictured: Victim Ella Cook)
Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov (pictured left), the second Brown University victim killed on Saturday, has been remembered by his roommate as an aspiring neurosurgeon and ‘ball of joy’
FBI agents have released several photographs and videos of ‘persons of interest’, but they are yet to name a suspect in the tragedy.
Two days later, at around 8.30pm Monday evening, married father-of-three Loureiro was shot dead in his home in Brookline, Boston.
Loureiro’s neighbor and friend, Louise Cohen, said she discovered his body after hearing shots disturb the peace of their beautiful area on Gibbs Street.
Cohen said she was lighting a menorah candle when she heard gunshots fired. She rushed to the hallway of their building and found Loureiro lying on his back.
The professor’s heartbroken wife was also in the entry along with another neighbor, and they scrambled to dial 911. Loureiro was taken to hospital but died the next day.
Loureiro’s neighbors remembered him as a kind-hearted, ‘wonderful man’, while students flocked to the candle-lit vigil in his memory.
MIT paid tribute to him as, ‘a lauded theoretical physicist and fusion scientist’ who became the director of the college’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center in 2024, an institution with more than 250 full-time researchers.
Loureiro specialized in nuclear science, engineering and physics. He leaves behind ‘many devoted students, friends, and colleagues’, according to his MIT obituary.
His academic career started at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, Portugal, where he gained a physics degree.
Loureiro obtained a doctorate in physics from Imperial College London in 2005, before starting post-doctoral work at Princeton later that year.
Married father-of-three Nuno F.G. Loureiro (pictured), 47, was gunned down at his home in a leafy Boston suburb at 8.30pm by an unknown shooter who is still on the loose
He also worked at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Culham Centre for Fusion Energy between 2007 and 2009.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth acknowledged that the beloved professor died in the wake of the Brown University shooting just two days before.
‘This shocking loss for our community comes in a period of disturbing violence in many other places,’ she said in a statement.
‘It’s entirely natural to feel the need for comfort and support.
‘If you or anyone you know would like counsel or just a listening ear, I encourage you to make use of our many campus resources.
‘In time, the many communities Nuno belonged to will create opportunities to mourn his loss and celebrate his life.’
The Norfolk District Attorney’s Office told the Daily Mail no arrests have been made.
‘This is an active and ongoing homicide investigation,’ they said in a statement. ‘No further information is being released at this time.’
This is a breaking news story with updates to follow.
Jordan Gray, 26, was shot dead at his home in Motherwell after recently becoming a dad – police believe it was a ‘targeted’ incident and have launched a murder probe
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Mysterious space object 3i/ATLAS to reach its closest point to Earth | Science, Climate & Tech News
A mysterious object that a controversial scientist claims could be an alien battleship reaches its closest point to Earth on Friday.
The object, known as 3i/ATLAS, will speed by at 130,000mph, at a distance of 170 million miles, roughly twice as far away as the sun.
While there is near consensus among astronomers that the object is a comet from outside our solar system, a Harvard University astrophysicist has sparked a furious debate by warning he cannot rule out that extraterrestrials are paying us a visit.
Professor Avi Loeb told Sky News that humanity should be on high alert for what may be a “black swan event” – something that’s highly unlikely but has high consequences and might have been foreseen.
“Alien technology is a potential threat because when you go on a blind date of interstellar proportions, you never know whether you have a friendly visitor as your dating partner or a serial killer,” he said.
“When there are implications to society, we must consider even an unlikely event and collect as much data as possible to convince us otherwise.”
Professor Loeb said images of the object show it has an unusual tail that could come from a propulsion system, nickel in its gas cloud could be evidence of metal mining on its surface, and its trajectory, aligned with the orbits of planets in our solar system, was too unlikely to be by chance.
Rare comet or alien battleship flying near Earth? NASA reveals findings
3i/ATLAS was first spotted in July as a distant dot of light against the starry canvas of the cosmos.
But it has moved rapidly through the solar system, passing Mars in early October, disappearing briefly behind the sun, and after coming close to Earth’s orbit, will fly by Jupiter before fading from view again.
The US and European space agencies have trained cameras from a dozen spacecraft on the object, and they say there is no doubt its origins are completely natural.
Amit Kshatriya, from NASA, said: “This object is a comet. It looks and behaves like a comet. All evidence points to it being a comet.”
A picture of 3i/ATLAS taken over Egypt’s Black Desert. Pic: Osama Fathi
Scientists estimate the comet is around eight billion years old, twice the age of our sun and solar system, and is a cosmic fossil left over from the formation of an unknown star in the galaxy.
Professor Chris Lintott, an astronomer from the University of Oxford, told Sky News that there was nothing sinister about the object.
“It is just nonsense,” he said. “It’s like saying we should consider the possibility that the moon is made of cheese.
“You could consider that possibility if you like, but my first question is why would you think that?”
He said the comet’s changing colour and brightness can be explained by the sun heating pockets of ice and different materials that it’s picked up on its epic journey through the stars.
“There is nothing this thing has done that we haven’t seen elsewhere,” he said.
Read more:
Why do the moons two sides look so different?
Stranded Chinese astronauts return to Earth
But Prof Loeb has accused other scientists of closing their minds to alternative explanations for what they are seeing.
“At the foundation of science is the humility to learn,” he said.
“It’s not the arrogance of expertise. And what you see very often is experts tell you what something should be and demonstrate by that, the arrogance of their expertise. They’re not willing to learn something new.”
Prof Loeb made similar claims about a possible alien craft over Oumuamua, another interstellar comet to pass through our solar system, in 2017.
Prof Lintott said wild theories that have no evidence can be dangerous.
“I’m baffled as to why Avi has latched on to this,” he said. “We can look for signs of intelligence in the cosmos. I’m very sympathetic to that idea.
“But you start by looking at things that are odd, and this thing is not odd.”
NewsFeed
Speaking at a defence ministry meeting in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin called European leaders ‘piglets’ trying to take revenge on Russia, accusing them of joining forces with the previous US administration in the hope of profiting from Russia’s collapse.
Published On 18 Dec 2025
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