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Assange's Last Battle, Quasar Shock: Black Hole Devours, Byron Triumphs

Just reporting the facts.

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Centrist Chronicle
February 21, 2024

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Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is set to appear in court today in what might be the concluding session of his extensive legal battle against extradition to the United States. Assange has been detained at Belmarsh, a high-security prison in London, following his 2019 arrest. In 2022, the British government sanctioned his extradition.

At 52 years old, Assange is confronting 17 charges under the Espionage Act and one computer misuse charge in the US. These charges are linked to the 2010 release of a significant amount of classified documents, revealing misconduct and civilian deaths in the US military campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Assange is accused of assisting former intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in acquiring these documents, including aiding in hacking a military computer. Assange maintains that his actions, akin to journalistic endeavors, should be safeguarded by the First Amendment. Conversely, the US contends that the disclosed information endangered lives.

Assange risks a sentence of up to 175 years for the espionage charges and an additional five years for computer misuse. The Australian government has urged the US and UK to consider releasing Assange, reflecting the international debate surrounding his case.

Astronomers have discovered what they believe to be the brightest object in the universe, located approximately 12 billion light-years away. The findings, published yesterday, describe a quasar with a width of 7 light-years, harboring the most rapidly expanding black hole ever recorded, shining with a brilliance 500 trillion times that of our sun.

Quasars, short for "quasi-stellar radio sources," represent intensely active and luminous cores of galaxies, powered by the immense forces of supermassive black holes. The universe contains over 1 million known quasars, with the closest one situated about 600 million light-years from Earth.

The quasar known as J0529-4351, which was initially mistaken for a star when discovered in 1980 due to its extraordinary luminosity, was only accurately identified as a quasar last year. Research led by an Australian team has revealed that the black hole at the heart of this quasar devours material equivalent to 370 suns annually and possesses a mass about 18 billion times greater than that of the sun.


William Byron clinched his inaugural Daytona 500 victory on Monday, taking the lead in the crucial final four laps of the race.

His ascent to the front was precipitated by a colossal accident, which he played a role in, that engulfed nearly half of the 40-car lineup with just eight laps remaining. This pivotal moment elevated him to the second position for the restart, which occurred with six laps left. Byron then overtook Ross Chastain on the 197th lap, securing the lead. As he took the white flag, Chastain and Austin Cindric were involved in a crash behind him, sealing Byron's win.

The crash on Lap 193 occurred when Byron received a forceful push from teammate Alex Bowman, who ended up in second place. This push caused Byron to veer sideways and collide with Brad Keselowski, initiating a massive pile-up.