Needham Astronaut Sunita Williams Reflects on Artemis II and Space Exploration, Prepares for Boston Marathon

Retired astronaut Sunita Williams is running the Boston Marathon for the first time in over a decade

NEED TO KNOW

• Williams previously ran the Boston Marathon in space in 2007 and completed it on Earth in 2008

• After retiring from NASA, she plans to stay involved in space exploration and STEM education opportunities

Retired astronaut Sunita Williams worked for NASA for 27 years and has been on multiple spacewalks.

Now, she's gearing up to run the Boston Marathon for the first time in a decade.

“I'm gonna be trying to run the marathon, we'll see if I finish,” she told theBoston Globe.

Williams and her crewmate, Butch Wilmore, were among the first to fly on Boeing's Starliner. They traveled to the International Space Station in June 2024.

However, after the Starliner experienced problems, she and Wilmore were stuck there longer than expected.

They ultimately returned in March 2025. “Uncertainty is always uncomfortable,” she said. “Everybody wants the answer ... and that just took a long time.”

She has spent the past year recovering from the journey.

While in space, Williams frequently worked out on the treadmill — and ran the length of the Boston Marathon on it once back in 2007. She became the first person to run a marathon while in space, and she finished in four hours and 24 minutes.

The following year, she participated in the Boston Marathon in person, completing the 26.2-mile race with a time of four hours and 20 minutes.

“We're strong because we have exercise equipment when we're up there,” she told the Boston Globe. “But the things we lose are like your agility, your ability to do things fast, all those little muscles aren't getting exercise when you're up there."

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"If you're diligent when you're up in space, and you put in the work and use the nutrition the right way, you're gonna come back and be okay," Williams added.

Williams also spoke about the recent Artemis II mission, which saw astronauts make a lunar flyby, their first one in 50 years, according to NASA'swebsite. They launched on April 1 and returned on April 10.

NASA's last moon expedition was with 1972's Apollo 17.

“We needed to get this one right,” she said. “I'm excited for this next generation of explorers.”

“When we put our heads together ... we can make the impossible possible,” she added.

While she is now in retirement, she still plans on participating in space exploration and STEM education in other ways, according to the outlet.

“There's opportunities out there, maybe to work with some of these commercial companies,” she said. “If those opportunities come up, I'd love to be a part of that.”

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Williams, who now lives in Maine, will be joining the runners in the Boston Marathon on Monday, April 20.

She said, “I'm a little slow, but I feel good and am happy to get out there to try it."

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April 19, 2026

Needham Astronaut Sunita Williams Reflects on Artemis II and Space Exploration, Prepares for Boston Marathon

Retired astronaut Sunita Williams is running the Boston Marathon for the first time in over a decade NEED TO KNOW ...

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Obama and Mamdani sing Wheels on the Bus together to preschoolers

FormerPresidentBarack ObamaandNew YorkMayorZohran Mamdanimet for the first time Saturday (April 18) at a New York child care center leading preschoolers in a singalong to “Wheels on theBus”.

The former two-term president and standard-bearer for the Democratic Party has offered to be a sounding board for Mamdani, 34, whose star power and progressive agenda has made him stand out in Democratic politics.

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Mamdani's meeting with Obama comes after he's already met twice with Trump at the White House in November and February to discuss issues affecting New York City.

Despite those friendly meetings, their relationship has shown signs of strain recently, with Trump posting on Truth Social Thursday that Mamdani was “DESTROYING New York” with his taxing policies and threatened to pull federal funding for the city.

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April 19, 2026

Obama and Mamdani sing Wheels on the Bus together to preschoolers

FormerPresidentBarack ObamaandNew YorkMayorZohran Mamdanimet for the first time Saturday (April 18) at a New York child care center lea...

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'She keeps getting better and better': Umpire Jen Pawol stands tall in first MLB ABS game

WASHINGTON –Jen Pawolwas behind the plate for her first major league game in the automated balls and strikes challenge system era. And the first woman to serve as an ump in a Major League Baseball game stood her ground against the so-called robots.

Pawol called balls and strikes for theSan Francisco Giants-Washington Nationalsgame Friday, April 17 and withstood a pair of challenges from Giants catcher Daniel Susac, with a pair of ball calls upheld quickly by the ABS system.

By the third inning, the Giants were out of challenges, while the Nationals successfully appealed a pair of calls during San Francisco’s 10-5 victory.

To be sure, this was a solid standoff early in this ABS era.

Entering Friday’s game, players were successful on 54% of their challenges to umpires, and the typical game averaged 4.05 challenges. Pawol saw exactly four challenges and won two of them.

Of course, ABS is relatively old news for those umpiring in Class AAA in recent years, where ABS was first deployed on a trial basis.

Pawol is technically still in the Class AAA ranks. She is on MLB’s list of call-up umpires who are based in Class AAA yet work major league games as fill-ins in the event of injuries, illnesses, vacations, or other forms of absence by the 76 full-time umps.

And her strong performance was no surprise to Susac, who caught several games at Class AAA that Pawol umped. As Susac assumes more of the Giants' catching duties as incumbent Patrick Bailey struggles at the plate, Friday was a big game for both of them.

"In my opinion, she keeps getting better and better," Susac tells USA TODAY Sports. "And I thought she did a really good job. She’s always great to have back there. We always have a good conversation, especially at the start of games and I thought she did a great job tonight."

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Pawol debuted as an MLB fill-in in 2025 and on Aug. 10became the first woman to call balls and strikesfor a major league game. She called six games behind the plate last season and, according to the umpire tracking website Umpire Scorecards, maintained a 92.9% accuracy rate.

Susac tried and failed twice in the early innings, challenging a full-count ball call to Luis Garcia Jr. He was off by an inch and the Giants were out of challenges by the third inning.

"The second one, I probably had a little more emotion to it. Probably knew it was a ball, but wanted to get one there," he says.

Nationals third baseman Brady House successfully challenged a strike call in the bottom of the eighth, while a strike call in the top of the ninth was successfully overturned to a ball.

In the meantime, Pawol punched out Nationals slugger James Wood twice on called third strikes and did the same to Giants first baseman Rafael Devers in the seventh. Both retreated to the dugout rapidly.

While the more in-depth scorecards of Pawol’s first big league foray behind the plate in 2026 will have to wait, she withstood the rigors of ABS just fine: Two wins, two losses, a little better than average.

And another step toward making the notion of a woman calling balls and strikes in a big league game a little more unremarkable.

"It’s a good way that she blends in," says Susac. "She’s done a great job and she keeps getting better, which is awesome to see."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Giants catcher Daniel Susac loses both ABS challenges vs ump Jen Pawol

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April 19, 2026

'She keeps getting better and better': Umpire Jen Pawol stands tall in first MLB ABS game

WASHINGTON –Jen Pawolwas behind the plate for her first major league game in the automated balls and strikes challenge system era. And ...

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Chizzy Iwai ties course record, leads by 2 at LA Championship

Japan's Chizzy Iwai posted a bogey-free 9-under-par round of 63 on Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead at the LA Championship in Tarzana, Calif.

Iwai tied the course record in pristine conditions at the El Caballero Country Club. Sweden's Ingrid Lindblad and South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai each carded 63 at the 2025 event. Lindblad went on to earn her first LPGA victory in the tournament, posting a 21-under four-day total.

Korea's Sei Young Kim and a pair of players from Thailand are two strokes behind Iwai at 7 under. Patty Tavatanakit completed her round early in the day while countrywoman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham and Kim were part of the afternoon groups.

Nine players finished tied for fifth at 6 under, including recent winner Lauren Coughlin and countrywoman Jessica Porvasnik.

Iwai, the 20th-ranked player in the Women's World Golf Rankings, produced an incredible stretch of golf on the back nine, where she started her round. She birdied holes 11 through 15, then eagled the par-5 16th hole and posted a score of 29 on the inward half of the course.

She birdied Nos. 1 and 5 and played the four par-fives on the course at 4 under.

Iwai, who won the Mexico Riviera Maya Open in her rookie season of 2025, credited an early start to her excellent round.

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"Good time tee time in morning, so very peaceful and I feel comfortable so I had a feeling so relaxing," said Iwai. "I had good feeling. I had fun."

After the brilliant run on the back nine, Iwai admitted to thinking about an extraordinary round.

"A little bit thinking 58 or 9 score," she said. "But golf is not easy. That's why I focus my routine. I try myself. I don't think too much."

Tavatanakit was only 1 under after bogeying the par-5 seventh hole. But she closed the outward half birdie-birdie and then birdied four of her last six holes on the day. She has missed two of three cuts to date and realizes there is a lot of golf left this weekend.

"I think that's what I find hard to adjust coming back into like full season tournament play," said Tavatanakit. "When you stop for a while just kind of been working on your swing and stuff, but you just kind of, you know, not think about hitting the numbers.

"I feel like I've been kind of building that ever since San Francisco, when we were there. I mean, I feel like my game has always been there. Just a little bit here and there is just kind of rusty."

Coughlin just won two handily weeks ago at the Aramco Championship, defeating runner-up Nelly Korda by five strokes. She played bogey-free golf on Thursday, closing with a 32 on the inward half.

--Field Level Media

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April 18, 2026

Chizzy Iwai ties course record, leads by 2 at LA Championship

Japan's Chizzy Iwai posted a bogey-free 9-under-par round of 63 on Thursday to grab a two-stroke lead at the LA Championship in Tar...

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Why Did Rick Moranis Leave Hollywood? Inside the Actor's Quiet Life Since Retreating from the Public Eye 30 Years Ago

Rick Moranis left Hollywood in the mid-1990s to focus on raising his two young children after his wife's death

NEED TO KNOW

• He continued working as a writer and voice actor and released two comedy albums during his acting hiatus

• Moranis will return to live-action film in 2027, reprising his role as Dark Helmet in the Spaceballs sequel

Thirty years ago,Rick Moraniswalked away from his acting career to take care of his family.

TheGhostbustersalum slowlyretreated from the industryafter his wife, costume designer Ann Belsky, died of breast cancer in 1991. She was survived by their two young kids, Rachel and Mitchell Moranis, for whom he put his career "working with really interesting people" on hold to raise.

“I went from that to being at home with a couple of little kids, which is a very different lifestyle," the comedian toldThe Hollywood Reporterin October 2015. "But it was important to me. I have absolutely no regrets whatsoever. My life is wonderful.”

Though Moranis continued to lend his voice to projects likeBrother Bear,Deadlinereported in June 2025 that he was makinghis official returnto the big screen for the sequel to the 1987Star Warsparody filmSpaceballs.

So, why did Rick Moranis leave Hollywood? Here's everything to know about the actor's decision to walk away from the spotlight, ahead ofSpaceballs: The New One's April 2027 release.

Moranis’ wife died of cancer in 1991

In 1991, Belsky died of breast cancer. After her death, Moranis continued to take on a few roles before stepping away, with one of his last live-action films being the 1994 family flickLittle Giants.

His young costar,Devon Sawa, remembered the comedian being "a very kind man" while filming.

"I think that he was dealing with some stuff during the shooting of that movie, so we didn't see a lot of him," the former child star told PEOPLE in February 2025. "[The child cast] were told that he was going through some family stuff. And so we were respectful of that."

He said it was “too difficult” to be a single parent while acting

Moranis toldUSA Todayin October 2005 that he stopped making movies around 1996 or 1997 because he had become a single parent.

"I just found that it was too difficult to manage raising my kids and doing the traveling involved in making movies," he explained. "So I took a little bit of a break. And the little bit of a break turned into a longer break, and then I found that I really didn't miss it."

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Though he'd been offered a number of movie and TV roles during his hiatus — including one in aGhostbustersreboot — the actor continually turned them down.

"Stuff happens to people all the time, and people make adjustments, change careers, move to another city,” Moranis later toldThe Hollywood Reporter. “Really, that's all I did.”

Moranis continued to voice act and released comedy albums

Though fans stopped seeing him in live-action movies, Moranis continued working in the industry as a writer and voice actor in animated films such asBrother BearandThe Animated Adventures of Bob & Doug McKenzie.

He's also done a few radio commercials, written op-eds forThe New York Timesand released two comedy albums:The Agoraphobic Cowboyin 2005 andMy Mother's Brisketin 2013, perThe Hollywood Reporter.

"My son who's 17 really loves it," Moranis toldUSA Todayof his comedy albums. "I'm lucky about that. And my daughter likes it a lot; she's a little more guarded with her praise."

He added, "But the main thing is, I didn't embarrass them. So I consider it a triumph in that regard."

He agreed to return to the big screen after 30 years forSpaceballs 2

Deadlineannounced in June 2025 that Moranis was set to reprise his role as Dark Helmet in the 2027Spaceballssequel. It will mark his first live-action role in a film in nearly 30 years.

DirectorMel BrookstoldThe Hollywood Reporterin January 2026 that he was the one who convinced Moranis to come out of retirement.

"I said, 'Look, do you want to go to your grave without ever coming back to show business again in any way?' " he said. "Then I said, 'This is the way. This is the only way.Spaceballs, Dark Helmet — that's your re-entrance.' I got him to do it."

Brooks continued, "He's never been better. He's even better than in the first edition. He's so good. He's a strange, wonderful, lovely guy and a very talented comic."

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April 18, 2026

Why Did Rick Moranis Leave Hollywood? Inside the Actor's Quiet Life Since Retreating from the Public Eye 30 Years Ago

Rick Moranis left Hollywood in the mid-1990s to focus on raising his two young children after his wife's death NEED TO KNOW ...

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School shootings a new trauma for Turkey as nation mourns

Outside a morgue in south-eastern Turkey about a dozen men rushed to carry a coffin, but it was light - just the weight of a 10-year boy.

His father followed behind, propped up by relatives on both sides but weighed down by grief. "Oh, my martyred child," he wailed, "oh my darling."

His son was one of eight children shot dead on Wednesday in the city of Kahramanmaras by a fellow student,14, who also killed a teacher. This city, traditionally famous for its ice cream, now has a new and terrible distinction – it is the location of Turkey's first deadly mass school shooting.

Relatives, neighbours and emergency services gathered around as coffins emerged one by one each draped in the Turkish flag. There was an angry yell from one woman towards a line of waiting police. "Too late, too late," she chided. "You didn't save the children." Another woman shouted that the attacker should be hung in the main square, but he is already dead. He was killed at the scene.

Outside the main mosque, a mother wept, leaning forward to stroke the coffin of her daughter, Zeynep. From the family home, beside the Ayser Calik Secondary School, she heard the shots that killed her 10-year-old – shots that have reverberated around Turkey.

Relatives told us Zeynep was clever and respectful.

"She became an angel, and she flew away," said Mahmut, her uncle, his voice breaking. "My only wish is to have more security at the schools, so this does not happen again. This pain landed on us. I do not want it to fall on anyone else."

The attack came just one day after a former student roamed the corridors of another school in the same region, shooting at will. He wounded 16 but killed only himself.

"There have been two attacks, in a very short period, both in cities with lower incomes," says Prof Asli Carkoglu, an expert in teen psychology. "These things do have a way of spreading."

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She is worried the deadly shooting here could become "an example for young minds that are frustrated enough".

The attack was a tragedy but "not a surprise" to people like her who work with young adults and adolescents, she said.

"There have been stabbings, beatings and attempted suicides in the school system," she told the BBC. "The guns weren't there before, but the violence was."

As the victims of the attack were being lowered into their graves, more details were emerging about the killer. The authorities here say he referred on social media to anAmerican gunman, Elliot Rodgers, who killed six students in California in 2014. They also say an entry on his computer, dated 11 April, indicated there would be a major attack "in the near future".

He did not have to go far to get weapons – just to the bedroom of his father, a former police officer who is himself now under arrest. He has made a statement to the authorities, according to reports in the local media, painting a picture of a bright but troubled teenager who spent a lot of time playing war games on his computer and was attending a psychologist.

While mass school shootings are a familiar horror for the US, this is a new trauma for Turkey. The authorities want to calm the public and control the narrative.

Around 150 people have been detained for social media posts about the killings, accused of spreading misinformation, or "glorifying crime and criminals". More than 1,000 social media accounts and Telegram groups have been blocked.

There is no evidence of any link between the two attacks this week. And police say "initial findings indicate" that the killer in Kahramanmaras acted alone and was not linked to any terrorist organisation.

At the school gates, now locked, and guarded by police, teachers laid flowers in memory of the children who were killed where they should have been safe.

• Turkish police detain 162 people over online posts about school shootings

• Nine killed in second Turkish school shooting in two days

• Sixteen injured after ex-student opens fire at high school in Turkey

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April 18, 2026

School shootings a new trauma for Turkey as nation mourns

Outside a morgue in south-eastern Turkey about a dozen men rushed to carry a coffin, but it was light - just the weight of a 10-year bo...

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Former Texas guard Jordan Lee transfers to SEC rival South Carolina

Jordan Leeentered the transfer portal after a breakout season atTexasand the junior guard isn't going too far. She's staying in theSoutheastern Conference.

Lee announced on Instagram Friday that she's transferring toSouth Carolinato play forDawn Staleyafter spending the first two years of her collegiate career at Texas under Vic Schaefer. Lee captioned her Instagram post, which featured a video montage of her visit to Columbia, South Carolina, "Feeling cocky."

Lee wasone of four players from Texas to enter the transfer portalafter theLonghorns' second consecutive trip to theFinal Four ended in a devastating loss to UCLA. She was named to the All-Region team in the Fort Worth 3 bracket in this year’s NCAA Tournament following her Sweet 16 and Elite Eight performance, where she recorded 22 points, six assists, three rebounds and four steals while also providing strong defense.

After being limited to five starts her freshman year, Lee slid into the starting lineup last season and started a career-high 38 games. She also averaged career highs in points (13.2), assists (2.5), rebounds (2.5), steals (1.5), field-goal percentage (42%) and free-throw percentage (75%), while shooting 34% from 3-point range.

Texas' Aaliyah Crump, Justice Carlton and Aaliyah Moore also entered the transfer portal. On Friday, Crumpannouncedshe's transferring to Duke, citing her connection with head coach Kara Lawson.

"For me, choosing Duke University goes far beyond one sentence. The moment I connected with Kara Lawson and her coaching staff, I knew I was exactly where I belonged," said Crump, who averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game her freshman season at Texas.

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Crump continued: "Their dedication and vision for the program is truly special, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be a part of it. The connection Coach Lawson and I have built is one of a kind, and I fully trust in her plan for the success of this program. I can’t wait to be coached by genuine people who support my growth not only as a basketball player, but as a person as well."

Three-time All-American Madison Booker and junior starting forward Breya Cunningham are expected to return to Texas.

Contributing: Mitchell Northam

Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Jordan Lee transfers: Former Texas guard joins South Carolina

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April 18, 2026

Former Texas guard Jordan Lee transfers to SEC rival South Carolina

Jordan Leeentered the transfer portal after a breakout season atTexasand the junior guard isn't going too far. She's staying in...

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