Month: April 2023

Enlarge / $400,000 is a steal for a digital gun this blue. (credit: Twitter / Luksusbums)

A major CS:GO skin trader says he has shepherded the sale of a single gun for a record price of over $400,000. The news comes amid a speculative boom in the price of all sorts of CS:GO items, following the news that those skins will be fully compatible with the recently announced Counter-Strike 2.

Danish trader zipeL, who helps manage CS:Go market clearinghouse SkinBid, shared news of a $500,000+ transaction on Twitter earlier this week. While that transaction also included a rare (but "well-worn") Karambit #387 P1 knife, the highlight was a "#1 AK-47 661 ST MW with 4x Titan (Holo)." Seller (and SkinBids cofounder) Luksusbums said last year that he would "entertain offers above $400K" for that gun, a valuation that was apparently met with this sale.

While there are many sought-after skins in CS:GO, the "Seed 661" pattern seen on this AK-47 is "commonly considered the #1 pattern and... is known as the best 'scar pattern'" according to informational site CS Go Blue Gem. The pattern is particularly valued aesthetically for what the site calls "a clean and bright blue all the way through the back with a golden scar close to the rear sight."

Enlarge / Demonstrators rally in support of abortion rights at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 15, 2023. (credit: Getty | NDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS )

Update 4/19/2023 3:58 pm ET: Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito extended the temporary stay on the lower court's order. It is now stayed until midnight on Friday, April 21, 2023. The stay preserves the status quo access to the abortion and miscarriage drug mifepristone for two more days.

Original story 4/18/2023 11:09 pm ET: The US Supreme Court may soon issue a ruling in a high-stakes case that will determine not only the national availability of the safe and effective abortion and miscarriage medication mifepristone but also the fate of the Food and Drug Administration's overall authority to regulate the country's drugs.

In case you haven't been following along, here's everything you need to know before the high court makes its next move.

Enlarge / Demonstrators rally in support of abortion rights at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, on April 15, 2023. (credit: Getty | NDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS )

The US Supreme Court may soon issue a ruling in a high-stakes case that will determine not only the national availability of the safe and effective abortion and miscarriage medication mifepristone but also the fate of the Food and Drug Administration's overall authority to regulate the country's drugs.

In case you haven't been following along, here's everything you need to know before the high court makes its next move.

The case: Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA

The case began last November in a federal court in Texas when a group of anti-abortion organizations (led by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine) filed a lawsuit against the FDA, claiming that the regulator's approval and regulation of mifepristone was unlawful. As expected, District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a preliminary injunction on April 7 revoking the FDA's 2000 approval and ruled that the FDA's actions between 2016 and 2021, which included easing restrictions on the drug's use and access, were also unlawful. Kacsmaryk granted a seven-day stay of the order, allowing time for the government to appeal the ruling and seek a longer freeze. Without intervention, mifepristone could have been wrenched from the market nationwide on April 15.

Enlarge / Under the stars with the Ariane 6 launch base at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. (credit: ESA)

After much political wrangling among Germany, France, and Italy, the member governments of the European Space Agency formally decided to move ahead with development of the Ariane 6 rocket in December 2014.

A replacement rocket for the Ariane 5 was needed, European ministers decided, because of cost pressure from commercial upstarts like SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket. With the design of the Ariane 6, they envisioned a modernized version of the previous rocket, optimized for cost. Because Ariane 6 would use a modified Vulcan engine and other components from previous Ariane rockets, it was anticipated that the new rocket would debut in 2020.

European space policy, however, is every bit as political as that of the United States, if not more so. Member nations of Europe make financial allocations to the European Space Agency and expect roughly that amount of money in return in terms of space projects. So the development and production of Ariane 6 was spread across a number of nations under management of a large conglomerate, France-based ArianeGroup.

Enlarge / Under the stars with the Ariane 6 launch base at Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana. (credit: ESA)

After much political wrangling among Germany, France, and Italy, the member governments of the European Space Agency formally decided to move ahead with development of the Ariane 6 rocket in December 2014.

A replacement rocket for the Ariane 5 was needed, European ministers decided, because of cost pressure from commercial upstarts like SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket. With the design of the Ariane 6, they envisioned a modernized version of the previous rocket, optimized for cost. Because Ariane 6 would use a modified Vulcan engine and other components from previous Ariane rockets, it was anticipated that the new rocket would debut in 2020.

European space policy, however, is every bit as political as that of the United States, if not more so. Member nations of Europe make financial allocations to the European Space Agency and expect roughly that amount of money in return in terms of space projects. So the development and production of Ariane 6 was spread across a number of nations under management of a large conglomerate, France-based ArianeGroup.