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A Rome Medieval Tower Partially Collapses, Badly Injuring a Worker and Trapping Another

This combo of three pictures shows a cloud of debris from a second collapse surrounding firefighters who were trying to rescue a worker after a medieval tower near the Roman Forum partially collapsed during renovation work, in Rome, Italy, Monday Nov. 3 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
This combo of three pictures shows a cloud of debris from a second collapse surrounding firefighters who were trying to rescue a worker after a medieval tower near the Roman Forum partially collapsed during renovation work, in Rome, Italy, Monday Nov. 3 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
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A Rome Medieval Tower Partially Collapses, Badly Injuring a Worker and Trapping Another

This combo of three pictures shows a cloud of debris from a second collapse surrounding firefighters who were trying to rescue a worker after a medieval tower near the Roman Forum partially collapsed during renovation work, in Rome, Italy, Monday Nov. 3 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
This combo of three pictures shows a cloud of debris from a second collapse surrounding firefighters who were trying to rescue a worker after a medieval tower near the Roman Forum partially collapsed during renovation work, in Rome, Italy, Monday Nov. 3 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

A medieval tower in the heart of Italy's capital, near the famous Roman Forum ruins, partially collapsed on Monday during renovations of the structure, critically injuring one worker and trapping another, authorities said.

Hundreds of tourists watched as firefighters used a mobile ladder to bring a stretcher to the upper level of the Torre dei Conti to rescue the worker who remained trapped.

During the rescue attempt, another part of the structure partially collapsed, sending up a cloud of debris and forcing firefighters to quickly retreat, The AP news reported.

Firefighter spokesman Luca Cari confirmed that the one remaining worker remained trapped hours after the initial collapse. He added that a rescued worker was being treated in critical condition and that another three workers were rescued unharmed.

The initial collapse happened some time before noon, and did not appear to have involved any bystanders.

Queen Paglinawan was working in a nearby gelato parlor when she heard the two loud noises from the town in quick succession.

“I was working and then I heard some like falling, and then I saw the tower collapse in a diagonal way,'' Paglinawan, 27, said as yet another collapse occurred in the background.

German student Viktoria Braeu passed by the scene just as the partial collapse during the firefighters' rescue occurred.

“We were just at the Colosseum ... and we were just walking to get some food. ... And then we were like, ‘It’s probably not long until it's going to go down,' and then it just started erupting,'' said Braeu, 18.

Four firefighters later approached the first-floor window on two mobile ladders, but were quickly pulled back when dust emerged. Authorities then positioned a drone in front of the window in an apparent attempt to check the condition of the trapped worker.

The Torre dei Conti was built in the 13th century by Pope Innocent III as a residence for his family. The tower was damaged in a 1349 earthquake and suffered subsequent collapses in the 17th century.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli were at the scene, but declined to speak with reporters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Varieties

Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Puts on Spectacular Lava Display

Kilauea has been regularly throwing out thousands of tonnes of molten rock and gases since it burst to life in December 2024. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/AFP
Kilauea has been regularly throwing out thousands of tonnes of molten rock and gases since it burst to life in December 2024. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/AFP
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Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano Puts on Spectacular Lava Display

Kilauea has been regularly throwing out thousands of tonnes of molten rock and gases since it burst to life in December 2024. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/AFP
Kilauea has been regularly throwing out thousands of tonnes of molten rock and gases since it burst to life in December 2024. UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY/AFP

Hawaii's Kilauea was spraying a spectacular fountain of lava on Monday, keeping up its reputation as one of the world's most active volcanoes.

For over a year now, Kilauea has been regularly throwing out thousands of tons of molten rock and gases since it burst to life in December 2024, reported AFP.

Volcanologists with the US Geological Survey said the incandescent lava was being hurled more than 1,500 feet (460 meters) into the air, with plumes of smoke and gases rising as high as 20,000 feet (six kilometers).

Eruptions such as this one tend to last around one day, the USGS said, but can still vent up to 100,000 tons of sulfur dioxide.

This gas reacts in the atmosphere to create a visible haze known as vog -- volcanic smog -- which can cause respiratory and other problems.

Tiny slivers of volcanic glass, known as "Pele's hair," are also being thrown into the air.

Named after Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, the strands can be very sharp and can cause irritation to the skin and eyes.

The eruption poses no immediate danger to any human settlement, with the caldera having been closed to the public for almost two decades.

Kilauea has been very active since 1983 and erupts relatively regularly.

It is one of six active volcanoes located in the Hawaiian Islands, which also include Mauna Loa, the largest volcano in the world.

Kilauea is much smaller than neighboring Mauna Loa, but it is far more active and regularly wows helicopter-riding tourists who come to see its red-hot shows.

Varieties

Astronaut's Serious Medical Condition Forces NASA to End Space Station Mission Early

Crew-11 mission astronauts departed the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 1, 2025 (Gregg Newton/AFP)  
Crew-11 mission astronauts departed the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 1, 2025 (Gregg Newton/AFP)  
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Astronaut's Serious Medical Condition Forces NASA to End Space Station Mission Early

Crew-11 mission astronauts departed the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 1, 2025 (Gregg Newton/AFP)  
Crew-11 mission astronauts departed the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on August 1, 2025 (Gregg Newton/AFP)  

NASA announced that four astronauts will return from the International Space Station more than a month ahead of schedule after an unnamed crew member experienced a medical issue.

The incident marks the first time in history NASA has brought astronauts home from the space station early because of a medical issue, according to CNN.

NASA has not provided details about the nature of the problem, citing privacy concerns. The agency typically does not discuss the specifics of health matters related to astronauts.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will bring the four-person crew home, disembarking from the ISS as soon as Wednesday at 5 pm ET. The spacecraft is then expected to splash down off the coast of California early the following morning, NASA said in a statement last week.

The affected astronaut is in stable condition, NASA previously confirmed, and is not expected to receive special treatment during the return trip, said Dr James Polk, NASA’s chief health and medical officer at the agency’s headquarters.

The astronaut would also be best served by being evaluated on the ground, Polk added.

“We have a very robust suite of medical hardware on board the International Space Station,” Polk noted during a news conference. “But we don’t have the complete amount of hardware that I would have in the emergency department, for example, to complete a workup of a patient.”

He added, “And in this particular incident, we would like to complete that work up, and the best way to complete that workup is on the ground.”

 

 

 

Varieties

Astronomers Spot White Dwarf Star Creating a Colorful Shockwave

The central square image, taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope, shows shock waves around the dead star RXJ0528+2838. (European Southern Observatory (ESO)/K. Ilkiewicz and S. Scaringi et al./Handout via Reuters)
The central square image, taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope, shows shock waves around the dead star RXJ0528+2838. (European Southern Observatory (ESO)/K. Ilkiewicz and S. Scaringi et al./Handout via Reuters)
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Astronomers Spot White Dwarf Star Creating a Colorful Shockwave

The central square image, taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope, shows shock waves around the dead star RXJ0528+2838. (European Southern Observatory (ESO)/K. Ilkiewicz and S. Scaringi et al./Handout via Reuters)
The central square image, taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope, shows shock waves around the dead star RXJ0528+2838. (European Southern Observatory (ESO)/K. Ilkiewicz and S. Scaringi et al./Handout via Reuters)

Astronomers have observed a white dwarf - a highly compact Earth-sized stellar ember - that is creating a colorful shockwave as it moves through space, leaving them searching for an explanation.

The highly magnetized white dwarf is gravitationally bound to another star in what is called a binary system. The white dwarf is siphoning gas from its companion as the two orbit close to each other. The system is located in the Milky Way about 730 light-years from Earth - relatively nearby in cosmic terms - in the constellation Auriga.

A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

The shockwave - more specifically a bow shock - caused by the white dwarf was observed using the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The shockwave was seen in an image released by the scientists glowing in various colors produced when material flowing outward from the white dwarf collided with interstellar gas.

"A shockwave ‌is created when ‌fast-moving material plows into surrounding gas, suddenly compressing and heating it. A ‌bow shock ⁠is the curved ‌shock front that forms when an object moves rapidly through space, similar to the wave in front of a boat moving through water," said astrophysicist Simone Scaringi of Durham University in England, co-lead author of the study published on Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.

"The colors come from interstellar gas that is being heated and excited by the shock. Different chemical elements glow at specific colors when this happens," Scaringi added.

In this shockwave, a red hue represented hydrogen, green represented nitrogen and blue represented oxygen residing in interstellar space.

A handful of other white dwarfs have been observed creating shockwaves. But all of those were ⁠surrounded by disks of gas siphoned from a binary partner. Although this white dwarf is siphoning gas from its companion, it lacks any such disk and ‌is releasing gas into space for unknown reasons.

White dwarfs are among the ‍universe's most compact objects, though not as dense as ‍black holes.

Stars with up to eight times the mass of the sun appear destined to end up as ‍a white dwarf. They eventually burn up all the hydrogen they use as fuel. Gravity then causes them to collapse and blow off their outer layers in a "red giant" stage, eventually leaving behind a compact core - the white dwarf.

"There are plenty of white dwarfs out there, as these are the most common endpoints of stellar evolution," Scaringi said.

The sun appears fated to end its existence as a white dwarf, billions of years from now.

This white dwarf has a mass comparable to the sun contained in a body slightly larger than Earth. Its binary companion is ⁠a type of low-mass star called a red dwarf that is about a tenth the mass of the sun and thousands of times less luminous. It orbits the white dwarf every 80 minutes, with the two extremely close to each other - approximately the distance between the moon and Earth.

The gravitational strength of the white dwarf is pulling gas off the red dwarf. This siphoned material is being pulled into the white dwarf along its strong magnetic field, eventually landing at its magnetic poles. While this process releases energy and radiation, it cannot account for the outflow of material needed to produce the observed shockwave, Scaringi said.

"Every mechanism with outflowing gas we have considered does not explain our observation, and we still remain puzzled by this system, which is why this result is so interesting and exciting," Scaringi said.

"The shape and length of the (shockwave) structure show that this process has been ongoing for at least about 1,000 years, making it long-lived rather than a one-off event," Scaringi added.

The ‌researchers took note of the aesthetics of the colorful shockwave.

"Beyond the science, it's a striking reminder that space is not empty or static as we may naively imagine it: it's dynamic and sculpted by motion and energy," Scaringi said.