Good morning, this is for Powered with the Daily Beast. It's Thursday, May 6th, and these are the top stories the Chi Chi team is watching right now. The Pentagon announced Tuesday that it is monitoring a large Chinese rocket that is out of control, and no one is quite sure when or where it will land. Experts say it's likely to end up splashing down in the water as opposed to hitting dry land because of the sheer mass of Earth's oceans.
A Department of Defense spokesperson said he expects the falling rocket to reenter Earth's atmosphere around May 8th. The rocket was initially set up in April to help launch a section of China's new space station into orbit. According to a Harvard astrophysicist, it was a bit rude for China to leave behind this massive space litter. A conversation between two grandmothers reportedly led to a New Jersey man being charged for participating in the Capitol riot.
Authorities say that days after the insurrection, the mother of the man told her friend that her son had been one of the mob who broke into the Capitol building. Her friend then repeated the gossip to her grandchild. In turn, authorities say, the grandchild turned the information over to the FBI. The man turned himself in earlier this week.
He faces multiple charges related to the attempted insurrection. A federal judge on Wednesday ordered that former reality TV star Josh Duggar be released while he awaits trial for allegedly downloading and possessing child pornography. The latest investigation into Duggar, who has a disturbing history of sexual misconduct allegations, started when an Arkansas detective traced downloads of child porn to a computer at a car dealership that Duggar owned. According to an order from a district judge, Duggar will be under house arrest, will wear a GPS tracker, and will not be allowed to use the internet during this time.
He also will be unable to see his children without his wife present. Duggar has pleaded not guilty to the charges. A woman who is known as Australia's worst female serial killer after she was found guilty of killing four of her children has recently received support of dozens of scientists who say the kids may have actually died of natural causes. Kathleen Fulbick has been behind bars for the past 18 years after being convicted in May 2003 on three charges of murder and one of manslaughter.
The charges stem from a string of deaths of her children. Her first child died 19 days after being born in 1989. Her second died in 1991 at 8 months old. The third child died at 10 months in 1993.
The fourth child passed away in 1999 at 19 months. During Fulbick's trial, prosecutors argue that it was impossible for all children to have died naturally. But nearly two decades later, experts say that is what happened. Ninety scientists and medical experts from around the world have called for Fulbick to be pardoned after citing recent discoveries in genetic research that point to all four of the children being at high risk of sudden death.
That's all for this morning. Check back every week in the morning and afternoon for more of the news you need to know. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts.