El Paso, 'Dawson's Creek' Actor, and Civics Thursday

 Need To Know 

El Paso Airspace Closure

Officials are offering conflicting explanations for an abrupt airspace closure around El Paso International Airport in Texas late Tuesday into Wednesday morning. The Trump administration cited a Mexican cartel drone incursion, while sources told major media outlets the ground stop was tied to US military tests of counter-drone technology.

The ground stop, initially announced as a 10-day shutdown for "special security reasons," halted or diverted all flights, including medical evacuations. Local officials in El Paso, a nearly 700,000-person city on Texas' US-Mexico border, received no advance notice, sparking confusion. The order called for the longest full grounding in the US since 9/11. The ground stop was lifted after the US military reportedly disabled the drones. As of this writing, officials have not disclosed how many drones were involved or how they were disabled.

Last year, a Homeland Security official told lawmakers cartels use drones almost daily to surveil the border and transport drugs, with over 1,200 pounds seized in the second half of 2024.

'Dawson's Creek' Star Dies

James Van Der Beek died yesterday at age 48 after a battle with colon cancer. The early aughts star was best known for his role as the titular character in the hit show “Dawson’s Creek.”

Born in 1977, Van Der Beek notched a series of stage and on-screen roles in his late teens, including appearances on Nickelodeon's “Clarissa Explains It All” and the CBS soap opera “As the World Turns.” In 1998, he debuted as 15-year-old Dawson Leery in The WB teen drama “Dawson’s Creek.” The show—set in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts—was an instant success. The first episode drew 6.8 million viewers, the highest ratings in the network’s history. Van Der Beek regularly graced magazine covers and was often labeled a teen heartthrob.

He also appeared in films including “Varsity Blues” (1999) and “The Rules of Attraction” (2002). He was cast in Amazon Prime's “Legally Blonde” prequel, “Elle,” slated to debut in July.

Smaller Proton Confirmed

A proton’s radius measures 0.84 femtometers (trillionths of a millimeter; link free w/email), according to a study published yesterday in Nature. It is the most precise measurement of the subatomic particle to date.

For decades, a proton’s radius was believed to measure 0.88 femtometers, with researchers relying on two methods to reach the figure. The first involves firing electrons at a hydrogen atom (containing a single proton), and the second involves measuring the radiation required to make an atom jump energy states. Over a decade ago, researchers applied these methods to muonic hydrogen, which, instead of an electron, has a particle roughly 200 times larger—allowing for more precise measurement and indicating a roughly 4% smaller proton size. Yesterday’s study was 2.5 times more precise than previous measurements, and confirmed the smaller radius.

The study aligns with measurements predicted by the Standard Model theory of physics, which describes all known particles and forces in the universe except gravity. Learn more about the Standard Model—including its limits—here.

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> US snowboarder Chloe Kim vies for third gold in Olympic women's halfpipe final today at 1:30 pm ET, despite shoulder injury (More) | 2028 Los Angeles Olympics committee backs chairman Casey Wasserman after Epstein files mention (More)

> TikTok rolls out opt-in local feed that allows US users to see news and event recommendations based on their location; the feature was introduced to select European markets last year (More) 

> Super Bowl averages 124.9 million viewers, second-most watched behind 2025 game; Bad Bunny's halftime show is fourth-most watched with 128.2 million viewers (More) | Puppy Bowl draws 15.3 million viewers, best audience since 2018 (More)

Science & Technology

> Meta breaks ground on $10B data center in Lebanon, Indiana, as part of AI build-out; tech giant pledges to invest over $120M to improve local infrastructure (More) 

> New regenerative therapy helps repair lab-grown human spinal cord organoids with induced damage, bringing researchers closer to better treatments for spinal cord injuries (More) 

> Today's Caribbean coral reefs host food chains 60% to 70% shorter and fish 20% to 70% less diverse than their ancient predecessors, according to analysis of roughly 7,000-year-old reef fossils; declines appear linked to human activity (More) 

Business & Markets

> US stock markets close down (S&P 500 -0.0%, Dow -0.1%, Nasdaq -0.2%) (More) | US employers added 130,000 jobs in January, more than the 55,000 to 70,000 jobs economists had forecast; unemployment rate fell to 4.3% from 4.4% in December (More) 

> Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica reports it sold over 7 million Meta AI glasses last year, up from 2 million in 2023 and 2024 combined (More) | Billionaire Bill Ackman's hedge fund reveals it has invested roughly 10% of its capital—or about $2B—in Meta (More) 

> Kraft Heinz pauses plan to split into two companies as new CEO says "challenges are fixable"; the food conglomerate had announced the breakup last fall (More) 

Politics & World Affairs

> Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before Congress in four-and-a-half-hour confrontational hearing over the Justice Department's handling of Epstein files (More) | Bondi reportedly had file on Rep. Pramila Jayapal's (D, WA-7) search history during hearing (More)

> Suspected shooter in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, is identified as 18-year-old transgender student at the secondary school targeted; police have not publicly identified a motive as of this writing (More)

> Pentagon is reportedly preparing a second aircraft carrier to deploy to the Middle East in two weeks as President Donald Trump negotiates terms of a potential nuclear deal with Iran (More) 

In-Depth

> Not What It Seems

Criminal | Phoebe Judge. A man disappears while on a duck hunting trip around  Lake Seminole. Authorities speculated he was eaten by alligators—but the man's mother pushed back, convinced the truth was far more complicated. (Listen) 

> 'That's Somebody's Son' 

The Atavist | Mary Margaret Alvarado. Three mothers in Colorado Springs navigate the challenges of caring for their adult sons with schizophrenia, revealing gaps in the mental health system and the toll it takes on their families. (Read) 

 1440 Topics: Civics Thursday 

Love letters from a WWII soldier reveal wartime romance.

The lost art of sharing a bottle of wine.

Valentine's Day spending expected to set a record this year.

The US falls to a record low on the global corruption index.

What if your algorithm challenged your politics instead of reinforcing them?

Fossilized vomit uncovers a 290-million-year-old predator’s diet.

How bionic sneakers could supercharge human mobility.

Is the wood-burning fireplace facing extinction?

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Clickbait: Sheriff to media: Please stop ordering food to a crime scene.

Historybook: President Abraham Lincoln born (1809); Biologist Charles Darwin born (1809); Children’s author Judy Blume born (1938); President Bill Clinton acquitted on impeachment charges (1999); “Peanuts” cartoonist Charles Schulz dies (2000).

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