Center

On Friday, about 800 schoolchildren gathered for the grand opening of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center to marvel at the Endeavour spaceship and explore new exhibits featuring space capsules, Mars rovers, and spacesuits, including one from the Apollo era. They were greeted by astronauts in blue space suits, eager to recount their time in space.

Among them was astronaut-turned-U.S. senator Mark Kelly, for whom Endeavour holds sentimental significance. A veteran of four spaceflights, Kelly flew aboard the spacecraft twice. His first mission came just months after the September 11 attacks.

“We launched in December, right after this horrible tragedy. The spaceship was actually born out of a tragedy: Challenger. This is the replacement for Challenger,” the Arizona Democrat said in an interview.

His second flight aboard Endeavour was equally memorable. While Kelly was in space, his wife, then- Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was recovering in the hospital after surviving an assassination attempt. “She was still in the hospital when I was in space,” Kelly recalled. He commanded Endeavour’s final mission. In his Senate office, his spacesuit is on proud display.

The space shuttle Endeavour in its launch position is the centerpiece of the newly-opened Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center at the California Science Center in Los Angeles CA.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Kelly hopes the spacecraft will inspire children for generations to come. He describes Endeavour as “the most complicated thing humans have ever built,” hoping to spark interest in math and engineering. “A little kid is gonna say, ‘Wow! People built that, and it went into space. Boy, if people could do that, maybe I can do anything,’ ” Kelly said. “It’s going to motivate children from all over our country to do some hard stuff. So you can’t really put a price tag on this.”

Bringing the gift of Endeavour to L.A. also served as inspiration to Lynda Oschin. When she first saw the 200-foot-tall spacecraft standing upright in its launch position, she was moved to tears. “I just couldn’t believe it,” said Oschin, the wife of the late Samuel Oschin, for whom the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center is named.

When Endeavour was transported from Houston to California, Oschin requested that a photograph of her husband be placed in the commander’s seat. Former NASA head Charles Bolden honored her request. The photograph remains in the cockpit. “It’s there, and it’s framed now, and it’s in there forever,” Oschin said.

For Oschin, the spacecraft represents the memory of her late husband — a devoted patron of math, science and exploration. Today, Endeavour, in launch configuration at the Oschin space center, gives hundreds of children a glimpse of what is possible, Oschin said.

The grand opening and Endeavour reveal began with speeches by Sen. Alex Padilla of California and as well as Sen. Kelly, along with other champions of the exhibit.

“Today is about dreams,” said Jeffrey N. Rudolph, president and CEO of the California Science Center. “Now, Endeavour is in its permanent home.”

Students gather at the entrance to the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center during the ribbon cutting by dignitaries to officially open the museum on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Oschin also took the stage. “This is an incredibly special day,” she said. “It’s all about the children, future, curiosity and knowledge.”

In her speech, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) echoed that message, thanking “all the dreamers, believers, scientists, engineers, scholars, astronauts who had a vision about going to space, and then finding a way to actualize it right here in South Los Angeles.”

She also recalled the extraordinary effort required to bring Endeavour to the museum that began 14 years ago, including the night the spacecraft became stuck on Crenshaw Boulevard during its journey through Los Angeles.

“It was like a party in the streets,” Kamalager-Dove said. “People came from the Valley, Watts, Wilmington, Long Beach — from all over to see this majestic, magical thing that had parked in the middle of a street.”

Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, hundreds of schoolchildren were greeted by astronauts offering high-fives. The children shrieked with excitement as they entered the museum, where the spacecraft awaited them.

Endeavour astronauts high-five and greet students on opening day of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Among the smiling astronauts present was Tom Marshburn, who has spent 330 days in space over the course of his career, including a mission aboard Endeavour. “It’s life-changing. At times, I can’t believe I was there,” Marshburn said of his space travel.

Despite the inherent romance of space travel, the experience is incredibly demanding. “It’s very intense because you’re so busy with so much work to do,” Marshburn said. Still, he found moments to appreciate the experience. “We’re both trying to enjoy the zero gravity, the Earth, the real world. Being there with other people is the most important thing.”

The astronaut hopes Endeavour will continue to inspire children for years to come. “I hope they get a feeling of what human beings can achieve,” he said. “This is the most complex thing ever built by humans, and it has been in space and has come back 25 times.”

Astronaut Julie Payette, who flew aboard Endeavour on her second mission, believes the spacecraft’s influence extends far beyond aspiring astronauts and space enthusiasts.

“We encourage young kids to dare to dream. The dream doesn’t need to be the same as mine or yours,” she said. “This particular exhibit is a testimony to what you can achieve in this field. But it is inspiring for everybody. Everybody loves space.”

She said the most rewarding aspect of being an astronaut is the camaraderie. Born in Canada, Payette has spent her life in Houston at the NASA headquarters. “We don’t actually see the differences in skin color, nationality or the language you spoke when you were a kid,” she said. “We all work together; our survival depends on us working as a team.”

The Endeavour, hovering above hundreds of students, left a memorable impression. Areli Castillo, a 10-year-old who attends Grove Center, said the exhibit has encouraged her to learn more about astronauts. “The spaceship is my favorite part.”

School children reach for switches and buttons on a mockup of the space shuttle Endeavour cockpit during the opening of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Emmanuel Montenegro, a 17-year-old who attends Covina High School, also admired the spaceship. “It’s just so intricately designed and so beautiful,” he said. The student joked that he initially thought the museum visit would simply be a fun excuse to miss class. Instead, he left with a newfound appreciation for astronomy. “Now I want to come here again,” he said. “It interests me.”

Later, television producer Chuck Lorre and “Young Sheldon” star Iain Armitage made the first descent on the shuttle descent slide — a 45-foot drop that represents the shuttle’s descent and landing. Armitage’s appearance sparked a wave of excitement among the crowd, with students cheering and lining up for selfies with the young actor.

At the bottom of the slide, Lorre explained his awe of the spacecraft. “It’s something that’s going to change lives,” he said, gazing upward. “You don’t get happier than getting to be part of this.”

United States Sen. Mark Kelly takes a ride down the Shuttle Descent Slide that simulates the path of the vehicle returning to Earth as a glider.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Armitage was similarly dazzled by the exhibit, explaining that his father was a fan of science fiction films. “Growing up, we would talk about the stars and planets. I’ve always wanted to go, so it’s so cool to get close to that dream by being somewhere like this.”

“The emotional experience you have getting to see the Endeavour in person is insane,” he said. “It’s such a culmination of all these incredible, brilliant minds thinking so technically that it comes together. It makes things so beautiful and so human.”

Times staff writer Laura Zornosa contributed to this report.

CENTER Parcs has revealed plans for TWO new attractions at one of its parks.

Center Parcs Longleat Forest resort has revealed plans for a new aerial adventure and a rollercoaster-style treetop attraction.

The park currently has an Aerial Adventure Course but this will be replaced with a new high-level aerial adventure with 15 bridges and three zip wires.

The course will be in the woodland and set across different heights with some platforms as high as 12.56 metres.

The attraction will be east of the main lake.

And last week, the park also gained permission to build a Treetop Glider attraction.

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The attraction will be a rollercoaster-style zipline, 13 metres above the ground.

It will be the third resort to get the attraction, following from Elveden Forest in Suffolk and Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.

Last year, the park opened Adventure Nets at the resort, where families can “bounce, balance, leap and climb through the stunning redwood canopy”.

There are a number of treehouses across the course as well, seven metres in the air.

And there are a number of tunnels, rope bridges and a trampoline area.

The Adventure Nets sessions are 70-minutes long – which includes a 10-minute safety briefing, followed by 60-minutes of play.

Anthropic (ANT) agreed to spend $3.4 billion to secure gas-fired generators through Texas supplier OnePWR Solutions, the Financial Times reported. The September transaction covers 1.7 gigawatts of generating capacity and includes engineering and construction capabilities to install the equipment.

Anthropic (

Election day is here, which means it’s the final chance to cast your ballot for the midterm election.

Early voting options have allowed more than 5.5 million Californians to cast their ballot ahead of election day, according to Political Data Intelligence, voter data analysis software.

However, with more than 23 million registered voters in the state, there are still nearly 18 million people who potentially could head to the polls, which could translate to long lines at polling places and voting centers.

You can avoid long wait times. Here’s how to do that, plus a few other helpful tips on election day.

How to avoid long lines at the polls

On election day, voting and polling centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk’s website has a vote center locator online.

By entering your address, the locator will create a list of voting centers that are less than a mile away or as far as 10 miles.

Included with the vote center address is how long the current wait time is at that specific location.

The wait times are color coded as follows:

• Dark green: 15 minutes or less
• Light green: 16 to 30 minutes
• Yellow: 31 to 45 minutes
• Orange: 46 to 60 minutes
• Red: More than 1 hour
• Blue: Wait time unavailable

I’m at a vote center but left my ballot at home

You can request a provisional ballot at any polling place in the county in which you are registered to vote.

A provisional ballot is a regular ballot that is placed in a special envelope prior to being put in the ballot box.

It’s counted once election officials verify that you are a registered voter in that county and haven’t already voted in the election.

How to participate in ‘curbside voting’ for registered voters with disabilities

All polling places and voting centers are required to be accessible to voters with disabilities and will have accessible voting machines.

Any voter who cannot reach the voting area at the center because of architectural barriers or physical limitations may request to vote curbside — whether the voter is physically on the curb or in their car.

There is a sign posted outside of every vote center with a phone number to call an election worker who will bring a ballot to the voter, according to the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk.

I forgot my check-in code for in-person voting

Los Angeles County election officials say you can check in at a voting center by scanning your “quick check-in code” — a number that verifies your voter registration.

Your unique code can be found on your mailed sample ballot and vote center postcard. Take either of those hard copies to the vote center.

If you forgot the hard copies, you can find the code online. You retrieve it by verifying your voter registration here. You’ll need to input your last name, birth date, the house number of your residential address and your ZIP Code.

For assistance call, (800) 815-2666, Option 2.

How late is too late to vote at the polls on election night?

In California, any voter who is in line at 8 p.m. when the polls are scheduled to close is allowed to vote, according to the secretary of state.

If there is a line when the polls close, a poll worker stands at the back of the line to let people who arrive after 8 p.m. know that the polls have closed.

Any voter who arrives after the polls have closed may not be allowed to vote, even if voters who were in line to vote before the polls closed are in the process of voting.

More election news

There are about 2,000 safety-net clinics in California that deliver primary care to underserved populations. Proposition 44 would set limits on how these federally qualified health centers spend their money.

The basics

Proposition 44 asks voters to require federally funded community health centers to spend at least 90% of their total annual revenue on “program services advancing their charitable purpose.”

The impact

If the proposition passes, the state attorney general will be responsible for determining what services fall into that category. If spending on administrative or non-healthcare functions exceeded 10% of total revenue, a clinic would have to pay a penalty equal to the amount it overspent.

Dig deeper

Proposition 44 was backed by the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West, the same union that is pushing Proposition 40, the controversial billionaire tax. The union appears to be the main supporter of the proposal and says the restrictions would prevent excessive spending on executive salaries, fundraisers and other administrative expenses.

There is a diverse array of opponents, including the California Medical Assn., the California Teachers Assn., the Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, the state Democratic Party and the state Chamber of Commerce. They say the proposition’s vague wording could result in vital services being excluded from the list of program expenses permitted. A study commissioned by the California Primary Care Assn. found that clinics could face up to $1.7 billion in collective penalties in the first year of the measure’s implementation.

More reading

What to know about Prop. 44 (L.A. Times)

An analysis of Prop. 44 (California Legislative Analyst’s Office)

More on the measure, spending (CalMatters)

Union involved in Prop. 44 faces questions (L.A. Times)

A recent Times review of the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center declares that the Endeavour space shuttle — displayed for the first time ever in launch position — “is, simply put, one of the greatest artifacts ever installed in a museum.”

While it may be true that visitors will flock to L.A.’s newest cultural haven just to see the shuttle, the 200,000-square-foot addition to the California Science Center contains plenty of other mind-melting artifacts to gawk at — especially if you’re an aerospace buff. If you’ve read Tom Wolfe’s riveting 1979 book “The Right Stuff” (or seen the movie) about the early years of NASA’s space program, you’ll likely feel downright starstruck when confronted with iconic pieces of history ripped straight from its pages.

But there’s much more than history at this tech-forward new museum. This list of must-see artifacts reminds us of all we know about air and space, and all we don’t — as well as the many novel and ingenious ways we continue to work toward fresh discoveries.

Hands-on experiences dominate the new Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, where encountering artifacts that highlight aerospace history is on equal footing with learning about its future.

The many interactive exhibits that dot the new building’s 200,000 square feet of gallery space are geared to entice and educate people of all ages. But kids will be especially intrigued. The center’s leaders, including Science Center President and Chief Executive Jeffrey Rudolph and Ken Phillips, curator of aerospace science, said during a recent tour that in many ways the museum is meant for kids. It’s not a childish place, but it does produce childlike wonder. It’s hard to remain cynical when you’re surrounded by physical evidence of the vast nature of the universe.

The sheer scale of it hits you all at once. It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you step into the museum, with its planes hanging from the ceiling and its rockets jutting through the floors. This list of the best interactive exhibits on offer will help you plan a successful visit in advance. Just be sure to brace yourself for your children’s inevitable wails when you try to pull them away.

And expect lines — these experiences are likely to be in high demand.

WASHINGTON — An immigrant detainee died Saturday morning at the Otay Mesa Detention Center in San Diego, marking the 61st such death under the Trump administration.

In an emailed statement, an unnamed spokesperson with CoreCivic, the Tennessee-based private prison company that operates the facility, confirmed the death. Per the spokesperson, a staff member at the Otay Mesa facility called in a medical emergency around 11:36 a.m. Saturday after finding an unresponsive person in their assigned living area.

Medical staff arrived quickly, began lifesaving measures and called for emergency medical services, the spokesperson said. EMS arrived and continued those efforts, but the person was pronounced dead at the facility.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of anyone in our care,” the spokesperson wrote, adding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement was immediately notified.

ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment. CoreCivic did not provide information about the person’s identity.

The death was first reported by Daylight San Diego.

San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, in a statement Tuesday, wrote that ICE and CoreCivic must quickly reach the person’s family, cooperate with a thorough investigation and share what they find with the public. Aguirre said she asked the county public health officer to determine what kind of follow-up is possible under a state law that allows local public health authorities to inspect ICE facilities.

“Somewhere, a family is waiting for a phone call, and my heart is with them,” she wrote.

This is the seventh person to die while in ICE custody in California under this administration, and the first to die at the Otay Mesa facility since 2023.

Deaths have increased as the Trump administration detained record numbers of people, with the population at one point ballooning past 70,000 nationwide.

The most recent death reported by ICE was that of Luis Sandoval, 48, a Salvadoran immigrant who died of apparent suicide Friday. Staff at the Folkston D. Ray ICE Processing Center in Georgia found Sandoval with a ligature around his neck, according to an ICE news release.

ICE policy is to notify the public and Congress within two business days of a detainee’s death. More extensive reports about each death, which were typically three pages, must be released within 90 days, though those have been reduced to a few paragraphs.