NASA's "Hidden Figures" to be honored in Congressional Gold Medal ceremony
CBSN
Washington — A group of Black women central to NASA's success during the space race and known as the "Hidden Figures" are set to be honored Wednesday in a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony on Capitol Hill.
The "Hidden Figures," who were considered crucial to NASA's work from 1930-1970, were mathematicians and engineers who played a role in the earliest American space flights — calculating rocket trajectories and earth orbits and helping to put men on the moon. They're set to be honored Wednesday with the Congressional Gold Medal, which is the highest award Congress can bestow.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is hosting the ceremony and will be joined by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Rep. Frank Lucas of Oklahoma. NASA administrator Bill Nelson is also set to attend, along with Margot Lee Shetterly, who authored a book about the Black women mathematicians and their role in the space race that was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film in 2016.
The Trump administration hopes to upgrade and replace the nation's entire air traffic control system, with President Trump saying Thursday morning that he'll work with Congress on a bill to that end.
The United States does not plan to stop distributing foreign aid around the world but needs to do a better job explaining and defending programs receiving assistance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. diplomats behind closed doors Wednesday.
Police in Sierra Leone have said they are hunting a Dutch drug trafficker who is one of Europe's most-wanted fugitives and believed to be hiding out in the west African country.
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The CIA confirmed Wednesday that it offered buyouts to employees who volunteer to resign, the latest group of federal workers to receive such a proposal as President Trump pushes to transform the federal government.
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