A fascinating new exoplanet, which has the potential to support life, has been found and is being dubbed Earth’s “next-door neighbor.” This discovery may represent a significant advancement in the quest to locate extraterrestrial life.

Paul Robertson from the University of California, Irvine, expressed enthusiasm in a statement on Tuesday, noting, “This one’s exciting,” and highlighting its close proximity by saying, “it’s one of our closest cosmic neighbors.”

Robertson, who leads the study published in The Astrophysical Journal, elaborated, “Though twenty-five light years may seem distant, considering the Milky Way spans about 100,000 light years, this makes it practically next door.”

The exoplanet, named “GJ 3378b,” is about twice the size of Earth. It exists within the “Goldilocks zone,” a region around a star that provides conditions necessary for maintaining liquid water on the planet’s surface.

A key factor in determining if GJ 3378b can host life is whether it has an atmosphere. Positioned on what’s known as the “cosmic shoreline,” this exoplanet’s capability to retain an atmosphere depends on its gravity in relation to the radiation it encounters.

“If you scale the Earth down to the size of an apple, its atmosphere would be about as thick as the skin of the apple,” said Robertson.

“That’s just enough to maintain the kinds of surface pressures where you can have liquid water,” he explained.

“It’s enough that there’ll be breathable air, and it provides maybe a little bit of protection from the harsh radiation environment of space.”

More observatories are required to determine if a given planet has any kind of atmosphere, which could “justify further research looking for biosignatures, liquid water or other signs of life that require both an atmosphere and the right amount of heating from the host star,” said Gogod James, a UC Irvine student in Robertson’s group who helped study the size of GJ 3378b.

NASA has plans to construct the Habitable Worlds Observatory, which is slated to launch in the next 20 years or so. 

If completed, astronomers will begin to search for chemicals in atmospheres that could have been produced by life. 

“I think that’s just too much fun,” said Robertson.

In a heated exchange at the United Nations Security Council this week, U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz staunchly criticized Iran’s attempt to dismiss serious accusations. The Iranian representative faced Waltz’s rebuke following claims that council members had propagated misinformation regarding Iran’s recent assaults on neighboring Gulf countries.

Standing firm, Waltz turned to Iranian diplomat Amir Saeid Iravani, asserting, “Let me remind you where you are. This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations Security Council. You will not silence this body.”

The confrontational meeting arose in the wake of drone and missile strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait, incidents that were directly linked to Iran. These attacks were perceived to be in retaliation for the latest U.S. airstrikes against the nation, prompting urgent discussion among Security Council leaders.

Countering Waltz’s accusations, Iravani dismissed the need for the council’s emergency assembly, accusing the U.S., Bahrain, and other member nations of fabricating allegations for political gain.

“Once again, the representative of the United States has resorted to lies and disinformation against Iran in a desperate attempt to justify the US’s unlawful acts of aggression,” Iravani said.

He also rejected the “unfounded accusations made by certain Western members of the Council and the representative of Bahrain.”

“Instead of addressing the root cause of the current crisis, they have ignored the unlawful aggression committed against Iran and sought to shift blame onto the victim,” he added. “Their double standards and hypocritical behavior have deprived them of any credibility to lecture others.”

In a post on X, Waltz reiterated his position.

“Iran will not silence us on our own soil,” he wrote. “That might work in Tehran, but not in the UN Security Council. We will tell the truth.”

During the exchange, Waltz held up what he said were images of the aftermath of the Iranian attacks, including a family whose home in Bahrain was destroyed by a Shahed drone, a hotel full of tourists that was also hit and a building used by first responders that Waltz said was deliberately targeted.

“Are they lying?” Waltz said of the victims of the attack. “Is this hypocrisy? Is this what this council is here to denounce today? I ask the representative, are these lies? … I’d say not.”

Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Bahrain’s minister of foreign affairs, said that, since Feb. 28, the island nation has been subjected to 808 attacks comprising 203 ballistic missiles and 605 armed drones.

“These attacks deliberately targeted civilian facilities, critical infrastructure and residential areas, resulting in the deaths of three innocent civilians and injuries to 465 others,” he said, disputing Tehran’s claim that its aggression is directed solely against military objectives.

Washington and Tehran have repeatedly accused each other of violating a fragile ceasefire agreement. On June 27, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran violated the deal.

The exchanges of fire began when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off Oman last week and the U.S. military retaliated, officials said.

“It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”

Travis Kelce’s guest list for his upcoming nuptials to Taylor Swift has been unveiled, with close confidants making the cut, as the Daily Mail reports. Despite mingling with a galaxy of stars, the NFL star is opting to keep the ceremony intimate.

The iconic Madison Square Garden in New York has been set as the grand backdrop for the event that has everyone talking. When Kelce and Swift exchange vows in this landmark Manhattan location, they’ll be joined by about 1,000 guests and a tight-knit circle of friends.

According to insiders speaking to the Daily Mail, it’s no surprise that Travis’s best man is his brother, Jason. Their lifelong bond and unwavering camaraderie make it almost expected that Jason would stand by his brother’s side on such a significant day.

TMZ further disclosed on Friday night that Jason’s daughters played the adorable roles of flower girls. They delicately scattered petals before Swift as she made her way down the aisle to the melody of one of her own compositions. Jason’s daughters range in age from the youngest, just a year old, to the oldest who is seven.

Travis proudly wears No. 87 for the Kansas City Chiefs in honor of Jason’s birth year, 1987. Their relationship, already strong from their football journeys, has been cemented by collaborating on their popular New Heights podcast, Jason remarked.

Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, was also closely involved. Kelce and Mahomes have won three Super Bowls together with the Chiefs and have formed what many across the NFL describe as a telepathic understanding on the field.

Remarkably, when the Chiefs drafted Mahomes back in 2017, he got a frosty reception from Kelce, who threw his support behind the then-starting quarterback Alex Smith. Nearly 10 years later and Mahomes is one of Kelce’s best friends, his business partner and now a groomsman for the biggest day of his life. 

Patrick’s wife Brittany has become very close friends with Taylor, too – the group even went on vacation together in 2024 to support Swift in Amsterdam during her Eras Tour dates in the city.

Kelce is also believed to be including many of his childhood friends from his Cleveland upbringing in his inner circle.

That group of long-term pals include Ross Travis, a former NFL player who like Kelce, played for the Chiefs as a tight end during his career – albeit not to the levels of success that Kelce has enjoyed.

Travis is one of several of the crew Kelce welcomes to his VIP suite at Arrowhead Stadium for Chiefs games – they are very often joined by Swift for the games.

The group regularly includes the Eanes brothers, Andre and Aaron, who also manage Kelce and have helped build his brand into the megastar that he is today – even before he started dating someone with Swift’s huge global fame. 

His personal chef, Kumar Ferguson, is also part of that group and shared a picture of himself looking suave in a tuxedo at his New York hotel, just a couple of hours before the proceedings began. They were all at the luxury rehearsal dinner at MSG on Thursday too, the day before the main event.

But, as Daily Mail reported on Thursday night, there are some rumbles of discontent among other parts of Kelce’s friendship group over the roles in the wedding. 

There is no mention just yet on what role his father, Ed, is playing. 

Daily Mail reported that Swift was concerned her future father-in-law might leak information about the top-secret wedding in the buildup to the event that has been so hush, even some of the guests have appeared confused about how the big day is going to run. 

‘He’s sort of like a loose cannon,’ an insider told Daily Mail in May. ‘Nobody knows what he’s going to say, so it’s kind of a controversial situation.’

Ed has always praised Swift, however, and made no secret of his pride at her and his son falling in love.

‘Every (Chiefs) game there’s people crowding outside the front of that suite trying to get a glimpse of Taylor, wanting to meet Taylor,’ Ed told the LA Times in February 2024. 

‘Taylor’s very gracious, but she can’t do everything. But if it was up to her she’d be out there with everyone who wants her.’

Kelce’s parents, Donna and Ed, broke up after Travis and Jason were old enough to leave home but have a good relationship today and often spend time together cheering their son on during NFL games. 

Outside of Kelce’s select few for his inner circle, he has invited an array of stars from the world of football to his big day – ranging from San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle to New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel with his wife, Jen.

Their appearance was particularly surprising given Vrabel’s recent scandal involving his alleged affair with former Athletic reporter, Dianna Russini.

Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford was there too, with his wife Kelly. Stafford was NFL MVP last season and going into the 2026 season, the Rams are favorites to win the Super Bowl in what many expect will be Kelce’s last NFL campaign before retiring.

But for today, at least, those rivalries are all put to one side for a celebration that the world wants to know about.