This is Planets Magazine Action News. Good evening; I’m Jim Chancellite.

Today in the Taxachusetts Sector, Fascist governor His Excellency Ceedeh Baykah da Foath lifted the travel ban after the passing of a rare Ion Blizzard. This storm was one of the most damaging in a generation and is said to have dumped a record three microns of charged particles along the Bluestar Hyperspace Bypass over a two day period, and removal required the services of six modified Cobols operating continuously.

In a morning announcement, Governor da Foath praised the “heroic efforts of the Cobol crews in the face of this unnatural disaster”.

In a related story, the scheduled memorial at the nearby site of the “Rainbow Exploder” disaster has been delayed because of the weather. The ship, carrying 529 passengers and crew on a protest against space mines, foundered in an ion storm ten years ago. The passenger list included many of New Hollywood’s most famous stars. The memorial ceremony has been rescheduled, and will take place next month at the disaster site.

The situation is tense today on the planet of New Detroit, as protestors from the planet’s militant Cyborg minority clashed with a picket line of ECSU shipfitters outside union H.Q. The shipbuilders union has been on strike for twelve years. There is no word yet on the goals of the Cyborg protest, who carried placards covered in bar codes, QR, and raw binary.

Five warships and a freighter belonging to various powers were destroyed last night as a result of what is believed to be a contagious navigation systems virus. Several other vessels drifted off course as a result of this mass navigation event, which affected ships on both sides of the Crystal/Privateer border.

Coming up, we’ll have the latest on reports of Cyborg fleet sightings within the Echo Cluster — the first in many years. And, from the front, we’ll have an interview with the victorious commanders at Deep 1, which fell to infantry assault last night after a twenty-three month siege.

But now, a word from our sponsors.
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