Red Planet Drama

Mysterious Mars lights cover up? UFO enthusiasts not buying NASA's sudden rush to explain phenomenon

NASA hasn't had a week like this since Viking 1 photographed the so-called "Face on Mars" . . .

A mysterious beam of light spotted by the Mars Curiosity rover has UFO enthusiasts over the moon, leading the space agency to release an official statement quelling Internet rumors of alien nightclubs and secret underground civilizations.

Taken April 2 and 3, the images in question feature a vertical white speck shining up from a distant Martian hilltop. NASA experts remain committed to several simple explanations, like an unusual sunlight reflection or a glitch in a camera nearly 60 million miles from Earth.

"Sure NASA could go and investigate it, but hey, they are not on Mars to discover life, but they're there to stall its discovery."

But for conspiracy theorists and alien enthusiasts, the white blips are only further photographic evidence of life on Mars — something they allege the United States government wants to keep under wraps for reasons unknown. Noted UFO bloggers like Scott C. Waring point to the manner in which the light appears to emanate directly from the barren landscape.

"This could indicate there is intelligent life below the ground and they use light as we do," Waring wrote Monday on his UFO Sightings Daily website, which includes a host of Curiosity images showing Martian rocks shaped like statues and humanoid faces.

"This is not a glare from the sun, nor is it an artifact of the photo process . . . Sure NASA could go and investigate it, but hey, they are not on Mars to discover life, but they're there to stall its discovery."

In a statement released this week after the speculation over the lights grew, Justin Maki of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory insists that that white spots like these are not uncommon in the thousands of images regularly sent from the Mars rover. He says similar visual anomalies are seen by the Curiosity team "nearly every week," most of which are likely caused by cosmic rays or sunlight reflecting off rock surfaces.

Maki, who help build Curiosity's stereoscopic camera system, also notes that the white spots were only seen in one of the camera's two "eyes." As such, researchers have struggled to pinpoint the exact source of the bright light — giving UFO fans a kernel of hope.

NASA officials and conspiracy theorists are scratching their heads about a mysterious beam of light photographed by the Mars Curiosity rover.

1 Mars attacks NASA images UFO Mars Curiosity rover

Photo courtesy of NASA

NASA officials and conspiracy theorists are scratching their heads about a mysterious beam of light photographed by the Mars Curiosity rover.

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closing the gaps

Texas no longer leads U.S. for racial progress, new report says

Photo by Jerry Kavan on Unsplash

WalletHub's report is released annually ahead of MLK Day.

Texas has been overtaken as the No. 1 state that has made the most racial progress, according to a new study.

The Lone Star State led the nation in 2025, but now ranks in third place behind Georgia (No. 1) and Mississippi (No. 2). It also ranked No. 5 nationally in the list of states with the most racial integration.

WalletHub's "States That Have Made the Most Racial Progress" study is released annually ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The report compares all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 22 relevant metrics divided into two main rankings: racial integration (which the study defines as "the current integration levels of white people and Black people") and racial progress (defined as "the levels of racial progress achieved over time").

The report's author clarifies that the study focuses only on the racial integration between Black people and white people "in light of racial tensions in recent years that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement."

"We released this report ahead of the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against Black people," the report says.

The study further divided each ranking into four main categories measuring the gaps between white people and Black people over time; spanning employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. Texas performed the best in education and health, ranking No. 4 nationally in both categories, and it ranked in sixth place for its social and civic engagement. The state ranked 16th in the category for employment and wealth.

According to WalletHub, Texas has "done a lot" to reduce gaps in health outcomes for white and Black residents, such as reducing gaps in health insurance coverage, and reducing the share of Black Texans suffering from "poor health" and diabetes. It also notes that Texas "made the second-most progress when it comes to obesity," but it did not acknowledge the racial bias in body mass index (BMI) that has been increasingly flagged in recent years.

The report further praises Texas for reducing the gap in business ownership between white and Black Texans, and for its improvement in reducing discrimination in the parole system. WalletHub does not offer data behind the parole claim.

"It’s encouraging to look at the data and see that some states have made significant strides toward racial equality over the past few decades," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo regarding the overall report. "This change demonstrates that state-level policies and residents’ attitudes regarding equality have grown considerably better."

Though racial disparity gaps are closing between white and Black people, racial profiling and discrimination is still a major issue affecting Black people and other people of color across the country.

In 2023, a senate bill banned public Texas universities from having diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs, prompting warnings of discrimination against Black, Hispanic, and other marginalized students, including those with disabilities.

The top 10 states with the most racial progress in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Georgia
No. 2 – Mississippi
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – North Carolina
No. 5 – Maryland
No. 6 – Florida
No. 7 – New Jersey
No. 8 – Massachusetts
No. 9 – Louisiana
No. 10 – New Mexico

wallethub texas report mlk day