America Is Finally Taking Extraterrestrials Seriously

Director Dan Farah at a screening of his film "The Age of Disclosure," for a group including five members of Congress in Washington, Nov. 17, 2025.Director Dan Farah at a screening of his film "The Age of Disclosure," for a group including five members of Congress in Washington, Nov. 17, 2025.Justin T. Gellerson—The New York Times/Redux Aug 6, 2026 12:00 PM UTCThere was nothing much happening in Jerome and Benno Leuer’s yard in Hamel, Minn. on August 11, 1948. It was noontime in the thick of summer and the boys, 10 and 8, were idly playing when, as they later described it, something overhead caught their eyes. They looked up and their jaws dropped. Roughly 12 ft. up in the air was a dull gray, circular object, about 1 ft. thick and 2 ft. in diameter, slowly descending between them. They stood transfixed as the object settled onto the ground, making a clattering sound like metal hitting metal. The object rested there a moment, and then began emitting a high-pitched whistle that, to the boys, sounded like a teakettle. It spun in place once, then shot 20 ft. into the air, hovered for a moment, and ascended to 30 ft., maneuvering around tree branches and telephone wires in its path. Fi...