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Suborbital space tourism finally arrives | FCC prepares to run public C-band auction | The big four in the U.S. launch industry — United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — hope to be one of two providers that will receive five-year contracts later this year to launch national security payloads starting in 2022. | China’s launch rate stays high | The International Space Station is the largest ever crewed object in space.

 
North Korea says it tested new long-range...
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it successfully test fired newly developed long-range cruise missiles over the weekend, its first known testing activity in months, underscoring how it continues to expand its military capabilities amid a stalemate in nuclear negotiations with the United States. The Korean Central News Agency said Monday the cruise missiles, which had been under development for two years, demonstrated an ability to hit targets 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away during flight tests on...

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Ricciardo wins Italian GP as Verstappen and...
Championship leader Max Verstappen and defending champion Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the Italian Grand Prix, which was won by McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo on Sunday. It was McLaren’s first win in nearly nine years, since Jenson Button took the chequered flag in Brazil in 2012. It was also Ricciardo’s first win since Monaco in 2018. He finished 1.747 seconds ahead of teammate Lando Norris and 4.921 ahead of Valtteri Bottas, who turned in a strong performance after starting from...

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Ronaldo overcomes nerves for Man United homecoming...
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The Manchester United fans wanted to soak up every moment, savor every possible glimpse of Cristiano Ronaldo and try to roll back the years, to the time when the trophies were flowing. Almost an hour after seeing Ronaldo’s double help United defeat Newcastle 4-1 on Saturday, hundreds of fans were still inside Old Trafford to see their homecoming hero re-emerge. “Viva Ronaldo,” they bellowed as Ronaldo re-emerged from the dressing room to conduct television interviews...

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Peru: Abimael Guzmán, head of Shining Path...
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Abimael Guzmán, the leader of the brutal Shining Path insurgency in Peru who was captured in 1992, died on Saturday in a military hospital after an illness, the Peruvian government said. Guzmán, 86, died at 6:40 a.m. after suffering from an infection, Justice Minister Aníbal Torres said. Guzmán, a former philosophy professor, launched an insurgency against the state in 1980 and presided over numerous car bombings and assassinations in the years that followed. Tens of...

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Ground zero rebuilding still unfinished, 20 years...
NEW YORK (AP) — Two decades after its destruction in the Sept. 11 attacks, the work to rebuild the World Trade Center complex remains incomplete. Two planned skyscrapers, a performing arts center and a church are still unfinished at the site, which plays host Saturday to the annual ceremony honoring nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks. Visitors to the commemoration will find a place that no longer has the feel of a construction zone, though, even as the...

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Review: In ‘Queenpins,’ a kitchen sink full...
The timing was perfect. The very moment I sat down to write about “Queenpins,” the inspired-by-actual-events tale of a coupon scheme gone awry, a tantalizing coupon popped up on my screen. It offered 20 percent off, for a popular brand of socks. I didn’t need socks. But 20 percent? Maybe I did need socks? I suddenly recalled what Ken, the hapless “loss prevention officer” played by a terrific Paul Walter Hauser, said in the film about why people use...

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Mercury win 10th straight on Peddy’s 3...
COLLEGE PARK, Ga. (AP) — Shey Peddy made three free throws with 3.8 seconds left and the short-handed Phoenix Mercury rallied to beat the Atlanta Dream 76-75 on Wednesday night for their 10th straight victory. Peddy scored 10 of her 18 points in the fourth quarter, with her last free throw giving Phoenix — playing without stars Diana Taurasi (ankle) and Brittney Griner (personal reasons) — its first lead of the game. The Mercury trailed by 16 points in...

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Column: FIFA, Infantino only winners from biennial...
LONDON (AP) — FIFA President Gianni Infantino found a curious salesman to push his plan to double the frequency of World Cups: a coach who spent his career until now complaining about the spate of international tournaments. Three years after leaving Arsenal, Arsene Wenger is trying to sell the merits of a biennial World Cup rather than waiting four years between tournaments. Infantino, who publicly seems to prioritize introducing more and bigger competitions run by FIFA rather than more...

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The Latest: UN appeals for $606M to...
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations is making an emergency appeal for $606 million to help nearly 11 million people in Afghanistan for the four remaining months of 2021. It says they face a humanitarian crisis exacerbated by drought, displacement, chronic poverty and the sharp increase in hostilities as the Taliban swept to power. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs already has a $1.3 billion appeal for Afghanistan for the entire year of 2021, but it...

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Paralympic closing marks end of Tokyo’s 8-year...
TOKYO (AP) — The final act of the delayed Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics came Sunday, almost eight years to the day after the Japanese capital was awarded the Games. The Paralympics ended a 13-day run in a colorful, circus-like ceremony at the National Stadium overseen by Crown Prince Akishino, the brother of Emperor Naruhito. The Olympics closed almost a month ago. These were unprecedented Olympics and Paralympics, postponed for a year and marked by footnotes and asterisks. No fans...

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Over 24 hours in Kabul, brutality, trauma,...
Bone-tired like everyone else in Kabul, Taliban fighters spent the last moments of the 20-year Afghanistan war watching the night skies for the flares that would signal the United States was gone. From afar, U.S. generals watched video screens with the same anticipation. Relief washed over the war’s winners and the losers when the final U.S. plane took off. For those in between and left behind — possibly a majority of the allied Afghans who sought U.S. clearance to...

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Virus pummels French Polynesia, straining ties with...
PAPEETE, Tahiti (AP) — France’s worst coronavirus outbreak is unfolding 12 time zones away from Paris, devastating Tahiti and other idyllic islands of French Polynesia. The South Pacific archipelagos lack enough oxygen, ICU beds and morgue space – and their vaccination rate is barely half the national average. Simultaneous outbreaks on remote islands and atolls are straining the ability of local authorities to evacuate patients to the territory’s few hospitals. “The problem is, there are a lot of deaths...

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New this week: ‘Kate,’ ‘Come From Away’...
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. — The upcoming 20th anniversary of Sept. 11 has brought with it a flood of documentaries and specials looking back on the tragedy. Some of what will be streaming, though, are celebrations, too. On the Criterion Channel, a 63-film series salutes New York and its rich cinematic history, from subway thrillers (“The Taking of Pelham One Two...

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In 2023, the Ryder Cup will blend...
GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — An 11th-century castle. A grove of olive trees. The remains of an ancient Roman villa. Views of St. Peter’s Basilica on the horizon. The terrain surrounding and comprising the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club on Rome’s outskirts that will host the 2023 Ryder Cup is quintessential Italy. And no one knows that better than fashion designer Lavinia Biagiotti Cigna, who owns and runs the club. Biagiotti Cigna also lives on the club grounds...

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Judge says forcing waits in Mexico to...
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge ruled Thursday that the U.S. government’s practice of denying migrants a chance to apply for asylum on the Mexican border until space opens up to process claims is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant’s ruling has no immediate impact but could prevent the government from limiting entry for asylum-seekers because it says it lacks resources. It could also bring relief to some of the tens of thousands of people who put their...

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