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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.

 
Music Review: On ‘Cowboys and Dreamers,’ George...
George Strait’s 31st studio album, the feel-good “Cowboys and Dreamers,” marks five decades of record releases; a titanic career for a Texas troubadour whose greatest ambition seems to have always been the same: Make pretty, plain-spoken songs about life’s true pains and pleasures, and listeners will find their own resonance within them. Across 13 songs in 47 minutes — his first collection since 2019’s “Honky Tonk Time Machine” — Strait plays to his traditionalist country style without ever sounding...

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No. 3 Texas’ rebuilt receiving corps ready...
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas ended Alabama’s long home winning streak last season with Quinn Ewers throwing to big and fast receivers who are now in the NFL. The No. 3 Longhorns play at No. 10 Michigan on Saturday with Ewers throwing to a mostly new receiving corps, one rebuilt through the transfer portal with smaller but fast players who could pose a challenge for a Wolverines secondary that features preseason All-American cornerback Will Johnson but only one other...

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James Darren, ‘Gidget’ teen idol, singer and...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — James Darren, a teen idol who helped ignite the 1960s surfing craze as a charismatic beach boy paired off with Sandra Dee in the hit film “Gidget,” died Monday at 88. Darren died in his sleep at a Los Angeles hospital, his son Jim Moret told news outlets. Moret told The Hollywood Reporter that Darren was supposed have had an aortic valve replacement but was too weak for the surgery. “I always thought he would...

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Orlando remains unbeaten in the NWSL with...
Adriana scored twice to give the undefeated Orlando Pride a 2-0 win at home over Gotham FC on Sunday evening in the National Women’s Soccer League. The Pride (13-0-5) extended their unbeaten streak to a league-record 19 games, dating back to last year. It only took six minutes for the Pride to get on the board. Adriana volleyed a loose ball into the goal after teammate Kylie Strom won a header in the box. In the 19th minute, Adriana...

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On the first day without X, many...
SAO PAULO (AP) — The blocking of social media platform X in Brazil divided users and politicians over the legitimacy of the ban, and many Brazilians on Saturday had difficulty and doubts over navigating other social media in its absence. The shutdown of Elon Musk’s platform started early Saturday, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through mobile apps after the billionaire refused to name a legal representative to the country, missing a deadline imposed by Supreme...

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Venice Film Festival welcomes Pitt and Clooney,...
VENICE, Italy (AP) — George Clooney and Brad Pitt returned to the Venice Film Festival on Sunday for the world premiere of “Wolfs.” Before hitting the red carpet, the Hollywood stars reflected on reuniting, the rise of streaming and Clooney’s New York Times op-ed urging President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid. Asked about the impact of his piece, Clooney said he’d not yet had to answer that question. “The person who should be applauded is the president...

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Chinese and Philippine vessels collide at a...
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China and the Philippines accused each other of causing a collision between their two vessels Saturday in the latest flareup of tensions over disputed waters and maritime features in the South China Sea. In a statement posted on social media, Chinese coast guard spokesperson Liu Dejun was quoted as saying that a Philippine ship maneuvered and “deliberately collided” with a Chinese coast guard ship “in an unprofessional and dangerous manner.” Philippine officials in Manila said...

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Defense leads way as Duke beats Elon...
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Jaquez Moore, Jeremiah Hasley and Eli Pancol scored short touchdowns while Duke’s defense racked up eight sacks as the Blue Devils beat Elon 26-3 on Friday night in their first game under Manny Diaz. It wasn’t a big offensive day for Duke (1-0), which often had to grind its way through drives while quarterback Maalik Murphy — a touted transfer from Texas — struggled to connect deep on multiple tries and threw a fourth-quarter pick...

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Brazil blocks Musk’s X after company refuses...
FILE – Brazilian Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes arrives for a court hearing, in Brasilia, Brazil, June 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)(AP/Eraldo Peres) FILE – Brazilian Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexandre de Moraes arrives for a court hearing, in Brasilia, Brazil, June 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)(AP/Eraldo Peres) SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil started blocking Elon Musk’s social media platform X, making it largely inaccessible on both the web and through mobile apps early Saturday...

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Transfer deadline day: Premier League leads spending...
Last-minute medicals, number crunching and Saudi speculation. It’s deadline day in the summer transfer window for Europe’s five big domestic leagues. The English Premier League again leads overall spending — about $2.4 billion and counting — and once again Chelsea is first in line with an outlay of $290 million. Deadline-day deals could see some players headed to Saudi Arabia, which has been less active compared to a year ago. Among the big names in European soccer that could...

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Harris defends shifting from some liberal positions...
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday defended shifting away from some of her more liberal positions in her first major television interview of her presidential campaign, but insisted her “values have not changed” even as she is “seeking consensus.” Sitting with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris was asked specifically about her reversals on banning fracking and decriminalizing illegal border crossings, positions she took during her last run for president. She confirmed she...

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New Zealand’s Māori King dies after 18-year...
NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga (AP) — New Zealand’s Māori King, Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII, died Friday at age 69, days after the celebration of his 18th year on the throne. He was the seventh monarch in the Kiingitanga movement, holding a position created in 1858 to unite New Zealand’s Indigenous Māori tribes in the face of British colonization. Tuheitia died in hospital after heart surgery, said Rahui Papa, a spokesperson for the Kiingitanga, the Māori King Movement, in a...

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Browns release QB Tyler Huntley, leaving them...
BEREA, Ohio (AP) — The Browns have thrown away one of their quarterbacks. Cleveland released quarterback Tyler Huntley on Thursday, leaving them with three QBs heading into the season after they were forced to start five in 2023 amid a rash of injuries at the position. Huntley was signed as a free agent in March to give the club more depth. He became the odd-man out after second-year quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson outplayed him by having a strong camp and...

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Killings of invasive owls to ramp up...
U.S. wildlife officials beginning next year will drastically scale up efforts to kill invasive barred owls that are crowding out imperiled native owls from West Coast forests, under a plan finalized Wednesday that faces challenges from barred owls returning after they’ve already been removed. Trained shooters will target barred owls over 30 years across a maximum of about 23,000 square miles (60,000 square kilometers) in California, Oregon and Washington. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service goal is to kill...

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AP Photos: 150-year-old Italian fencing academy trains...
ROME (AP) — When Rome’s fencing academy was established nearly 150 years ago by a nobleman, most of its members trained for duels. Today, the founder’s family teaches the art to everyone from Hollywood actors to Paralympian athletes. In an austere 15th-century palace near the Pantheon in the heart of Rome, Salvatore Greco established the Accademia d’Armi Musumeci Greco in 1878. Greco was a Sicilian aristocrat who had joined Giuseppe Garibaldi’s campaign that led to the unification of Italy....

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