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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.

 
Experts or ‘grifters’? Little-known firm runs Arizona...
In early March, a Boston-based vote-counting firm called Clear Ballot Group sent a bid to Arizona’s state Senate to audit the 2020 presidential election results in Maricopa County. The firm has conducted more than 200 such audits over 13 years in business. “Our level of comparison data is unmatched,” Keir Holeman, a Clear Ballot Group vice president, wrote to the Republican-controlled Senate. He never heard back, he says. Instead, the state Senate hired a small Florida-based cybersecurity firm known...

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Verstappen wins Monaco GP, takes F1 title...
MONACO (AP) — Max Verstappen took the lead in the Formula One championship race for the first time in his career with a dominating victory Sunday at the Monaco Grand Prix, his first win on the vaunted circuit. Verstappen took control of the race right at the start from the second position, in part because pole sitter Charles Leclerc did not start the race because of a mechanical issue. Verstappen darted in front of Valtteri Bottas and led start...

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Fleury blanks Wild 4-0 as Vegas grabs...
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves for his 16th career postseason shutout, Nicolas Roy scored twice and the Vegas Golden Knights beat Minnesota 4-0 in Game 4 of the first-round playoff series on Saturday night to push the Wild to the verge of elimination. Alex Tuch and Mark Stone each got their third goal of the series and Keegan Kolesar had two assists for the Golden Knights, who have nine unanswered goals and lead 3-1...

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Ex-Jags LB Smith signs plea deal, avoids...
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Former Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Telvin Smith pleaded no contest Friday to child abuse, avoiding an underage sex charge, and received three years of probation. According to court documents, the state withheld adjudication and set several conditions for Smith’s probation. He can’t have any contact with the minor involved in the case. He also must undergo psychosexual counseling and was ordered to have no contact with any girls under the age of 18. Smith’s attorney, Hank...

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Disney’s ‘Descendants’ author dishes on new ‘High...
toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews the ‘High School Musical’ novel (Part 1) She wrote the novels for the hit Disney villain series “The Descendants.” Now, author Melissa de la Cruz pens the novel “The Road Trip” set in between seasons of the Disney+ series “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” “The book is what we’re calling a bridge novel,” de la Cruz told WTOP. “It’s a fun trip that takes...

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Nets hope to overcome Big Three’s lack...
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving came together as free agents in 2019. James Harden joined them after a trade in January. They gave the Brooklyn Nets offensive talent that is the envy of the NBA. They have won seven scoring titles and combined for more than 78 points per game this season. Their firepower is undeniable. It’s their chemistry that’s in question. Durant, Irving and Harden played together just eight times this season, only once...

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Court says Romania’s lockdown didn’t amount to...
BUCHAREST (AP) — The European Court of Human Rights on Thursday ruled against a member of the European Union parliament who claimed that a lockdown to curb COVID-19 infections in his native Romania last year deprived him of liberty. Cristian Terhes, a member of the European Parliament since 2019, had filed a case with the court arguing that Romania’s March 24-May 14 national lockdown amounted to “administrative detention.” A panel of seven judges at the ECHR unanimously rejected Terhes’...

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Grand day for the French: Cafe and...
PARIS (AP) — It’s a grand day for the French. Cafe and restaurant terraces reopened Wednesday after a six-month coronavirus shutdown deprived residents of the essence of French “joie de vivre” — sipping coffee and red wine with friends. The French government is lifting restrictions incrementally to stave off a resurgence of COVID-19 and to give citizens back some of their world famous lifestyle. As part of the plan’s first stage, France’s 7 p.m. nightly curfew was pushed back...

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ABC’s new ‘Women of the Movement’ about...
NEW YORK (AP) — ABC will air a short-run series “Women of the Movement” next season about Mamie Till-Mobley, whose son Emmett Till became a symbol of the civil rights movement after he was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. The network, which announced its plans for the next television season on Tuesday, is also reviving “The Wonder Years,” this time with a Black cast that will feature Don Cheadle as the adult narrator. ABC said its popular comedy “black-ish”...

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Montgomery Co. eases more restrictions after 60%...
Officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, say 60% of the county’s residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, triggering a further easing of coronavirus restrictions. The second phase of reopening allows most businesses, including restaurants, theaters and religious facilities, to expand to 75% capacity and expands indoor gathering limits to 250 people. Going forward, there will be no capacity limits on outdoor gatherings. The easing of restrictions in Maryland’s most populous county comes after Maryland Gov....

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EU, US agree to temporarily suspend tariffs...
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and the United States on Monday decided to temporarily suspend measures at the heart of a steel tariff dispute that is seen as one of the major trade issues dividing the two sides. With the decision, “we are walking the talk in our efforts to reboot the trans-Atlantic relationship,” EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said. It will affect anything from steel production to Kentucky bourbon sales. On top of suspending the measures, both...

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Pokusevski scores 29, Thunder top Clippers in...
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Rookie Aleksej Pokusevski scored a career-high 29 points, and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Los Angeles Clippers 117-112 on Sunday night in the regular-season finale for both teams. Josh Hall, a two-way player who had never scored more than 10 points in an NBA game, had career highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds for Oklahoma City. Moses Brown had a career-best 24 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Thunder, who snapped a...

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Moore, short-handed Suns hold off Spurs 123-121
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Phoenix Suns gave some rest to their All-Star backcourt and got the win but not the help they needed to secure the NBA’s top seed. E’Twaun Moore scored 22 points and made a 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining that lifted Phoenix past the San Antonio Spurs 123-121 on Sunday. Playing without Devin Booker and Chris Paul, the Suns were bailed out late by Moore, who also made a 3 with 1:08 remaining to stop...

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The Latest: Yemen’s national soccer coach dies...
SANAA, Yemen – Yemen’s soccer association said the country’s national team coach died Sunday from COVID-19. The Yemen Football Association says Sami al-Naash died in a hospital in the southern port city of Aden. Local reports say al-Naash was infected while in a camp for the national team in the southern province of Shabwa last month. Yemen’s national team was preparing for three games in the coming weeks in hopes to qualify for the Asian Cup and the 2022...

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MacKinnon on track to return for Game...
DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon returned to the ice for practice Saturday and all signs point to him being back in the lineup for Game 1 of a first-round series against the St. Louis Blues. The difficult-to-contain Colorado Avalanche forward missed four of the final five games of the regular season with a lower-body injury. But coach Jared Bednar said he expects MacKinnon and forward Brandon Saad to be ready to go Monday night for the start of their...

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