Say WOW

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.

 
Manhattan courthouses adapt to COVID so trials...
NEW YORK (AP) — The two big, busy federal courthouses in Manhattan took the adage that justice delayed is justice denied to heart when the coronavirus hit, creating a pandemic-safe environment for jurors that could be a blueprint for courts elsewhere After months of inactivity, they are holding trials again with a safety system that includes an air-filtered plexiglass both for witnesses, an audio system that lets socially distant lawyers exchange whispers without putting their heads together and protocols...

Read More

‘Very angry’: Democrats face tough choices on...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats who long blistered the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies are suddenly in a tough political bind. The Biden administration is responding to a wave of children crossing the southern border into the U.S. with some of the very tactics that evoked moral outrage from Democrats when former President Donald Trump embraced them. That includes accommodating children in hastily improvised lockups, spurring Republicans to argue that Democrats are now the ones throwing “kids in cages.” The...

Read More

CDC changes school guidance, allowing desks to...
NEW YORK (AP) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed its social distancing guidelines for schools Friday, saying students can now sit 3 feet apart in classrooms. The revised COVID-19 recommendations represent a turn away from the 6-foot standard that has forced some schools to remove desks, stagger scheduling and take other steps to keep children away from one another. Three feet “gives school districts greater flexibility to have more students in for a prolonged period of...

Read More

 
Texas Southern beats Mount St. Mary’s 60-52...
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) — Texas Southern forward John Walker III celebrated the program’s second NCAA Tournament win the way he always envisioned — hooting, hollering and just having fun. Nothing, not even a small, mostly quiet arena, could dampen his enthusiasm. After scoring a season-high 19 points, grabbing a career-high tying nine rebounds and leading the Tigers back from a 10-point halftime deficit to beat Mount St. Mary’s 60-52 in the first tourney game in nearly two years, Walker...

Read More

Antetokounmpo lifts Bucks to 109-105 OT victory...
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 10 of his 32 points in overtime to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 109-105 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night in a matchup of two of the Eastern Conference’s best teams. With P.J. Tucker reportedly headed to Milwaukee in a trade with Houston, Donte DiVincenzo scored 20 points and Jrue Holiday added 19 for the Bucks, who have won five in a row and 10 of 11. Milwaukee’s D.J. Augustin...

Read More

Some NFL veterans prosper as business season...
As the NFL opened its business year Wednesday, veterans Trent Williams, A.J. Green and Emmanuel Sanders prospered. Some teams officially announced deals that consistently leaked during the “legal tampering” period that began Monday, and others stayed pretty silent. That trio of players with a total of 31 pro seasons made out very well despite not getting big offers immediately. The 49ers held onto the best tackle who could have become a free agent by giving Williams the richest contract...

Read More

 
Will work from home outlast virus? Ford’s...
DETROIT (AP) — It’s a question occupying the minds of millions of employees who have worked from home the past year: Will they still be allowed to work remotely — at least some days — once the pandemic has faded? On Wednesday, one of America’s corporate titans, Ford Motor Co., supplied its own answer: It told about 30,000 of its employees worldwide who have worked from home that they can continue to do so indefinitely, with flexible hours approved...

Read More

Review: In ‘Happily,’ 10 millennials walk into...
“How did we find this place, anyway?” Wait, where have we heard that before? Actually, it’s a familiar line in a new genre of thriller that’s emerged the last few years: Airbnb horror films. There are a few constants: Attractive millennials, lots of good booze, a gorgeous weekend rental. And then something scary happens, and finally someone says: “Wait, how did we find this place?” Oops! Suddenly everyone realizes that the house actually chose THEM. By then, it’s too...

Read More

‘We can rest when we retire’: Rashford...
With 46 appearances for his club and his country in less than six months, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is pushing his body to the limit in a condensed soccer season like no other. He’d have it no other way. “It’s the life of a footballer — we can rest when we retire,” Rashford said Wednesday, a day before appearance No. 47 when United plays AC Milan in the highest-profile match in the Europa League’s last 16. “For now,...

Read More

 
Virus-hit Dutch election enters final day; Rutte...
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch voters cast their ballots Wednesday, practicing strict social distancing, at thousands of polling stations across the Netherlands on the final day of a general election overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic. School gyms, churches, museums, concert halls and at least one windmill were pressed into service as voting centers by authorities looking for venues where people could vote safely amid rising infection rates. In Amsterdam, cyclists and drivers voted in a drive-thru facility at...

Read More

US News unveils its list of 2021’s...
For car shoppers, parenthood means changing up that wish list. Safety becomes an even more important factor, as does convenience, and it’s through that lens that U.S. News & World Report evaluated 86 different vehicles for its list of the 2021 Best Cars for Families, released on Tuesday. “The winners of these awards have the best combination of safety, reliability, space, convenience and connectivity,” said Jamie Page Deaton, executive editor for U.S. News Best Cars. This year, Toyota won...

Read More

What to expect as a first-time pandemic...
As vaccines go into arms, more and more people are expected to do something they put off last year due to COVID-19: travel. According to a survey done by travel company Expedia, almost half of the 2,200 people surveyed in December said widely available vaccines would make them comfortable traveling. Forty-two percent of Americans said news about vaccines makes them more hopeful about traveling this year, with some already choosing to book trips. When people arrive at airports or...

Read More

 
Nobody comes for free in NFL free...
The term in use these days is “legal tampering.” Doesn’t seem sensible, and some might call it the “cheating period” instead. Regardless, on Monday, two days before the NFL’s 2021 business year begins, the 32 teams and agents for the players will be making deals. Lots of deals, even if they aren’t official until Wednesday. “I hate calling it the legal tampering period because that just seems like that’s a debacle of the English language,” Rams general manager Les...

Read More

Doja Cat, DaBaby, Noah Cyrus lead fashion...
NEW YORK (AP) — Doja Cat went for neon feathers and a moto jacket-inspired leather dress zipped allll the way down and DaBaby brightened up the Grammys in a bright mustard and green floral suit as music’s big night Sunday offered a luxe fashion moment for the stars. Dressed in Roberto Cavalli, Doja Cat’s look included cat-claw zips on each arm. DaBaby, his mom, Linda by his side in red, rocked Dolce & Gabbana. “I want to be the...

Read More

Cap constraints could limit Saints in free...
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (13-5) UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: QB Jameis Winston, DE Trey Hendrickson, DT Sheldon Rankins, LB Craig Robertson, DB PJ Williams, S Marcus Williams (franchise tag), DB Justin Hardee, DB Johnson Bademosi, S D.J. Swearinger, FB Michael Burton, RT James Hurst, WR Bennie Fowler, DB Ken Crawley, LB Alex Anzalone, WR Austin Carr. RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS: C Will Clapp. NEEDS: The Saints were a deep team last season, so many of their potential losses in free agency will...

Read More