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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.

 
Fire crews rescue dogs, boa constrictor from...
A large boa constrictor and two dogs were rescued from a Silver Spring, Maryland, house fire early Tuesday that started because a heater was too close to dog bedding. Montgomery County firefighters responded to the basement fire in a single-family house in the 2800 block of Woodstock Avenue around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, fire department spokesman Pete Piringer tweeted. Three of the home’s human residents — two adults and one child — escaped to safety without serious injury. Meanwhile, fire...

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Republican Cox opens run for governor with...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Republican John Cox formally opened his campaign for California governor Monday with a TV ad depicting his leading GOP rival as a political twin of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and promising to work for lower housing costs and new jobs. The 30-second ad airing statewide marks the official kickoff of his second campaign for the state’s top job, after Cox finished behind Newsom in their 2018 matchup. “I’m a businessman, not a politician,” Cox says...

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The Latest: Brady, Bucs dominate Chiefs 31-9...
The Latest on Super Bowl 55 (All times EST): ___ 10:12 p.m. Tom Brady threw two of his three touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski and the Tampa Bay defense frustrated Patrick Mahomes to lead the Buccaneers to an 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night for Brady’s record seventh Super Bowl title. Brady connected twice in the first half with Gronkowski to give the pair an NFL record 14 playoff TD passes and then added another...

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Boat with 422 migrants, some with COVID-19,...
ROME (AP) — A rescue ship with 422 migrants aboard, a small number of whom tested positive for COVID-19, was headed to a port in Sicily on Sunday. SOS Mediterranee, the humanitarian group which operates the rescue ship Ocean Viking, told The Associated Press that Italy had granted the vessel permission to enter the port of Augusta, where it was expected to arrive Sunday evening, just as as rain and strong winds were forecast. The migrants were rescued in...

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Next stop Mars: 3 spacecraft arriving in...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After hurtling hundreds of millions of miles through space since last summer, three robotic explorers are ready to hit the brakes at Mars. The stakes — and anxiety — are sky high. The United Arab Emirates’ orbiter reaches Mars on Tuesday, followed less than 24 hours later by China’s orbiter-rover combo. NASA’s rover, the cosmic caboose, will arrive on the scene a week later, on Feb. 18, to collect rocks for return to Earth...

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Italy’s Draghi wins support of 2 rival...
MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier-designate Mario Draghi on Saturday secured preliminary support from two key parties for forming a new government that will decide how to spend more than 200 billion euros ($240 billion) in European Union funds to help relaunch Italy’s pandemic-ravaged economy. The populist 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League both signaled support for a Draghi-led government, saying they were ready to put aside bitter rivalries for the good of the country and increasing the potential for...

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Fiercely divided House kicks Greene off both...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A fiercely divided House has tossed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off both her committees, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Underscoring the political vise her inflammatory commentary has clamped her party into, all but 11 Republicans voted against the Democratic move Thursday but none spoke in defense of her lengthy history of outrageous social media posts. Yet in a riveting moment, the freshman Republican from a deep-red...

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Northern Virginia’s top 55+ active adult community
This content is sponsored by Van Metre Homes. It’s time for a fresh definition of what 55 and better living should be. It’s time for Birchwood at Brambleton, Northern Virginia’s top 55+ Active Adult community where your next great chapter is ready to begin. Located in Brambleton, Virginia’s #1 award-winning community, Birchwood puts you in the center of everything with restaurants, shopping, movies, daily conveniences, events and wide open spaces within minutes. Within the community, you’ll find thoughtfully designed...

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Dem-led House, drawing a line, kicks Greene...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A fiercely divided House tossed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off both her committees Thursday, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Underscoring the political vise her inflammatory commentary has clamped her party into, nearly all Republicans voted against the Democratic move but none defended her lengthy history of outrageous social media posts. Yet in a riveting moment, the freshman Republican from a deep-red corner of Georgia took to...

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Boeing to outsource IT work to Dell,...
SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing Co. has said it will outsource a significant amount of information technology work to Dell starting in April, including support of cloud services, databases and information technology. The move is expected to eliminate 600 jobs. Susan Doniz, vice president for information technology and data analytics for Boeing, told employees Thursday that the eliminated jobs represent about 10% of the company’s IT staff, The Seattle Times reported. Doniz said affected employees, most of whom are not...

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Social media stars sail away with sea...
London (AP) — The long forgotten sea shanty has been enjoying a renaissance on social media and is now moving into popular music with two U.K. artists landing record deals, following their online performances. Scottish postman Nathan Evans and Bristol folk band The Longest Johns signed record deals last week, with Evans even securing a No.1 record in the U.K. for his recording of the New Zealand song “Wellerman,” which he originally performed on TikTok. For some artists, the...

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Singer Morgan Wallen suspended from label after...
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Country star Morgan Wallen has been suspended indefinitely from his label and seen his music pulled by radio stations and streaming services Wednesday after video surfaced of him shouting a racial slur. Big Loud Records said in a statement that Wallen’s contract has been suspended indefinitely. Republic Records, which he is co-signed to, said it agreed with Big Loud’s decision and said “such behavior will not be tolerated.” The video, which was first published by...

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Doncic, Mavericks snap 6-game skid, hold off...
ATLANTA (AP) — Luka Doncic scored 27 points and dished out 14 assists as the Dallas Mavericks snapped a six-game losing streak, defeating Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks 122-116 on Wednesday night. Kristaps Porzingis added 24 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavericks, including a crucial tip-in of a miss by Doncic with 32 seconds remaining that helped Dallas hold off a furious Atlanta comeback. Doncic clearly won the individual matchup between two of the NBA’s brightest young...

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Antetokounmpo gets triple-double as Bucks top Pacers...
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo didn’t play at all in the fourth quarter and still had a triple-double while helping the Milwaukee Bucks roll to a lopsided victory. The reigning two-time MVP had 21 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists in the Bucks’ 130-110 rout of the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night. Antetokounmpo shot 7 of 8 from the floor and 7 of 8 from the line. “He’s playing really, really unselfishly,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He’s seeing...

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Netflix once again dominates Golden Globe TV...
NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix built on its recent dominance at scooping up Golden Globe TV nominations Wednesday, getting 20 nods — nearly three times as many as its closest competitor, HBO. Netflix, which beat its own record of 17 TV nominations from last year, secured three out of the five nominations for best drama TV series — “The Crown,” “Ozark” and “Ratched” — and four of the five acting nods for best actress in that category for Olivia...

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