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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.

 
Lockdown deaths in India ignite debate on...
NEW DELHI (AP) — For two and a half minutes the popular Indian radio DJ described in graphic detail what she said was the torture and killing of a father and son in police custody. The father was arrested for flouting coronavirus lockdown rules by keeping his mobile phone shop in southern India open past curfew, Suchitra Ramadurai alleged in a video posted to her Instagram. The man’s son went to check on him at the police station and...

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Crawford stars as Blackhawks beat Golden Knights...
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks were in deep trouble. That’s when Corey Crawford took over. Crawford made 48 saves in a stellar performance, and the Blackhawks beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 on Sunday night to stay alive in their first-round playoff series. “It’s probably as good as he’s ever been,” Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith said. “I don’t know what the shots were, but they had a lot of shots and he made himself big every time....

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Bird’s Nest and Water Cube: Beijing venues...
EDITORS — With the Tokyo Olympics postponed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press is looking back at the history of Summer Games. Here are some of the highlights of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. ___ The Olympics are remembered for the stars. That was true in Beijing in 2008, when the stars were Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. But Beijing is also storied for its signature venues like the the 91,000-seat “Bird’s Nest” stadium,...

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The Latest: Coronavirus slams Japan’s economy
TOKYO — Japan’s economy shrank at annual rate of 27.8% in April-June, the worst contraction on record, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed consumption and trade, according to government data released Monday. The Cabinet Office reported that Japan’s preliminary seasonally adjusted real gross domestic product, or GDP, the sum of a nation’s goods and services, fell 7.8% quarter on quarter. The annual rate shows what the number would have been if continued for a year. Japanese media reported the latest...

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Taller cubicles, one-way aisles: Office workers must...
NEW YORK (AP) — Bergmeyer, a design firm in Boston, has erected higher cubicles, told employees to wear masks when not at their desks and set up one-way aisles in the office that force people to walk the long way around to get to the kitchen or the bathroom. “The one-way paths take me a little out of the way, but it was easy to get used to,” said Stephanie Jones, an interior designer with the company. “It actually...

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Pompeo inks deal for US troop move...
WARSAW (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sealed a defense cooperation deal Saturday with Polish officials that will pave the way to redeploy American troops from Germany to Poland. Pompeo, in Warsaw at the end of a four-nation tour of central and eastern Europe, signed the deal with Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak that sets out the legal framework for the additional troops. “This is going to be an extended guarantee: a guarantee that in case of...

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First-round back-to-backs favor NHL teams with 2...
After a season of splitting goaltending duties to keep them rested for the playoffs, Bruce Cassidy knew several months off had cut into that well-planned advantage for the Boston Bruins. With the back-to-back in his first-round series against Carolina set for Games 5 and 6 more than a week away, Cassidy figured his staff could “cross that bridge when we come to it” on how to handle the workload. Then, the five-overtime marathon between Tampa Bay and Columbus on...

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Lillard drops 51 as Trail Blazers top...
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Everything is back to normal for Damian Lillard. The All-Star point guard scored 51 points after a frustrating finish a night earlier, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 124-121 on Sunday. On Saturday against the Los Angeles Clippers, Lillard missed a pair of free throws with 18.6 seconds to go and a 3-pointer with 9.5 seconds left in a 122-117 loss. Clippers players Paul George and Patrick Beverley were seen...

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Morikawa delivers great shot in quiet moment...
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The shot will be remembered as one of the best under pressure that hardly anyone witnessed. It made Collin Morikawa a major champion Sunday in a thrill-a-minute PGA Championship that not many will forget. Morikawa hit driver on the 294-yard 16th hole that was perfect in flight and even better when it landed, hopping onto the green and rolling to 7 feet for an eagle that all but clinched victory on a most quiet Sunday...

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France’s Saint-Tropez resort makes masks mandatory outdoors
SAINT-TROPEZ, France (AP) — The glamorous French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez began requiring face masks outdoors Saturday, threatening to sober the mood in a place renowned for high-end, free-wheeling summer beach parties. More French cities and towns, especially in tourist areas, are imposing mask requirements as the country’s coronavirus infections creep up again. More than 2,000 new infections were reported on Friday — the country’s biggest single-day rise since May. The uptick corresponds with France’s beloved summer holidays, when...

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In 1976, Comaneci’s perfect 10s made her...
EDITOR’S NOTE — With the Tokyo Olympics postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, The Associated Press is looking back at the history of Summer Games. AP Sports Writer Tim Reynolds interviewed Nadia Comaneci about her “perfect” performance at the Montreal Olympics and her life since. Nadia Comaneci did not expect perfection. Apparently, nobody else did either. There were digital scoreboards inside the gymnastics venue at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, where the numbers would pop up after...

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Advice on virtual learning from Maryland school...
At College Park Academy in Prince George’s County, Maryland, online learning was in place long before the coronavirus pandemic sent kids home for the rest of the school year. The charter school enrolls students via a lottery from grades 6-12 features an online curriculum. One-third of the classes are completely online, and the rest are taught in person, but based on an online curriculum. As the county imposed stay-at-home during the school year, teachers and students at CPA, as...

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Lack of study and oversight raises concerns...
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — On June 2, Justin LaFrancois attended a protest against police violence and racism in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, where he planned to livestream the event for his alternative newspaper’s website. Shortly into the march, police, who reported that water bottles and rocks were being thrown at them, unleashed a volley of tear gas on the entire crowd, including those who were marching peacefully. The protesters tried to run. But hemmed in by tall buildings and...

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The Latest: High demand for virus tests...
COLUMBIA, S.C. — In South Carolina, hospitals and the state health department say demand for coronavirus testing remains high even as testing numbers have dipped in the last two weeks. In some cases, people may be deterred by the long wait times at certain testing sites. Others forego the tests when their health insurance won’t cover them, says Dr. Patrick Cawley, CEO of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Cawley told a state legislative committee Tuesday insurance...

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‘Too many are selfish’: US nears 5...
BOSTON (AP) — Fourth of July gatherings, graduation parties, no-mask weddings, crowded bars — there are reasons the U.S. has racked up more than 155,000 coronavirus deaths, by far the most of any country, and is fast approaching an off-the-charts 5 million confirmed infections, easily the highest in the world. Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing, calling such precautions an over-the-top response or an infringement on their liberty. Public health experts say such behavior has been...

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