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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.

 
Rush hour chaos in London as 5...
LONDON (AP) — Five military horses spooked by noise from a nearby building site bolted during routine exercises on Wednesday near Buckingham Palace, unseating four riders and causing chaos as they galloped loose through central London streets and collided with vehicles during the busy morning rush hour. It is believed the chaos erupted when the horses from the Household Cavalry, which were conducting an extended exercise for an upcoming military parade, became alarmed by the sound of concrete falling...

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Columbia cancels in-person classes as demonstrations sprout...
Columbia University canceled in-person classes on Monday and new demonstrations broke out on other U.S. college campuses as tensions continue to grow over Israel’s war in Gaza. Police arrested several dozen protesters at Yale University on Monday morning after officials at the New Haven, Connecticut, school said they defied warnings over the weekend to leave. And following arrests last week at Columbia, pro-Palestinian demonstrators set up encampments on other campuses around the country, including at the University of Michigan,...

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The culinary game at MLB ballparks has...
PHOENIX (AP) — Danielle LaFata’s been around major sports ballparks and arenas most of her adult life, so the nutritionist has one word of advice for those who want to eat healthy when attending a pro sports event. Don’t. “Go ahead and have your burger, have your hot dog, have your couple of slices of pizza,” LaFata said. LaFata — the director of performance and nutrition for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns — says her advice is simply practical and...

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Venice Biennale titled ‘Foreigners Everywhere’ platforms LGBTQ+,...
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Outsider, queer and Indigenous artists are getting an overdue platform at the 60th Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition that opened Saturday, curated for the first time by a Latin American. Brazilian curator Adriano Pedrosa’s main show, which accompanies 88 national pavilions for the seven-month run, is strong on figurative painting, with fewer installations than recent editions. A preponderance of artists are from the Global South, long overlooked by the mainstream art world circuits. Many are...

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Chelsea beats Barcelona 1-0 in 1st leg...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Erin Cuthbert fired Chelsea to a 1-0 win over Barcelona in the Women’s Champions League semifinal first-leg match on Saturday, handing the defending champions their first home loss in five years. Two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas missed a glorious chance to equalize when she shot wide right from close range on the last play of the game at Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium to send Emma Hayes’ team back to Stamford Bridge with the advantage....

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School safety comes into focus in Montgomery...
The coordination between law enforcement and school officials in Montgomery County — along with the initial report from a witness — was credited for averting a potential catastrophe after an 18-year-old student was charged with making a threat of mass violence targeting Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland. The incident came a week after Montgomery County Public Schools heard from student school board member Sami Saeed who urged the board to move faster on school safety. At that meeting,...

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Children of reality TV’s Chrisleys hope court...
ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyers for reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who are in prison after being convicted on federal charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, on Friday challenged aspects of their convictions and sentences in a federal appeals court. The Chrisleys rose to fame with their show “Chrisley Knows Best,” which chronicled the exploits of their tight-knit family. But prosecutors said they engaged in an extensive bank fraud scheme and hid their earnings from tax authorities...

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Iran fires air defense batteries in provinces...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran fired air defense batteries early Friday morning after reports of explosions near the city of Isfahan, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. It remained unclear if the country was under attack. However, tensions remain high in the wider Middle East after Iran’s unprecedented missile-and-drone attack on Israel. One government official suggested sites may have been targeted by drones. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. IRNA said...

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The Latest | Commercial planes change routes...
Israel vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented weekend attack, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. Commercial planes diverted from their routes over western Iran early Friday without explanation, while one semi-official Iranian news agency reported “explosions” being heard over the city of Isfahan, though without giving any reason for the blasts. Iranian state television acknowledged the sound. Israel’s allies have been urging Israel to hold back on any response to the attack...

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Long-lost first USS Enterprise model is returned...
DALLAS (AP) — The first model of the USS Enterprise — used in the opening credits of the original “Star Trek” television series — has boldly gone back home, returning to creator Gene Roddenberry’s son decades after it went missing. The model’s disappearance sometime in the 1970s had become the subject of lore, so it caused a stir when it popped up on eBay last fall. The sellers quickly took it down, and then contacted Dallas-based Heritage Auctions to...

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From ‘The Wiz’ revival to Alicia Keys...
toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews the Alicia Keys musical ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ on Broadway (Part 1) $(function () { $(‘.wtop-audio-container .fa-play’).on(‘click’, function(){ var audio_filename = $(‘div.wtop-audio-file’).data(“mp3-url”); if( typeof gtag === “function” ){ gtag(‘event’, ‘post_audio’, { ‘play’: audio_filename, ‘permalink’: window.location.href }); } }); }); Last fall, her nonprofit teamed with National Theatre’s “Teens Behind the Scenes” program to bring hundreds of D.C. students to the national tour of her revival of “The Wiz,”...

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Black immigrant rally in NYC raises awareness...
NEW YORK (AP) — Black immigrants turned out in the hundreds on Tuesday across from New York City Hall during a hearing about racial inequities in the city’s shelter and immigrant support systems. Over 1,500 immigrants, mostly from Guinea, assembled in City Hall Park, after it became clear that only around a hundred people would be accommodated inside for the hearing. The City Council considered relatively minor proposals. One set of bills would require administrators to collect better data...

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Biden returns to his Scranton, Pennsylvania, roots...
FILE – Joe Biden, former Vice President, makes a visit to his childhood home in Scranton Pa., Oct. 23, 2019. President Joe Biden will return to his childhood hometown of Scranton on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, to kick off three straight days of campaigning in Pennsylvania, capitalizing on the opportunity to crisscross the battleground state while Donald Trump spends the week in a New York City courtroom for his first criminal trial. (Jason Farmer/The Times-Tribune via AP, File)(AP/Jason Farmer)...

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Israel hails ‘success’ in blocking Iran’s unprecedented...
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel on Sunday hailed its air defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran, saying the systems thwarted 99% of the more than 300 drones and missiles launched toward its territory. Regional tensions were high amid fears of an Israeli counter-strike that could fuel further escalation. U.S. President Joe Biden said he would convene a meeting Sunday of the Group of Seven advanced democracies “to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s...

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The Latest | Israel says 99% of...
Israel praised the success of its defenses in the face of an unprecedented attack by Iran involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles while tensions ran high over a possible Israeli counter-strike. An Israeli military spokesman said Sunday the launches numbered more than 300, but 99% of them were intercepted. Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Iran fired 170 drones, more than 30 cruise missiles and more than 120 ballistic missiles. Several ballistic missiles reached Israeli territory, causing...

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