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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.

 
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seizes a container ship...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Commandos from Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled down from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries. The Middle East had braced for potential Iranian retaliation over a suspected Israeli strike earlier this month on an Iranian consular building in Syria that killed 12 people, including a senior Guard general who once commanded...

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Max Homa is among a group of...
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Max Homa figures if he can conquer the mental task of playing well in a group with Tiger Woods for 36 holes at the Masters, he can accomplish pretty much anything in golf. That includes winning his first major championship. Homa was at 6 under midway through the tournament and in contention heading into Saturday’s third round at Augusta National. The 33-year-old Homa is no stranger to winning. He has six PGA Tour victories and...

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US airlines ask the Biden administration not...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Large U.S. airlines and some of their unions are asking the Biden administration to stop approving any more flights between the United States and China because of what they call “anti-competitive” policies that China imposes on U.S. carriers. The airlines and unions said Thursday that China closed its market to U.S. carriers at the outbreak of the pandemic and imposed rules that still affect American operations and airline crews. “These actions demonstrated the clear need for...

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Thirteen men plead not guilty for role...
NEW YORK (AP) — Thirteen members of the Hasidic Jewish community pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges stemming from their alleged role in a dispute over an illegal tunnel built beneath a historic Brooklyn synagogue. The defendants, many of them international students from Israel, appeared in Brooklyn court Wednesday on charges of reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and obstruction of governmental administration. They were issued a limited protection order that bars them from making any excavations or alterations to the...

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Bryson DeChambeau, matured in both game and...
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — It took Bryson DeChambeau four years and 13 rounds to finally break par at Augusta National. His par. Or at least, what he once proclaimed to be his par. DeChambeau birdied his first three holes Thursday, made five more over his last seven, and opened with a 65 to take the early lead at the Masters. It was his best round ever in the season’s first major, and only his second in the 60s since...

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The Masters: When it starts, how to...
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The 88th Masters got underway on Thursday following a 2 1/2-hour weather delay and ceremonial tee shots from Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player down Tea Olive, the first hole at Augusta National. Erik van Rooyen and Jake Knapp were the first golfers on the course. They will be followed be a host of threesomes, including defending champion Jon Rahm, Nick Dunlap and Matt Fitzpatrick at 1 p.m. No. 1 Scottie Scheffler follows in...

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Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Fitr, but the...
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Muslims around the world celebrated the Eid al-Fitr holiday Wednesday, marking the end of the Islamic holy month with family reunions, new clothes and sweet treats. But the celebrations were overshadowed by the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s expected offensive in the city of Rafah despite efforts from its Western allies to halt the fighting after six months of war. In Istanbul, thousands of worshippers gathered at the Aya Sofya Mosque...

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Russia’s second attempt to launch a heavy-lift...
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s second attempt to test-launch a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far Eastern space complex was aborted on Wednesday. The launch of the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny spaceport was canceled about two minutes before its planned time of 0900 GMT. State news agency RIA-Novosti said the cause was failure of the pressurization system of the oxidizer tank of the central block of the rocket. National space agency Roscosmos said another launch attempt will be postponed...

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Total solar eclipse wows North America. Clouds...
MESQUITE, Texas (AP) — A chilly, midday darkness fell across North America on Monday as a total solar eclipse raced across the continent, thrilling those lucky enough to behold the spectacle through clear skies. Street lights blinked on and the planets came into view, as the moon shrouded the sun for a few minutes across the land. Dogs howled, frogs croaked and some people wept, all part of the eclipse mania gripping Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. Almost everyone...

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The Latest | Netanyahu vows to carry...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has escalated his pledge to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah, which is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. “It will happen. There is a date,” Netanyahu said in a video statement Monday, without elaborating. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has said a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to...

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Arsenal back in control of Premier League...
Mikel Arteta had just seen his Arsenal team come up painfully short in its Premier League title race with Manchester City and he couldn’t hide his anguish. “I know we’re not at that level,” a crestfallen Arteta said last May, “but we have to find a way.” Well, Arsenal’s upgraded class of 2024 are finding a way. They are there again, leading the Premier League with seven games left — just like last season. And once again, City is...

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The Latest | Israel says it will...
Israel says it’s taking steps to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, including reopening a key border crossing into northern Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced the plans Friday, hours after President Joe Biden told him that future U.S. support for the war in Gaza depends on Israel taking more action to protect civilians and aid workers. The announcement did not elaborate on quantities or types of items to be let in. Still, despite...

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Millions expected to hit the roads ahead...
A roadside refreshment stand sells to motorists trapped in traffic on the rural farm roads around Madras, Oregon Monday August 21, 2017 following the total solar eclipse. Emotional sky-gazers stood transfixed across North America Monday as the Sun vanished behind the Moon in a rare total eclipse that swept the continent coast-to-coast for the first time in nearly a century. / AFP PHOTO / ROB KERR (Photo credit should read ROB KERR/AFP via Getty Images)(AFP via Getty Images/AFP Contributor)...

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Grammy-winning rap trio Digable Planets joins WTOP...
toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP’s Jason Fraley previews Digable Planets at Franklin Park (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 }); } }); }); Grammy-winning hip-hop trio Digable Planets headlines the Jazz & Blossoms Park Jam this Sunday in D.C. WTOP caught up with co-founder Craig “Doodlebug” Irving ahead of the outdoor concert in Franklin Park....

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