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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.

 
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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Caitlin Clark and Caitlin Bueckers have been...
CLEVELAND (AP) — Their memories are blurry. Of AAU tournaments and Team USA practices. Of gold medals and deep 3s. Of the girl with the brown ponytail with the unlimited range who always seemed to know what was coming next and the blonde who never got rattled with the ball in her hands, by opponents or the sea of eyes constantly transfixed on her. Yet ask Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and UConn’s Paige Bueckers their earliest impression of the other...

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Gay rights activists call for more international...
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan gay rights activists asked the international community to mount more pressure on the government of Uganda to repeal an anti-gay law which the country’s Constitutional Court refused to nullify on Wednesday. Activist Frank Mugisha said Tuesday’s ruling was “wrong and deplorable.” “This ruling should result in further restrictions to donor funding for Uganda — no donor should be funding anti-LGBTQ+ hate and human rights violations,” said Mugisha. The court upheld a law that allows...

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March Madness: How to watch the women’s...
Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates after defeating LSU in an Elite Eight round college basketball game during the NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)(AP/Mary Altaffer) Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates after defeating LSU in an Elite Eight round college basketball game during the NCAA Tournament, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)(AP/Mary Altaffer) Women’s basketball is having itself a moment as March Madness heads to the Final Four...

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NATO marks its 75th birthday as Russia’s...
BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO marked on Thursday 75 years of collective defense across Europe and North America, with its top diplomats vowing to stay the course in Ukraine as better-armed Russian troops assert control on the battlefield. The anniversary comes as the now-32-nation alliance weighs a plan to provide more predictable longer-term military support to Ukraine. Plagued by ammunition shortages, Ukraine this week lowered the military conscription age from 27 to 25 in an effort to replenish its depleted...

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Flooding, hail, damaging winds possible as cold...
Heavy rain is soaking the D.C. area with a potential for flooding, hail and damaging winds ahead of a cold front’s arrival late Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what you need to know. There’s a possibility for an isolated tornado as the cold front moves through, according to the National Weather Service. “We’re going with a ‘severe alert’ because along this line, it has had a history of producing some severe weather,” said 7News First Alert Chief Meteorologist Veronica Johnson. The...

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A familiar American goes to Italy to...
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s time to take another trip to Italy, to the charming, cobblestoned streets of the Amalfi Coast, sipping coffee at cafes and looking for the la dolce vita. And it just wouldn’t be fun without our favorite serial killer, right? Tom Ripley is back for another turn at wearing dressing gowns and having Champagne on the terrace in “Ripley,” a thrilling new Netflix series based on the enduring character created by novelist Patricia Highsmith in...

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Stock market today: Wall Street holds steadier...
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are holding steadier Wednesday following their worst day in weeks. The S&P 500 was 0.4% higher in midday trading and clawing back some of its 0.7% loss from the prior day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 88 points, or 0.2%, as of 11:20 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.6% higher. GE Aerospace jumped 6% for the biggest gain in the S&P 500. It’s the second day of...

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GE aviation and energy businesses start trading...
General Electric, long a symbol of American manufacturing and steeped in a rich history, is officially moving on from its existence as a sprawling conglomerate. The Boston company, known for everything from light bulbs to jet engines, has completed its split into three separate companies, as its aerospace and energy businesses start trading on the New York Stock Exchange as separate entities on Tuesday. GE announced in November 2021 that it planned to split into three companies focused on...

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