Say WOW

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.

 
Wheeler, Jets send Coyotes to ninth straight...
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — Blake Wheeler thought it was time to quit passing and his decision paid off. Wheeler’s goal in the second period proved to be the winner as the Winnipeg Jets beat Arizona 2-1 on Sunday night and dealt the Coyotes their ninth straight loss. After Wheeler’s linemates, Cole Perfetti and Mark Scheifele, passed the puck around in the Arizona zone, Scheifele finally sent it to Wheeler and his shot beat goalie Karel Vejmelka at 16:45. “I...

Read More

Purdy’s 4 TDs lead 49ers past Seahawks...
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy got flushed out of the pocket, spun back the other direction and found a wide-open Elijah Mitchell for the score that put San Francisco in control for good. Purdy answered another test and delivered another sterling performance in a remarkable rookie season that began as the final pick in the NFL draft. Purdy threw three touchdown passes and ran for a fourth score in his playoff debut, leading the 49ers to a...

Read More

Edwards, Timberwolves bounce back to beat short-handed...
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, D’Angelo Russell had 7 and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the short-handed Phoenix Suns 121-116 on Friday night. Taurean Prince added 16 points off the bench and fellow reserve Naz Red had 13 points for Minnesota. The Timberwolves won for the fourth time in five games and bounced back from a 135-118 loss in Detroit on Wednesday night. Damion Lee led Phoenix with 31 points and Mikal Bridges had 24. The...

Read More

 
Human skeleton found in building on UC...
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — A human skeleton was discovered Tuesday in an unused building on a University of California, Berkeley, campus, officials said. It’s unclear how many years the remains were in the shuttered building on the Clark Kerr Campus, which is a residential hall complex and event space that’s about a mile (1.61 kilometers) from the main campus, the university’s police department said in a statement. There are no outstanding cases of missing persons from the Berkeley campus...

Read More

Actor Kevin Spacey denies 7 more sex...
LONDON (AP) — Actor Kevin Spacey has pleaded innocent to seven further sex offenses in Britain, which bring the number of charges the Hollywood star faces in the U.K. to 12. Spacey, a double Academy Award winner, has already pleaded not guilty to charges that he sexually assaulted three men between 2004 and 2015 when he was the artistic director at the Old Vic theater in London. He appeared via video-link in a London courtroom on Friday. He now...

Read More

49ers seeking 3-game sweep vs. Seahawks in...
San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan knows the challenges of trying to beat an opponent three times in a season after falling short a year ago in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Rams. The 49ers open this postseason with a similar challenge when they host NFC West rival Seattle in a wild-card playoff game Saturday less than a month after beating the Seahawks for the second time this season. “I don’t really look at it as you have to...

Read More

 
China borders reopen and with it hopes...
After three years of isolation and financial struggles in Chinese soccer the country is reopening its borders and economy to the outside world. With it, frustrated fans, financially-challenged clubs and unpaid players in the Chinese Super League might receive some long-awaited good news. The 2022 season was unrecognizable from the 2019 edition, the last before COVID-19 hit. Then the league had an average attendance of over 24,000, the highest in Asia, and a number of big-name foreign imports. From...

Read More

Guardians announce plans for major remodel of...
CLEVELAND (AP) — Back as a World Series title contender, the Cleveland Guardians are moving forward with upgrades to Progressive Field. The team revealed on Thursday delayed final plans for a “reimagining” of its downtown home, which has aged well since opening in 1994 but is now the 11th oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball. The Guardians have earmarked more than $200 million to remodel the upper deck, clubhouses and other areas over the next three years. The funds...

Read More

White House: Classified documents found at Biden’s...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Documents with classified markings from President Joe Biden’s time as vice president were found at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, the White House said Thursday, days after it was disclosed that sensitive documents were also found at the office of his former Washington institute. Richard Sauber, a special counsel to the president, said after the initial documents were found by Biden’s personal lawyers, they examined other locations where records might have been shipped after Biden left...

Read More

 
Golden Globes fashion: Stars return for soggy...
NEW YORK (AP) — The stars were back Tuesday for the Golden Globes’ return to television, walking a soggy grayish carpet in relatively predictable looks — with a few notable exceptions. A look at fashion from the 80th Golden Globes: WORM NO MORE Heidi Klum, not long after her Halloween worm appearance, showed up in a sky-high silver sparkler with a feathery embellishment over one shoulder as the crowd was treated to a reprieve from rain that has plagued...

Read More

Pentagon drops COVID-19 vaccine mandate for troops
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon formally dropped its COVID-19 vaccination mandate Tuesday, but a new memo signed by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also gives commanders some discretion in how or whether to deploy troops who are not vaccinated. Austin’s memo has been widely anticipated ever since legislation signed into law on Dec. 23 gave him 30 days to rescind the mandate. The Defense Department had already stopped all related personnel actions, such as discharging troops who refused the shot....

Read More

UN says ozone layer slowly healing, hole...
DENVER (AP) — Earth’s protective ozone layer is slowly but noticeably healing at a pace that would fully mend the hole over Antarctica in about 43 years, a new United Nations report says. A once-every-four-years scientific assessment found recovery in progress, more than 35 years after every nation in the world agreed to stop producing chemicals that chomp on the layer of ozone in Earth’s atmosphere that shields the planet from harmful radiation linked to skin cancer, cataracts and...

Read More

 
Golden Globes are back on TV, but...
NEW YORK (AP) — Without a TV show, starry red carpet, host, press or even a livestream, the Golden Globe Awards were in chaos last year after scandal broke over lack of diversity, accusations of sexism, and ethical and financial lapses among members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Once known as Hollywood’s biggest, booziest party that regularly drew 18 million television viewers, the doling out of statues was reduced to a 90-minute private event with no celebrities present...

Read More

Gustafsson, Kuemper lead Capitals past Blue Jackets...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson made their season debuts and the Washington Capitals beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 1-0 on Sunday. Erik Gustafsson scored 2:43 into the game and Darcy Kuemper stopped 37 shots for his fourth shutout of the season and second in five games. Elvis Merzlikins had 18 saves for Columbus, which has lost 10 of its last 12 games. Backstrom and Wilson took the ice at Capital One Arena for the first time...

Read More

Wilson, Broncos beat Herbert, playoff-bound Chargers 31-28
DENVER (AP) — If this was a sign of what’s to come in 2023 in Denver, Russell Wilson and the Broncos faithful can breathe easier this offseason. Wilson rediscovered some of his magic Sunday, throwing for three touchdowns and a trio of bull’s-eye deep balls that each covered more than 50 yards in the Broncos’ 31-28 win over the playoff-bound Los Angeles Chargers. “Today he looked like he was having more fun,” Chargers leading tackler Drue Trainquill said. “He...

Read More