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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.

US strikes kill 8 in Yemen’s capital,...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. airstrikes targeting Yemen’s capital killed at least eight people overnight, the Houthi rebels said Monday, as the American military acknowledged carrying out over 800 individual strikes in their monthlong campaign. The overnight statement from the U.S. military’s Central Command also said its “Operation Roughrider” targeting the rebels had “killed hundreds of Houthi fighters and numerous Houthi leaders,” including those associated with its missile and drone program. It did not identify any of…

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Defending champ Barcelona routs Chelsea 4-1 to...

Defending champion Barcelona reached the women’s Champions League final in dominant fashion on Sunday after winning 4-1 at Chelsea in their semifinal return leg to advance 8-2 on aggregate. Slick Barcelona stayed on course for a third straight Champions League title and fourth overall, and will meet either record eight-time winner Lyon or Arsenal in the final. They played their semifinal return leg in France later Sunday, with Lyon 2-1 up from the first leg. Lyon and Barcelona have…

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‘Not an exhibition’: Capital Classic set to...

One of the most prestigious high school boys basketball games in the nation is taking place this weekend in the D.C. region. The Capital Classic brings together the top young talent from the D.C. area as they take on some of the best players from the rest of the United States in a special showcase exhibition. The game, which is celebrating its 52nd anniversary, has a historic lineage that dates back to 1974. Peter Deoudes, owner of the showcase,…

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Long, fraught timeline of tensions between Iran...

Iran and the United States will hold a third round of talks in Oman on Saturday over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. The talks represent a milestone in the fraught relations between the two nations over Iran’s program, which is enriching uranium close to weapons-grade levels. Saturday’s discussions in Muscat, the Omani capital, also will be the first at the expert level, focused on the details that could make or break any accord. Here’s a timeline of the tensions…

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Novel method detects microbial contamination in cell...

Researchers from the Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP) interdisciplinary research group of the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, in collaboration with MIT, A*STAR Skin Research Labs, and the National University of Singapore, have developed a novel method that can quickly and automatically detect and monitor microbial contamination in cell therapy products (CTPs) early on during the manufacturing process. By measuring ultraviolet light absorbance of cell culture fluids and using machine learning to……

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Artificial intelligence enhances air mobility planning

Every day, hundreds of chat messages flow between pilots, crew, and controllers of the Air Mobility Command’s 618th Air Operations Center (AOC). These controllers direct a thousand-wide fleet of aircraft, juggling variables to determine which routes to fly, how much time fueling or loading supplies will take, or who can fly those missions. Their mission planning allows the U.S. Air Force to quickly respond to national security needs around the globe. “It takes a lot of work to get……

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The chemistry of creativity

Senior Madison Wang, a double major in creative writing and chemistry, developed her passion for writing in middle school. Her interest in chemistry fit nicely alongside her commitment to producing engaging narratives.  Wang believes that world-building in stories supported by science and research can make for a more immersive reader experience. “In science and in writing, you have to tell an effective story,” she says. “People respond well to stories.”   A native of Buffalo, New York, Wang applied early action for……

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Cheech and Chong ride once more

NEW YORK (AP) — The irony tickles Cheech and Chong: The Palisades fire smoked them out of their homes. “I had to de-smoke my house,” Tommy Chong says, giggling. “Can you imagine that?” Chong and Cheech Marin ‘s houses, both in the Pacific Palisades, didn’t burn down. But as two of the few homes left standing (“We’re under suspicion,” jokes Chong), they’ve been uprooted. But being on the road has always been a more natural state for Marin and…

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Dear Atlas: What Are Some Non-Touristy Things...

Dear Atlas is Atlas Obscura’s travel advice column, answering the questions you won’t find in traditional guidebooks. Have a question for our experts? Submit it here. * * * Dear Atlas, I’m traveling to Paris with my partner. They want to check out the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, of course, since it’s their first time, but I’ve already seen them. Are there any lesser-known gems or semi-secret spots either inside or near the big attractions what we can……

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Cam Ward goes to Titans at No....

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Cam Ward went from zero-star recruit to No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Travis Hunter cost Jacksonville a premium. Jaxson Dart was selected before Shedeur Sanders. While Ward, Hunter and Abdul Carter went 1-2-3 as expected, Sanders kept slipping. Sanders was passed over by every team that had a need for a potential franchise quarterback, even though some draft analysts had him rated higher than Ward. The New York Giants had two chances…

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Dalkey Island in Dublin, Ireland

Dalkey Island is an uninhabited island off the coast of Dalkey, not too far from Dublin. Once a Viking outpost and later a Christian holy site, Dalkey has a long history of use. A short walk from the dock, there are the 7th century ruins of St Begnet’s Church, and farther on, an old fort as well as a tower from the Napoleonic period. The island hosts wonderful rock scrambling and spectacular views. There are rabbit holes and rabbits……

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Chicago Bronze Cow in Chicago, Illinois

In 1998, a Chicago shoe retailer named Peter Hanig saw a public art display of cows while visiting Zurich, Switzerland. The fanciful exhibit inspired him to create a similarly whimsical display in his native city. The following year, a collaboration with Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, Lois Weisberg allowed Hanig to bring “Cows On Parade” to life. His brainchild spawned similar public displays in many other cities throughout the U.S. In 2001, long after “Cows On Parade” had been put……

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Baltasar Bachero Tile Mosaic in Madrid, Spain

A modest tile mosaic on Calle del Salitre 34 in Madrid honors one of the Spanish city’s unsung heroes. Baltasar Bachero was a Madrid coachman who worked at Atocha station and lived in Lavapiés. In March 1929, he became a hero when he pounced on a runaway mule pulling a carriage down the steep Salitre street. To stop the animal from trampling a group of children playing in the street, he grabbe the reins but was thrown to the……

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Designing a new way to optimize complex...

Coordinating complicated interactive systems, whether it’s the different modes of transportation in a city or the various components that must work together to make an effective and efficient robot, is an increasingly important subject for software designers to tackle. Now, researchers at MIT have developed an entirely new way of approaching these complex problems, using simple diagrams as a tool to reveal better approaches to software optimization in deep-learning models. They say the new method makes addressing these complex tasks……

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Castleguard Cave in Canada

Castleguard Cave is rife with superlatives. It’s the longest cave system in Canada at 13 miles (21 kilometers), as well as the only non-ice cave that sits beneath a current glacier, called the Columbia Icefield, which is the largest ice mass left in the Rocky Mountains. The result is a grand subterranean world that combines both cave and glacier attributes in a combo hardly seen before. In addition to calcium stalactites, stalagmites, and long soda straws, the cave also……

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