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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.

How Overlooked History Yields Unforgettable Ice Cream...

When Hannah Spiegelman makes ice cream and other frozen desserts, her flavors are as elaborate and fanciful as anything you’d find in an artisanal shop. She’s created treats as varied as lavender gin-infused ice cream with lemon and marshmallow-root meringues to sweet-tart raspberry mint shrub sherbet, with gingerbread cookie shards and orange butterscotch sauce swirling throughout. However, these flavors serve a bigger purpose than simply experimenting with novelty. On her website and Instagram, both titled A Sweet History, Spiegelman……

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Naval Mine in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland

This naval mine is similar to those that were used by the Allied forces during World War II as a way of defending the coastal shores. These types of mines were self-contained explosive devices that floated to the top of the sea, while anchors called sinkers kept them from floating away. They were triggered by approaching ships or from direct contact with vessels. The mines were also utilized to create safe zones. This was when a series of mines……

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Griffith J. Griffith Statue in Los...

The story of Griffith Park dates back to 1882, when Welsh immigrant and self-styled “Colonel” Griffith Jenkins Griffith bought Rancho Los Feliz. He also leased some of the land to an ostrich farm. During the time, ostrich feathers were prized as they were used to decorate women’s hats.  The eccentric mining magnate and property developer maintained a lavish lifestyle, and while he had some friends, he collected more enemies. Nevertheless, his ego was sated when he grabbed headlines after……

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Fondeadora is a Mexican challenger bank that...

Meet Fondeadora, a fintech startup based in Mexico City that wants to build a full-stack neobank. The company just raised a $14 million Series A round led by Gradient Ventures, Google’s AI-focused venture fund. Founded in 2018, the company already manages 150,000 accounts and is adding $20 million in deposits every month. Mexico represents a massive opportunity for a challenger bank as many people still rely on cash for most of their transactions. Given that all countries are progressively……

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Found: A 1200-Year-Old Olive Oil Soap Factory...

In the remnants of an ancient house in Rahat, a predominantly Bedouin city in what is now southern Israel, government archaeologists believe they have found the oldest known soap factory in the country. According to the Israel Antiquities Authority, the ruins are approximately 1,200 years old, dating to the early Islamic period when the region was ruled by the Abbasid Caliphate. Archaeologists were excavating a site designated for construction of a new neighborhood when they came across a pillared……

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Bob Marley Monument in Banatski Sokolac, Serbia

Bob Marley is one of the most popular musicians ever to grace the stage. He is renowned as one of the pioneers of the reggae genre. His fame has spanned generations, and in the small Serbian village of Banatski Sokolac of just 300 residents, a statue was erected in honor of the artist. The first of its kind in Europe.  In 2008, sculptor Davor Dukić unveiled the statue at the Rock Village Music Festival. The statue was constructed featuring Marley’s famous……

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University system examines its own role in...

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today. After a summer of national reckoning on racial injustice, the University System of Maryland is taking proactive steps to examine structural racism that may be inherent in its own system and across its 12 affiliate institutions. The first part of this process within USM involves introspection, officials said Wednesday. “This is the gap analysis, measuring whatever that…

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The State Chateau of Hluboká in Hluboká...

In the small town of Hluboká nad Vltavou resides a historic chateau that has long been considered the most beautiful castle in the country.  The castle was initially constructed during the 13th-century to serve the Bohemian royal family. It was reconstructed several times and reached its current state during the 19th-century. During that time, prince Johann von Schwarzenberg ordered the reconstruction of the castle in the romantic style of England‘s Windsor Castle. The building and gardens are considered a……

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Germany calls for end to east Mediterranean...

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Germany’s foreign minister on Thursday called for an end to military drills taking place in the eastern Mediterranean to defuse tensions and create conditions for NATO allies Greece and Turkey to resolve a dispute over offshore energy exploration rights. Foreign Minister Heiko Maas’ comments came as European Union foreign ministers were set to meet in Berlin to try and persuade EU-member Greece and its neighbor Turkey to pull back from the brink of a conflict….

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How Salesforce beat its own target to...

Salesforce launched in 1999, one of the early adherents to what would eventually be called SaaS and cloud computing. On Tuesday, the company reached a huge milestone when it surpassed $5 billion in revenue, putting the SaaS giant on a $20 billion run rate for the first time. Salesforce revenue has been on a firm upward trajectory for years now, but when the company reached $10 billion in revenue in November 2017, CEO Marc Benioff set the goal for……

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Historic Walnford in Allentown, New Jersey

Located within the Monmouth County Park System, Historic Walnford features the Waln family estate and farm alongside an 18th-century industrial village. The Waln house and a 19th-century grist mill highlight this collection of farm buildings found within Crosswicks Creek Park. This 36-acre site is listed on both the state and national Registries of Historic Places. It provides an educational journey through the history of the Waln family and the evolution of Walnford over 200 years of social, technological, and environmental development. Richard Waln was……

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Halvikhula in Hellvik, Norway

On the shores of the Norwegian Sea, there are many beautiful, wild locations that have been relatively untouched by humans. One such place is Halvikhallen or Halvikhula (Hall of Halvik or Halvik Cave), known as Northern Europe’s largest cave. The height of this enormous hole carved into the shore mountain by the raging sea is well over 300 feet (100 meters), and about 260 feet (80 meters) wide. One old geological source, a book by Amund Helland called Norges……

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Heeding warnings, Gulf Coast residents flee coming...

ENNIS, Texas (AP) — Thousands of Gulf Coast residents fled from rapidly intensifying Hurricane Laura as hotels and shelters filled quickly, exacerbating the struggles of evacuees who lost jobs in the coronavirus pandemic long before the storm ever approached on Wednesday. Leaders in Texas and Louisiana urged people in the expected path of what forecasters called an extremely dangerous major hurricane to move inland before it was too late. Forecasters predicted a life-threatening storm surge would pummel a wide…

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Five MLS games called off as player...

Major League Soccer players boycotted five games Wednesday night in a collective statement against racial injustice. The action came after all three NBA playoff games were called off in a protest over the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin on Sunday night. Players from games between Atlanta United and Inter Miami, FC Dallas and Colorado, Portland and San Jose, Real Salt Lake and LAFC, and the LA Galaxy and Seattle all decided not to play in solidarity. The…

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The Unexpected Elegance of Irrigation Systems From...

Center-pivot irrigation was not invented to look pretty. The technology was developed, by a Nebraskan farmer in 1948, as an alternative to the groundwater-irrigation methods that failed to sustain many American farms through the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. These new, elevated pipes radiated out from the centers of fields as far as 133 acres, making it unnecessary to lay and later remove pipes from the ground. Useful as this new technology proved to be, it also provided an……

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