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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 Joyce DiDonato’s childhood inspired her role...
NEW YORK (AP) — It seems all but unthinkable today: A major TV network hires a famous composer to write an original opera and broadcasts it live in prime time on Christmas Eve. But it was a different world in the early days of television back in 1951 when Gian Carlo Menotti’s “Amahl and the Night Visitors” premiered on NBC to an estimated audience of 5 million children and adults. With its tuneful score and uplifting story of a...

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Broadcom and tech stocks fall, but the...
NEW YORK (AP) — Broadcom is leading artificial-intelligence stocks lower on Friday, but other areas of the market that used to get left behind by Big Tech are picking up some of the slack. That’s keeping Wall Street indexes near their record heights. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% in morning trading, coming off its latest all-time high, while the weakness for tech had the Nasdaq composite down 0.4%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. The majority of stocks on...

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Threat of equine virus looms over nation’s...
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Declaring Las Vegas a “cowboy town,” dozens of riders on horseback have traditionally kicked off the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo by galloping into the arena and then lining up their horses side by side as the riders tip their hats to cheers. But an equine virus outbreak this year has loomed over one of the world’s most prestigious rodeos and the threat was apparent from the start: Riders walked out during the grand entry on...

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How the Mariachi Rams band turned the...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Crystal Hernández steadies her violin and scans the crowd from the sixth floor of SoFi Stadium as 70,000 fans stream into a Los Angeles Rams home game. Below her, blue-and-gold jerseys mix with charro suits and sombreros, and the low rumble of pregame noise swells into the opening notes of the late Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” reimagined through trumpets, guitarrón and vihuela. On Hernández’s right, rock guitarist Nita Strauss cuts through with an electric solo...

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The journey of Juice – episode 2
Video: 00:12:24 ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) is on an epic eight-year journey to Jupiter. It left Earth in April 2023 and is due to arrive at the gas giant in 2031.  2025 has been another big year for Juice. It made its closest approach to the Sun and flew close by Venus for a gravity boost to help it on its way. This second episode of ‘The journey of Juice’ takes us on a journey of our own, discovering what Juice – and...

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The Latest: Hegseth tells congressional leaders he...
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is facing intensifying demands from Congress to release the full video of an attack on an alleged drug boat that killed two survivors in what Democrats and legal experts said may have been a war crime or murder. Hegseth provided a classified briefing for congressional leaders Tuesday alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe at the Capitol. He said he’s still weighing whether to release the video. The situation has awakened...

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Jeff Kent elected to baseball Hall of...
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame more than 17 years after his final game, Jeff Kent couldn’t control his emotions. “Absolutely unprepared. Emotionally unstable,” he said after Sunday’s vote announcement. “Thoughts are so far clouded.” Kent received 14 of 16 votes from the contemporary era committee, two more than the 12 ballots needed for the 75% minimum. Steroids-tainted stars Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens were among seven players who fell short once again. Kent will...

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Detroit reflects on Mike Duggan’s tenure as...
DETROIT (AP) — When Mayor Mike Duggan announced his plan to run for Michigan governor, he did so from a tower in the iconic but aging Renaissance Center overlooking Detroit. It’s not the same city that Duggan inherited in January 2014. No longer defined by blocks of vacant houses, empty downtown storefronts, rampant crime and scores of broken streetlights, many believe Detroit is finally experiencing its renaissance. “I wish he would stay,” 40-year-old plumber Thomas Millender said of Duggan,...

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Today in Sports – College Football Playoff...
Dec. 7 1973 — Jerry West of Los Angeles sets an NBA record with 10 steals in the Lakers’ 115-111 loss to the Seattle Supersonics. 1985 — Auburn tailback Bo Jackson beats Iowa quarterback Chuck Long by 45 points in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy, the closest vote in the 51-year history of the trophy. 1991 — AJ Kitt becomes the first American in seven years to win a men’s World Cup race, taking the first downhill of...

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MLB players union gathers to prepare for...
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Roughly a month after the Los Angeles Dodgers finished a scintillating seven-game World Series triumph over the Toronto Blue Jays, the Major League Baseball Players’ Association gathered in Arizona this week to discuss the future of the game and look ahead to a possible lockout next December. Japanese stars headed by Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have sparked record international interest, in-game attendance was up in 2025 for the third straight season, and a set...

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Movie Review: ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’...
How do you top “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” the video game movie adaptation about murderous anthropomorphic robots? If it’s a battle for insipid nonsense, the answer is blindingly clear: “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2.” The sequel builds on the un-scary, un-funny bones of the 2023 original by expanding the Freddy’s Cinematic Universe with an even more head-scratching outing. “I don’t know what happened. I feel sick,” says one poor actor. We feel you, sister. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2”...

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Dallas Stars forward Tyler Seguin is likely...
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Tyler Seguin and the Dallas Stars found out Wednesday that one of their longest-tenured players has a torn ACL and could miss the rest of the NHL season. It’s another major blow to a team already ravaged with injuries. Coach Glen Gulutzan said Seguin would miss a significant amount of time after the 33-year-old forward got hurt Tuesday night at the New York Rangers. “He’s an irreplaceable player for our team,” goaltender Jake Oettinger said...

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Billionaire spacewalker is back before the Senate...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Billionaire spacewalker Jared Isaacman urged senators on Wednesday to take swift action on his bid to lead NASA, after being yanked and then renominated by President Donald Trump. Isaacman appeared before the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in Washington eight months after his first nomination hearing. The tech entrepreneur who’s rocketed into orbit twice with SpaceX stressed the need for “full-time leadership” at NASA as the space agency prepares to send astronauts back to...

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Make-A-Wish grants a Suitland teen a swim...
For December, WTOP is bringing you “Wish Wednesday,” where we spotlight what Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic does for families in D.C., Virginia and Maryland. If you would like to help make a wish kid’s dream come true, please visit the foundation’s website. When you think of popular requests to Make-A-Wish, trips to Walt Disney World in Florida and meeting celebrities like WWE superstar John Cena come to mind. Zahara Weeks, a 16-year-old from Suitland, Maryland, spent an afternoon at WTOP with...

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The Latest: Trump administration halts immigration applications...
The Trump administration is pausing all immigration applications such as requests for green cards for people from 19 countries banned from travel earlier this year, as part of sweeping immigration changes in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard troops. The changes were outlined in a policy memo posted Tuesday on the website of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency tasked with processing and approving all requests for immigration benefits. The pause puts on hold a...

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