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.

 
Women in legislatures across the US fight...
For female state lawmakers in Kentucky, choosing when to go to the bathroom has long required careful calculation. There are only two bathroom stalls for women on the third floor of the Kentucky Statehouse, where the House and Senate chambers are located. Female legislators — 41 of the 138 member Legislature — needing a reprieve during a lengthy floor session have to weigh the risk of missing an important debate or a critical vote. None of their male colleagues...

Read More

‘Tron: Ares’ brings the Grid, and the...
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Grid took over Comic-Con on Friday, bringing the stars of the new “Tron: Ares” films to unveil footage and reveal the story behind the franchise’s third movie. The film stars Jared Leto, Jeff Bridges, Greta Lee and Jodie Turner-Smith as the story brings the virtual environment of the Grid, complete with light bikes, into the real world. Disney showed off several minutes of footage, including a light bike chase scene in the real world...

Read More

Tens of thousands flee their homes as...
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Tens of thousands of people sought refuge as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its third day Saturday, heightening fears of an extended conflict with the total death toll reaching 32. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors late Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs the 10-nation regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate. The council did not issue...

Read More

 
The Latest: Justice Department to meet with...
Justice Department officials are set to meet on Thursday with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to a person familiar with the matter. The meeting in Florida, which Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Tuesday he was working to arrange, is part of an ongoing Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following fierce backlash from parts of President Donald Trump’s base over an earlier refusal to release additional...

Read More

A replica Oval Office near the White...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A replica Oval Office on display near the White House now looks exactly like President Donald Trump’s. But it is not the blingy version he is currently using. Visitors starting Thursday will experience the mock Oval Office as it was in the Republican president’s first term, until it is redecorated again next year to incorporate the golden touches and other flourishes Trump brought to the workspace after he returned to power in January. “Just like the...

Read More

Golden Earring co-founder George Kooymans dies at...
NEW YORK (AP) — George Kooymans, the guitarist and co-founder of the Dutch band Golden Earring who co-wrote the hard-rock classic “Radar Love” and wrote and shared lead vocals on the top 10 hit “Twilight Zone,” has died at age 77. Kooymans’ family and the surviving members of Golden Earring announced that he had died Wednesday from complications of ALS, which he had been diagnosed with in 2020. He retired from the band soon after. “George bore this devastating...

Read More

 
Tesla’s profit plunges again as the fallout...
NEW YORK (AP) — The fallout from Elon Musk’s plunge into politics a year ago is still hammering his Tesla business as both sales and profits dropped sharply again in the latest quarter. The car company that has faced boycotts for months said Wednesday that revenue dropped 12% and profits slumped 16% in the three months through June as buyers continued to stay away. “The perception of Elon Musk, its chief executive, has rubbed the sheen right out of...

Read More

MLS commissioner discusses season shift, Messi absence...
Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber says the league continues to look at shifting to a fall-to-spring season, saying he’d “rather get it right and take our time than get it wrong and do it quick.” Garber spoke before Wednesday night’s MLS All-Star game in Austin, Texas. He also spoke about the league’s Apple TV streaming deal and the sale of the Vancouver Whitecaps in his state of the league address before the game. While he was peppered with...

Read More

A look at UNESCO and its work...
PARIS (AP) — With the support of international partners and $115 million in funding, the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO recently helped rebuild the Iraqi city of Mosul after it was devastated by the Islamic State group. The restoration of the historic city’s iconic Al-Nouri Mosque and Al-Hadba Minaret was just one of many programs run by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which is in the spotlight because the United States is leaving it once again. The decision...

Read More

 
Rome gears up for Holy Year’s monumental...
ROME (AP) — Half a million young people are expected to pour into Rome next week for the biggest event of the 2025 Holy Year: a weeklong Jubilee celebration for young Catholics that will sorely test their tolerance for heat and the Eternal City’s ability to provide public services, security and logistical support during its peak tourist season. Officials said Wednesday the highlight of the celebration is the Aug. 2-3 vigil service, outdoor overnight slumber party and Mass presided...

Read More

The 700-year-old Prague cathedral will get a...
PRAGUE (AP) — The installation of a new organ at Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral is nearing completion, giving the 700-year-old biggest temple in the Czech Republic a proper instrument to accompany religious services and concerts. An international team was working on a three-story scaffolding above the main entrance inside the cathedral on Tuesday to put in place some of the remaining pipes. The work is scheduled to be complete in late August, followed by the voicing and tuning of...

Read More

Looming over two cases threatening Musk’s car...
MIAMI (AP) — Elon Musk fought court cases on opposite coasts Monday, raising a question about the billionaire that could either speed his plan to put self-driving Teslas on U.S. roads or throw up a major roadblock: Can this wildly successful man who tends to exaggerate really be trusted? In Miami, a Tesla driver who has admitted he was wrong to reach for a dropped cell phone moments before a deadly accident, spoke of the danger of putting too...

Read More

 
Less selection, higher prices: How tariffs are...
NEW YORK (AP) — With summer in full swing in the United States, retail executives are sweating a different season. It’s less than 22 weeks before Christmas, a time when businesses that make and sell consumer goods usually nail down their holiday orders and prices. But President Donald Trump’s vacillating trade policies, part of his effort to revive the nation’s diminished manufacturing base and to reduce the U.S. deficit in exported goods, have complicated those end-of-year plans. Balsam Hill,...

Read More

Underdog Promo Code WTOP: Claim $1,000 Bonus...
Photo Credit: Craig Dudek Photo Credit: Craig Dudek This article contains references to products from our advertisers and/or partners, and we may receive compensation when you click on links to products and services Daily fantasy players can redeem Underdog promo code WTOP and start securing bonuses. This is an opportunity for players to grab bonus cash on MLB, UFC 318 and a wide range of other markets. Click here to start signing up. New players can register with Underdog...

Read More

The Chicago Sky are trying to protect...
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Chicago Sky co-owner Nadia Rawlinson knew security concerns were serious. The Sky have physical security nearly 24 hours a day — around hotels, outside gyms, by buses and planes — but one of the final frontiers of player safety was the internet. Earlier this month, the Sky teamed up with Moonshot Technologies to protect their players from threats and hate on social media, the first relationship of its kind in the WNBA. “People think as athletes,...

Read More