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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.

 
Amid new bombings, Ukraine now seen as...
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities said Sunday that Russia’s military bombed an art school sheltering some 400 people in the port city of Mariupol, where heavy street fighting was underway weeks into a devastating Russian siege. The fall of Mariupol would allow Russian forces in southern and eastern Ukraine to link up. But Western military analysts say that even if the surrounded city is taken, the troops battling for control there a block at a time may be...

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Ukraine war is backdrop in US push...
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Lagging behind Russia in developing hypersonic weapons, the U.S. Navy is rushing to field its first, with installation on a warship starting as soon as late next year. The United States is in a race with Russia and China to develop these weapons, which travel at speeds akin to ballistic missiles but are difficult to shoot down because of their maneuverability. The Russian military says it already deployed hypersonic missiles, claiming on both Saturday and...

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Urban mining transforms Brazil neighborhoods into ghost...
MACEIO, Brazil (AP) — This part of Maceio, the capital of Brazil’s northeastern Alagoas state, used to buzz with the sounds of cars, commerce and children playing. It went silent as residents evacuated en masse, eager to escape the looming destruction of their homes, which were cracking and crumbling. Beneath their floors, the subsurface was riddled with dozens of cavities: the legacy of four decades of rock salt mining in five urban neighborhoods. That caused the soil above to...

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James passes Malone, but Lakers blow lead...
WASHINGTON (AP) — LeBron James passed Karl Malone on the career scoring list, leaving only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar still to catch. Then the Los Angeles Lakers wasted another stellar performance by their star. James came into the night needing 19 points to tie Malone. He ended up scoring double that, but the Washington Wizards rallied from a 16-point deficit to win 127-119 on Saturday night. James said he couldn’t appreciate the milestone as much in a loss. “Obviously at some...

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Mercedes boss Wolff wants more discussions on...
As the driving force behind Formula One’s most successful team, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has reached the summit of success alongside star driver Lewis Hamilton. Embarking on a new season, Wolff also wants to throw his weight behind furthering discussions on mental health to help people suffering in sport and beyond. “What I want to do is encourage people to seek help and not see it as a stigma, of being a dysfunctionality,” Wolff said Saturday during a...

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Live updates: Ukraine confirms strike on missile...
LVIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian military official has confirmed to a local news outlet that Russian forces carried out a missile strike Friday on a missile and ammunition warehouse in the Delyatyn settlement of the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine. Ukraine’s Air Forces spokesman Yurii Ihnat told the Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper Saturday, however, that it is yet to be confirmed whether the missile the Russians used was indeed Kinzhal, the county’s latest hypersonic missile, or some other kind. Earlier...

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Finding solace through helping a TV show...
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — The car door opens, then slams. The ignition rumbles. Music roars. Hands fixed on the wheel. Ten and two. Then we’re off, hurtling down empty Santa Monica side streets before dawn. Milo Ventimiglia is as composed as a Top Gun pilot. First gear grinds, then second — but in that cool way where velocity bursts with a swish and car lights blur. Riding shotgun is an exercise in grip strength. Knuckles white, wheels screaming,...

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Russia-Ukraine war: Key things to know about...
Fighting raged on multiple fronts in Ukraine on Saturday, with intense combat in the besieged port city of Mariupol — site of some of the war’s greatest suffering. Ukrainian officials say their forces there are battling the Russians over the Azovstal steel plant, one of the biggest in Europe. The war is now in its fourth week. Overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin of deliberately creating “a humanitarian catastrophe,” but also appealed for Russian President Vladimir Putin...

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New this week: ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘Atlanta’ return, Maren...
Here’s a collection curated by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists of what’s arriving on TV, streaming services and music platforms this week. MOVIES — Just in time for the Academy Awards, the Will Smith tennis drama “King Richard” arrives Thursday on HBO Max. Reinaldo Marcus Green’s film, which is nominated for six Oscars including best picture, first streamed for 30 days when it debuted simultaneously in theaters and HBO Max in November. But if you missed it then, it’s...

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In video call, Biden presses China’s Xi...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Key figures for a war half a world away, President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping spoke for nearly two hours on Friday as the White House looked to deter Beijing from providing military or economic assistance for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China’s Foreign Ministry was the first to issue a readout of the video conversation, deploring “conflict and confrontation” as “not in anyone’s interest,” without assigning any blame to Russia. Ahead of the call, White...

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Live updates: G-7 decries Russia’s ‘indiscriminate attacks’
BERLIN — Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading economies are calling on Russia to comply with the International Court of Justice’s order to stop its attack on Ukraine and withdraw its military forces. In a joint statement, the G-7′s top diplomats condemned what they described as “indiscriminate attacks on civilians” by Russian forces including the siege of Mariupol and other cities. They accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of conducting an “unprovoked and shameful war” that has forced...

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NASA’s mega moon rocket Artemis rolls out
Thursday is St. Patrick’s Day, of course. But it’s also a big day for space exploration — and what could be the first step toward returning humans to the moon. No matter where you are at 5 p.m. Thursday, make sure you tune in to NASA TV to watch the live rollout of NASA’s Artemis I Mission Moon Rocket. Space telescope’s image of star gets photobombed by galaxies More Science News Not since the days of the Apollo program...

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Steyn City Championship Par Scores
Thursday At The Club at Steyn City Johannesburg Purse: $1.5 million Yardage: 7,716; Par: 72 First Round James Du Preez, South Africa 33-30—63 -9 Jaco Ahlers, South Africa 31-33—64 -8 Nino Bertasio, Italy 32-32—64 -8 Shaun Norris, South Africa 33-31—64 -8 George Coetzee, South Africa 32-33—65 -7 Ruan De Smidt, South Africa 31-34—65 -7 Romain Langasque, France 31-34—65 -7 Sebastian Soderberg, Sweden 31-34—65 -7 Darius Van Driel, Netherlands 33-32—65 -7 Dean Burmester, South Africa 32-34—66 -6 Hennie Du Plessis,...

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Steyn City Championship Scores
Thursday At The Club at Steyn City Johannesburg Purse: $1.5 million Yardage: 7,716; Par: 72 First Round James Du Preez, South Africa 33-30—63 Jaco Ahlers, South Africa 31-33—64 Nino Bertasio, Italy 32-32—64 Shaun Norris, South Africa 33-31—64 George Coetzee, South Africa 32-33—65 Ruan De Smidt, South Africa 31-34—65 Romain Langasque, France 31-34—65 Sebastian Soderberg, Sweden 31-34—65 Darius Van Driel, Netherlands 33-32—65 Dean Burmester, South Africa 32-34—66 Hennie Du Plessis, South Africa 31-35—66 CJ Du Plessis, South Africa 33-33—66 Niklas...

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Oscar Predictions: Will ‘Power of the Dog’...
Ahead of the 94th Academy Awards, Associated Press Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle share their predictions for major categories in a ceremony with much still up in the air. BEST PICTURE The Nominees: “Belfast”; “CODA”; “Don’t Look Up”; “Drive My Car”; “Dune”; “King Richard”; “Licorice Pizza”; “Nightmare Alley”; “The Power of the Dog”; “West Side Story.” BAHR: At this point it really feels like the award will go to “The Power of the Dog.” It is paradoxically...

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