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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.

 
Frederick Co. latest to bring mask mandate...
Frederick County, Maryland is the latest municipality to bring back its mask mandate amid exploding COVID-19 cases; everyone 5 and older in the county is required to mask up in public indoor spaces starting Friday at 5 p.m. Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner called for an emergency health meeting and voted to reinstate the mask mandate Thursday night. The three Republicans on the board voted against the measure. More Maryland News More Coronavirus News “We are at the beginning...

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U.Va. hospitals in Manassas, Haymarket and Culpeper...
This article was written by WTOP’s news partner InsideNoVa.com and republished with permission. Sign up for InsideNoVa.com’s free email subscription today. With COVID-19 cases surging, UVA Health late Thursday announced visitors will not be permitted in inpatient units, emergency departments, outpatient clinics and outpatient procedural areas at UVA Prince William Medical Center, UVA Haymarket Medical Center and UVA Culpeper Medical Center. In addition, public spaces – including hospital lobbies, cafeterias and waiting areas – are closed to members of the public. “UVA Health...

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Final goodbye: Recalling influential people who died...
They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over years of public service. But both also saw their legacies tarnished by their actions in the long, bloody war in Iraq. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are among the many noteworthy people who died in 2021. Powell, who died in October, was a trailblazing soldier and diplomat. He rose to the rank of four-star general in the Army before becoming...

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Kuznetsov scores late goal, Capitals beat Predators...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a late short-handed goal in his return from an 18-day absence to put the Washington Capitals ahead for good in a 5-3 victory over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night. Kuznetsov’s crafty wrist shot from a tight angle helped the Capitals beat the Predators for the first time in nine games, a streak dating to 2017. It was his 10th of the season and his first since he was reactivated from the NHL’s...

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Bringing home the bacon tops new California...
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — It’s not often that bacon leads a roundup of new laws taking effect with the New Year in California. But even in progressive California, that’s the headline-grabber. It’s among a host of other legislation designed to safeguard employees, shield those seeking abortions, protect protesters from police, spare children from gender influence in store displays, and further ease criminal penalties to reduce mass incarceration. Several of the laws mark national “firsts” — first minimum wage to...

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‘So difficult’: Northwest cold forces some into...
SEATTLE (AP) — With temperatures in normally mild Seattle dropping well below freezing, Kaety West walked a short distance in the snow from the tent where she usually stays to find refuge at a small warming center at an American Legion hall. “I’m not even willing to stay in it right now. It’s just so difficult,” she said of her tent on Monday. Severe weather sweeping parts of the U.S. brought frigid temperatures to the Pacific Northwest and heavy...

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Live updates: Omicron accounts for 59% of...
NEW YORK – U.S. government figures show that the omicron variant continues to account for a growing proportion of new coronavirus infections in the country. Omicron accounted for 59% of new cases in the U.S. for the week ending Dec. 25, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from 23% the previous week. The CDC had said last week that omicron already accounted for a majority of new cases in the country....

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China pursues tech ‘self-reliance,’ fueling global unease
BEIJING (AP) — To help make China a self-reliant “technology superpower,” the ruling Communist Party is pushing the world’s biggest e-commerce company to take on the tricky, expensive business of designing its own processor chips — a business unlike anything Alibaba Group has done before. Its 3-year-old chip unit, T-Head, unveiled its third processor in October, the Yitian 710 for Alibaba’s cloud computing business. Alibaba says for now, it has no plans to sell the chip to outsiders. Other...

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Argentina: Shadows over abortion a year after...
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Every week of late, more than 20 women with unwanted pregnancies come to Dr. Miranda Ruiz, one of the few physicians who perform free abortions in northern Argentina’s Salta province — many under a year-old law that legalized elective abortion to the 14th week of gestation. Yet activists say that abortion services in socially conservative parts of the country such as Salta remain restricted and under threat, leaving poor women the choice of a...

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Vieira says African Cup of Nations deserves...
LONDON (AP) — Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira won’t try to block his players from competing in the African Cup of Nations, arguing that the tournament deserves more respect. It begins in early January in Cameroon despite the fast-spreading omicron variant adding to concerns that include European clubs threatening not to send players after raising doubts about coronavirus protocols put in place by the Confederation of African Football. “I will never stop any players to go to play the...

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Space telescope launched on daring quest to...
The world’s largest and most powerful space telescope rocketed away Saturday on a high-stakes quest to behold light from the first stars and galaxies and scour the universe for hints of life. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope soared from French Guiana on South America’s northeastern coast, riding a European Ariane rocket into the Christmas morning sky. “What an amazing Christmas present,” said Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA’s science mission chief. The $10 billion observatory hurtled toward its destination 1 million miles...

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Paris’ Notre Dame rector offers hope to...
PARIS (AP) — Worshipers in face masks filed into Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois Church across from the Louvre Museum on Friday for Christmas Eve Mass, and were greeted by the rector of the closed Notre Dame Cathedral. It was the second year that holiday service are being held under the shadow of the coronavirus. Everyone was masked and members of the congregation sprayed people’s hands with disinfectant as they entered. Children in the choir sang while masked and spaced out across the...

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New this week: ‘Lost Daughter,’ NYE in...
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 Maggie Gyllenhaal’s feature directing debut, “The Lost Daughter,” scintillatingly adapts the 2008 Elena Ferrante novel about maternal ambivalence and a holiday in Greece. The film, which begins streaming Friday on Netflix, stars Olivia Colman as a vacationing professor whose interactions with a boisterous, distracting clan (including a young mother in their midst played by Dakota Johnson),...

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Por qué deberías cambiar tu mascarilla a...
(CNN) — A medida que la variante altamente contagiosa del coronavirus ómicron continúa propagándose, algunos expertos dicen que es hora de reconsiderar tus opciones de mascarilla, especialmente si todavía usas la variedad de tela. “Las máscaras de tela son poco más que decoraciones faciales. No hay lugar para ellas a la luz de ómicron”, dijo la Dra. Leana Wen, analista médica de CNN y profesora visitante de políticas y administración de la salud en la Escuela de Instituto Milken...

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Days, No. 17 LSU move to 12-0...
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — No. 17 LSU’s perfect start had been fueled by its defense. The Tigers’ offense took center stage Wednesday night in their 95-60 romp over Lipscomb. LSU (12-0) shot 53% from the field, its highest mark in a month. The Tigers made 55% of their 3-points shots — their second-best outing from behind the 3-point line for the season. Even with top scorer Tari Eason unavailable due to back spasms, LSU registered its second highest...

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