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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.

 
Marc Maron, Bill Maher to headline New...
NEW YORK (AP) — Marc Maron, Bill Maher, Michelle Wolf, Ronny Chieng, Colin Quinn and Nick Kroll will headline this year’s New York Comedy Festival, which returns for laughs after last year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic. The weeklong festival this fall will also feature Michelle Buteau, Vir Das, Tim Dillon, Gary Gulman, Jon Lovett’s Lovett or Leave It, Norm Macdonald, Brian Regan, Andrew Santino and Megan Stalter. The festival runs Nov. 8-14. Over 200 comedians, late-night...

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Death toll of powerful earthquake in Haiti...
LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — The death toll from a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti climbed to 1,297 on Sunday, a day after the powerful temblor turned thousands of structures into rubble and set off franctic rescue efforts ahead of a potential deluge from an approaching storm. Saturday’s earthquake also left at least 5,700 people injured in the Caribbean nation, with thousands more displaced from their destroyed or damaged homes. Survivors in some areas were forced to wait out in...

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Western & Southern Open returns to Cincinnati...
MASON, Ohio (AP) — Despite losing some big-name stars, the main draw of the Western & Southern Open got underway Sunday night, with the tournament returning to the Lindner Family Tennis Center after a one-year absence, and at full capacity. “We are thrilled this world class tennis event is back in Cincinnati,” tournament chief operating officer Katie Haas said. “We value the opportunity to be the first combined event to welcome back fans at full capacity.” The U.S. Open...

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Fields stars as Bears beat Dolphins; Broncos...
CHICAGO (AP) — Rookie quarterback Justin Fields settled in and the Chicago Bears saw the playmaking ability they dreamed about on draft day. Fields rallied Chicago back Saturday from a 13-0 deficit in his preseason debut by throwing for a touchdown and running for one in a 20-13 victory over the Miami Dolphins. In just over two quarters of playing time, Fields was 14 of 20 for 142 yards and was at his best rolling outside the pocket and...

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Greek wildfires: New blaze burning on ravaged...
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A new fire broke out Friday on Greece’s second largest island of Evia, south of the area where a massive wildfire has decimated forests and torched homes, and was still smoldering 10 days after it started. Greece’s fire department said four water-dropping aircraft and six helicopters were sent to control the fire that erupted in the morning in central Evia, along with 40 firefighters and 10 vehicles. By late afternoon, the fire had not been...

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The Latest: FEMA: Paid $1B to help...
WASHINGTON — Matthew Redding, FEMA’s Deputy Director of Individual Assistance, says the agency has paid more than $1 billion to 150,000 people who have applied for help covering coronavirus funeral expenses. The government provides a maximum of $9,000 per deceased individual and up to $35,000 per application for U.S. citizens who can provide proof their family member died of COVID-19 and had qualified expenses not covered by some other source. Redding says the U.S. government has no projected end...

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Stevie Wonder, Common team for cancer fundraising...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stevie Wonder and Common will perform together for the seventh Stand Up to Cancer telethon, with Anthony Anderson, Sofia Vergara and husband-and-wife Ken Jeong and Tran Ho as hosts. Brittany Howard also will perform on the hourlong special on Aug. 21 (8 p.m. EDT), with Matthew McConaughey, Chandra Wilson, Kate del Castillo, Jennifer Garner, MJ Rodriquez, Tony Hale, Maura Tierney, Jaime Camil and Max Greenfield among the celebrities helping to raise money for cancer research....

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The Latest: 75% of UK adults receive...
LONDON — Health officials in Britain say more than three-quarters of adults in the U.K. have received both doses of a coronavirus vaccine, a milestone that Prime Minister Boris Johnson described as a “huge national achievement.” Latest figures from the Department of Health and Social Care on Tuesday showed that 39.7 million people have now been double-jabbed. More than 47 million, or 89% of the adult population, have received a first dose. The U.K. has seen its average number...

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The Latest: Sydney has new high for...
SYDNEY — Australia’s most populous state is reporting a new daily high of 356 coronavirus infections. The New South Wales government also reported four more COVID-19 deaths Tuesday. The death toll since the latest outbreak was detected in Sydney in mid-June is now 32. One of the latest deaths is a man in his 80s who was infected overseas, while the rest caught the virus locally. More than 80% of the state’s 8.2 million people are in lockdown, including...

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Hot dates: 2 spacecraft to make Venus...
BERLIN (AP) — Two spacecraft are set to swoop past Venus within hours of each other this week, using the maneuver to do a little bit of bonus science on the way to their main missions at the center of our solar system. The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter probe, a cooperation with NASA, will swing around Venus early Monday, using the planet’s gravity to help put it on a course to observe the Sun’s poles. About 33 hours...

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Bobby Bowden, led Florida State football dynasty,...
Bobby Bowden, the folksy Hall of Fame coach who built Florida State into an unprecedented college football dynasty, has died. He was 91. Bobby’s son, Terry, confirmed to The Associated Press that his father died at home in Tallahassee, Florida, surrounded by family early Sunday morning. “It was truly peaceful,” Terry Bowden said in a text message to The AP. Bobby Bowden announced on July 21 he had a terminal illness that Terry Bowden later said was pancreatic cancer....

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Markie Post, TV veteran actor of ‘Night...
NEW YORK (AP) — Markie Post, who played the public defender in the 1980s sitcom “Night Court” and was a regular presence on television for four decades, has died. She was 70. Post’s manager, Ellen Lubin Sanitsky, said Post died Saturday in Los Angeles after a years-long battle with cancer. Post was a longtime television regular who appeared in shows from “Cheers” to “Scrubs.” But she was best known for her seven-season run on NBC’s “Night Court,” the Manhattan...

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American gold bonanza as Tokyo Olympics near...
TOKYO (AP) — The second to last day of competition at the Tokyo Olympics produced a gold medal bonanza for the United States. The Americans kept up their domination in men’s basketball and women’s water polo with gold medal victories in both on Saturday, and Allyson Felix won her 11th career medal with a gold one as part of the U.S. women’s winning 4×400-relay team. And the American men finally delivered a sprint gold medal in the 4×400-relay, the...

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Olympic Latest: Brazil takes gold in men’s...
TOKYO (AP) — The Latest on the Tokyo Olympics, which are taking place under heavy restrictions after a year’s delay because of the coronavirus pandemic: ___ MEDAL ALERT Malcom scored in the 108th minute and Brazil won its second consecutive gold medal in men’s soccer with a 2-1 victory over Spain. Brazil also won gold on home soil five years ago at the iconic Maracana Stadium. Neymar struck the winner in a 5-4 shootout after a 1-1 draw with...

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Steelers use strong 2nd half to beat...
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers followed a stumbling first half with a strong final 30 minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 16-3 on Thursday night in the first NFL preseason game in two years. Matthew Sexton’s 36-yard punt return early in the third quarter jump-started the Steelers, and the Cowboys never challenged after it. Last season’s exhibition games were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. So maybe the enthusiastic crowd was an indication that even for a...

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