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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.

 
DC introduces chart describing each school’s reopening...
D.C. has released a chart that shares an overview of each school’s reopening plans for Term 3, which began earlier this month. The individualized plans were the results of the work of each school’s Reopen Community Corps — a group of school-level stakeholders at every school that “reviewed feedback from learning preference surveys, led with equity to prioritize their highest need students, and helped school leaders design a tailored reopening plan for their school in Term 3,” according to...

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Australian Open: Djokovic faces American Fritz in...
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A quick look at the Australian Open: LOOKAHEAD TO FRIDAY Top-ranked Novak Djokovic takes on American Taylor Fritz in one of the high-intensity matches set on the Australian Open’s fifth day. In what should be an entertaining encounter between two young Canadians, No. 11 Denis Shapovalov plays 20th seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime. U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem will face fan favorite Nick Kyrgios. The often-fiery Australian saved two match points in his five-set second-rounder against Frenchman...

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In an anxious winter, the garden still...
Deep into this pandemic winter, it can be hard to remember what a refuge gardens were last spring and summer. In those frightening early days of COVID-19, victory gardens and household vegetable plots sprang up all over. Seed companies reported shortages. Hardware stores saw a run on garden tools. Millions found comfort, release and a sense of safety outdoors with their hands in the dirt. That feels like a long time ago. We dreaded this winter, and we weren’t...

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New pups hit the dog park; owners...
Like a lot of new dog owners, Adriana Magarin recently got a puppy to help brighten up pandemic life. “You can only read so many books, you can only listen to so many podcasts,” she said. Buddy, her husky, is “a troublemaker, but he gets me up in the morning and gets me outside.” But Buddy’s first trip to a dog park in Houston, where Magarin lives, was more than she bargained for. He was “doing great” hanging out...

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Fire crews rescue dogs, boa constrictor from...
A large boa constrictor and two dogs were rescued from a Silver Spring, Maryland, house fire early Tuesday that started because a heater was too close to dog bedding. Montgomery County firefighters responded to the basement fire in a single-family house in the 2800 block of Woodstock Avenue around 6:45 a.m. Tuesday, fire department spokesman Pete Piringer tweeted. Three of the home’s human residents — two adults and one child — escaped to safety without serious injury. Meanwhile, fire...

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Republican Cox opens run for governor with...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Republican John Cox formally opened his campaign for California governor Monday with a TV ad depicting his leading GOP rival as a political twin of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and promising to work for lower housing costs and new jobs. The 30-second ad airing statewide marks the official kickoff of his second campaign for the state’s top job, after Cox finished behind Newsom in their 2018 matchup. “I’m a businessman, not a politician,” Cox says...

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The Latest: Brady, Bucs dominate Chiefs 31-9...
The Latest on Super Bowl 55 (All times EST): ___ 10:12 p.m. Tom Brady threw two of his three touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski and the Tampa Bay defense frustrated Patrick Mahomes to lead the Buccaneers to an 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night for Brady’s record seventh Super Bowl title. Brady connected twice in the first half with Gronkowski to give the pair an NFL record 14 playoff TD passes and then added another...

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Boat with 422 migrants, some with COVID-19,...
ROME (AP) — A rescue ship with 422 migrants aboard, a small number of whom tested positive for COVID-19, was headed to a port in Sicily on Sunday. SOS Mediterranee, the humanitarian group which operates the rescue ship Ocean Viking, told The Associated Press that Italy had granted the vessel permission to enter the port of Augusta, where it was expected to arrive Sunday evening, just as as rain and strong winds were forecast. The migrants were rescued in...

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Next stop Mars: 3 spacecraft arriving in...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — After hurtling hundreds of millions of miles through space since last summer, three robotic explorers are ready to hit the brakes at Mars. The stakes — and anxiety — are sky high. The United Arab Emirates’ orbiter reaches Mars on Tuesday, followed less than 24 hours later by China’s orbiter-rover combo. NASA’s rover, the cosmic caboose, will arrive on the scene a week later, on Feb. 18, to collect rocks for return to Earth...

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Italy’s Draghi wins support of 2 rival...
MILAN (AP) — Italian Premier-designate Mario Draghi on Saturday secured preliminary support from two key parties for forming a new government that will decide how to spend more than 200 billion euros ($240 billion) in European Union funds to help relaunch Italy’s pandemic-ravaged economy. The populist 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League both signaled support for a Draghi-led government, saying they were ready to put aside bitter rivalries for the good of the country and increasing the potential for...

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Fiercely divided House kicks Greene off both...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A fiercely divided House has tossed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off both her committees, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Underscoring the political vise her inflammatory commentary has clamped her party into, all but 11 Republicans voted against the Democratic move Thursday but none spoke in defense of her lengthy history of outrageous social media posts. Yet in a riveting moment, the freshman Republican from a deep-red...

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Northern Virginia’s top 55+ active adult community
This content is sponsored by Van Metre Homes. It’s time for a fresh definition of what 55 and better living should be. It’s time for Birchwood at Brambleton, Northern Virginia’s top 55+ Active Adult community where your next great chapter is ready to begin. Located in Brambleton, Virginia’s #1 award-winning community, Birchwood puts you in the center of everything with restaurants, shopping, movies, daily conveniences, events and wide open spaces within minutes. Within the community, you’ll find thoughtfully designed...

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Dem-led House, drawing a line, kicks Greene...
WASHINGTON (AP) — A fiercely divided House tossed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene off both her committees Thursday, an unprecedented punishment that Democrats said she’d earned by spreading hateful and violent conspiracy theories. Underscoring the political vise her inflammatory commentary has clamped her party into, nearly all Republicans voted against the Democratic move but none defended her lengthy history of outrageous social media posts. Yet in a riveting moment, the freshman Republican from a deep-red corner of Georgia took to...

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Boeing to outsource IT work to Dell,...
SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing Co. has said it will outsource a significant amount of information technology work to Dell starting in April, including support of cloud services, databases and information technology. The move is expected to eliminate 600 jobs. Susan Doniz, vice president for information technology and data analytics for Boeing, told employees Thursday that the eliminated jobs represent about 10% of the company’s IT staff, The Seattle Times reported. Doniz said affected employees, most of whom are not...

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Social media stars sail away with sea...
London (AP) — The long forgotten sea shanty has been enjoying a renaissance on social media and is now moving into popular music with two U.K. artists landing record deals, following their online performances. Scottish postman Nathan Evans and Bristol folk band The Longest Johns signed record deals last week, with Evans even securing a No.1 record in the U.K. for his recording of the New Zealand song “Wellerman,” which he originally performed on TikTok. For some artists, the...

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