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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.

 
Artists, activists rush to save Black Lives...
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Neither woman could bring themselves to watch the video of George Floyd’s final moments, his neck pinned under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee. But as their city grieved, Leesa Kelly and Kenda Zellner-Smith found much-needed comfort in the messages of anguish and hope that appeared on boarded-up windows as residents turned miles of plywood into canvases. Now, they’re working to save those murals before they vanish. “These walls speak,” said Zellner-Smith, who said she was too...

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Major League Soccer Champions
2020_Columbus Crew 2019_Seattle Sounders 2018_Atlanta United 2017_Toronto 2016_Seattle Sounders 2015_Portland Timbers 2014_Los Angeles Galaxy 2013_Sporting Kansas City 2012_Los Angeles Galaxy 2011_Los Angeles Galaxy 2010_Colorado Rapids 2009_Real Salt Lake 2008_Columbus Crew 2007_Houston Dynamo 2006_Houston Dynamo 2005_Los Angeles Galaxy 2004_D.C. United 2003_San Jose Earthquakes 2002_Los Angeles Galaxy 2001_San Jose Earthquakes 2000_Kansas City Wizards 1999_D.C. United 1998_Chicago Fire 1997_D.C. United 1996_D.C. United Source

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Diverse TV holiday season includes all-Asian Lifetime...
In one scene from the Lifetime TV movie, “A Sugar & Spice Holiday,” a co-worker says to Suzy, an Asian American architect in Los Angeles: “I didn’t know if Christmas was a big deal where you’re from.” Retorts Suzy: “I’m from Maine.” A lot of viewers of a cozy Christmas film might just shrug off the insinuation that Suzy is somehow not American. But for an Asian audience, that brief exchange is a knowing reminder that microaggressions don’t take...

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The NBA preseason begins, with empty arenas...
John Wall was back on the floor for the first time in nearly two years. DeMarcus Cousins played for the first time since the 2019 NBA Finals. And the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers were home, with nobody there to watch. The NBA preseason — a truncated 49-game, nine-day sprint — opened Friday with a five-game slate, action returning to NBA arenas for the first time in exactly nine months. Coaches debuted with their new teams: Stephen Silas with...

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AP sources: Phillies hire Dombrowski to lead...
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies have hired longtime baseball executive Dave Dombrowski as president of baseball operations, according to two people familiar with the decision. The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday night because the team hadn’t announced the move. An official announcement is expected Friday, according to one of the people. Andy MacPhail is the Phillies’ current president and has planned to retire after the 2021 season. He said in October he...

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The Latest: UK: 2 people report allergic...
LONDON — British regulators warned that people with a history of serious allergic reactions shouldn’t receive the new Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine while they investigate two adverse reactions on the first day of the country’s mass vaccination program. The U.K.’s Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is looking into whether the reactions were linked to the vaccine. The two people affected were staff members with the National Health Service who had a history of allergies, and both are recovering. Authorities have...

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Capsule with asteroid samples arrives in Japan...
TOKYO (AP) — A small capsule containing asteroid soil samples that was dropped from space by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft and landed in the Australian Outback arrived Tuesday in Japan for research into the origin of the solar system and life on Earth. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said its capsule, tightly sealed and carefully stored in a container box, arrived in Japan on a flight from Australia attended by a group of JAXA officials and was later taken its...

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Bahrain now 2nd nation to grant Pfizer...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The island kingdom of Bahrain said it has become the second nation in the world to grant an emergency-use authorization for the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. The state-run Bahrain News Agency made the announcement on Friday night, following an earlier announcement by the United Kingdom on Wednesday, making Britain the first in the world. “The confirmation of approval by the National Health Regulatory Authority of the kingdom...

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Saudi FM says ‘final agreement’ in Qatar...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has express optimism that the ongoing boycott of Qatar by four Arab nations may be nearing an end. Prince Farhan bin Farhan made the comment to the Italy’s annual Mediterranean Dialogues on Friday. He said: “We hope this progress can lead to a final agreement that looks in reach.” THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait on Friday...

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If these walls could talk
For many tourists, a stroll through Rome’s famous Piazza del Popolo is an opportunity to take in beautiful architecture, get some fresh air, and enjoy a little people-watching. What may not be top of mind is that the place has a much darker side: It was used for public executions by hanging. ElDante Winston doesn’t overlook this fact. The PhD student in MIT’s History, Theory and Criticism of Architecture and Art program is keenly interested in how spaces designed...

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China says probe sent to retrieve lunar...
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese robot probe launched to return lunar rocks to Earth landed on the moon Tuesday, the government announced. The Chang’e 5 probe “successfully landed on the moon in the pre-selected landing area,” the official China News Service said, citing space officials. The one-sentence report gave no more details. The probe adds to a string of increasingly ambitious missions by a Chinese space program that aims eventually to land a human on the moon. Source

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The Latest: Madrid to open hospital for...
MADRID — Madrid officials held a ceremony to open part of a 1,000-bed hospital for emergencies. About 200 health professionals gathered Tuesday at the Nurse Isabel Zendal Hospital, built in 100 days at a cost of 100 million euros ($119 million), twice the original budget. Health workers’ unions say the investment should had instead gone to shore up an existing public health system run down by years of spending cuts. The regional Madrid president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, says it...

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Headed to Delaware beaches next year? Bring...
When you head to Rehoboth, Bethany or Fenwick next year, be aware: A ban on plastic carryout bags starts in larger stores, including grocery and convenience stores, Jan. 1. You won’t find single-use plastic bags at larger Delaware stores — those over 7,000 square feet, or those with at least three locations that are 3,000 square feet or more. That means you won’t see them in grocery stores, pharmacies or big box stores. You’ll need to either bring or...

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Many turn to real Christmas trees as...
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Ani Sirois, a respiratory nurse, has spent months caring for coronavirus patients at a Portland, Oregon, hospital, and she’s only getting busier as infections — and hospitalizations — surge before the holidays. But on a recent sunny day, COVID-19 seemed far away as she, her husband and their 2-year-old daughter roamed a Christmas tree farm in search of the perfect evergreen for a holiday season unlike any other. The family was tree-shopping nearly a week...

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AP source: VanVleet staying with Raptors; Hayward...
Fred VanVleet bet on himself. It paid off. Gordon Hayward, meanwhile, is heading to a new home. VanVleet agreed Saturday to a four-year, $85 million contract to remain with the Toronto Raptors, a person with direct knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the contract remains unsigned. The fourth year of the contract is at VanVleet’s option. The Charlotte Hornets have wanted Hayward for years. On Saturday, they finally landed him, according to...

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