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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.

 
The Latest: NY Gov. Cuomo: Low levels...
NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the number of people hospitalized in New York with the coronavirus is dropping to the lowest levels. The Democratic governor says there were at least 646 people hospitalized in the state on Friday, a new low since March 18 and down slightly from the previous day. Daily statewide statistics show New York with more than 750 new confirmed cases. The number of reported deaths in the state rose on Friday by one,...

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Mandatory masks becoming the rule amid Europe’s...
ROME (AP) — New rules on wearing masks in England came into effect Friday, with people entering shops, banks and supermarkets now required to wear face coverings, while Romania reported a record for daily infections and new cases nearly doubled in France. People in England can be fined as much as 100 pounds ($127) by police if they refuse. The British government had given mixed signals for weeks before deciding on the policy. Places like restaurants, pubs, gyms and...

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The Latest: Dr. Birx: Stem virus surge...
WASHINGTON — White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx says recent surges in cases in the southern U.S. could make their way north. Birx told NBC’s “Today” show: “We have to change our behavior now before this virus completely moves back up through the north.” The densely packed New York metropolitan area had been the hardest-hit section of the country, but the daily number of cases and deaths declined after a strict lockdown. The number of cases has...

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The Latest: Troops to help Australia state...
MELBOURNE, Australia — The premier of Australia’s COVID-19 hot spot, Victoria state, says the military will be used to bolster contact-tracing efforts. Premier Daniel Andrews said Friday that if someone who is a newly diagnosed coronavirus case does not answer after being telephoned twice, soldiers will accompany a health official to the infected person’s home for a contact-tracing interview on the doorstep. Anyone who is not at home will likely be fined for failing to home quarantine while awaiting...

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LA Galaxy salvage 1-1 draw against Houston...
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Cristian Pavón’s penalty kick in second-half stoppage time helped the LA Galaxy salvage a 1-1 draw and prevent the Houston Dynamo from advancing to the knockout stage in the MLS is Back tournament on Thursday, The Dynamo had led since Darwin Quintero’s goal in the 17th minute but surrendered it after Maynor Figueroa fouled Diedie Traore in the penalty area. Pavón then drilled his penalty kick into the right side of the net...

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Movie theaters implore studios: Release the blockbusters
NEW YORK (AP) — A long time ago in a pre-COVID universe far, far away, blockbusters opened around the globe simultaneously or nearly so. In 1975, “Jaws” set the blueprint. Concentrate marketing. Open wide. Pack them in. Since then, Hollywood has turned opening weekends into an all-out assault. Staggered rollouts still happen, of course, but the biggest films are dropped like carpet bombs. Anything less risks losing the attention of moviegoers. Global debuts north of $300 million became commonplace....

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Russian cargo ship launched to International Space...
An uncrewed Russian cargo ship lifted off Thursday to deliver a load of supplies to the International Space Station. The Progress MS-15 was launched on schedule from Russia’s Baikonur launch complex in Kazakhstan. It has successfully reached a designated orbit and is set to dock at the station later in the day. The ship is carrying about three tons of fuel, water, food, medicine and other supplies. The station is currently operated by NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian...

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2 Mideast countries have highest confirmed virus...
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The small, neighboring sheikhdoms of Bahrain and Qatar appear to have among world’s highest per capita rates of confirmed coronavirus infections, a result of extensive testing and rapid, undetected spread through camps housing healthy and young foreign laborers, studies now show. In Qatar, a new study found that nearly 60% of those testing positive showed little or no symptoms at all, calling into question the usefulness of mass temperature checks meant to stop...

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China launches ambitious attempt to land rover...
BEIJING (AP) — China launched its most ambitious Mars mission yet on Thursday in a bold attempt to join the United States in successfully landing a spacecraft on the red planet. Engines blazing orange, a Long March-5 carrier rocket took off under clear skies around 12:40 p.m. from Hainan Island, south of China’s mainland. Hundreds of space enthusiasts cried out excitedly on a beach across the bay from the launch site. “This is a kind of hope, a kind...

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Colombia seizes properties of businessman tied to...
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Authorities in Colombia have seized a luxury mansion complete with a spa, tennis court and two pools allegedly belonging to a businessman detained in Cape Verde on U.S. corruption charges related to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The house seized Wednesday in the city of Barranquilla is purportedly worth $7.6 million and is registered under the name of a shell company but in fact belongs to Alex Saab, according to Colombia’s chief prosecutor. Six other properties...

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The Latest: Masks compulsory in Australia’s 2nd...
MELBOURNE, Australia — Wearing masks became compulsory in Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne on Thursday as coronavirus hot spot Victoria state reported 403 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and five deaths. The daily infection tally for the state was down from a record 484 posted Wednesday. Much of the spread is blamed on sick workers who do not take time off while they wait for coronavirus test results. The state government announced Thursday that workers who do not have sick...

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As restaurants endure economic losses, others feel...
WASHINGTON (AP) — Restaurants helped revive the U.S. economy after the Great Recession of 2007-2009. This time? Don’t count on it. As the nation struggles to rebound from a now-resurgent coronavirus, restaurants seem much less likely to deliver an economic boost. They’ve suffered a heavy blow from lockdowns and occupancy restrictions, and it’s unclear how readily Americans will return en masse to dining out. Consider the Barrel Room, a San Francisco wine bar and restaurant whose owner cautiously reopened...

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A whole new look, for a whole...
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — There’s no bench. The courtside broadcasters will not be courtside. And the stat crew will be doing their work inside what loosely can be described as an oversized hockey penalty box. The NBA comes back Wednesday with a very different look. The league’s marketing motto for the restart of the season at Walt Disney World is “Whole New Game,” and in many respects, that’s very true. The arenas that will be used for...

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The Latest: SKorea’s new virus cases bounce...
SEOUL, South Korea __ South Korea’s new virus cases have bounced back to above 40, a day after it reported its smallest daily jump in local COVID-19 transmissions in two months. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday it has reported 45 additional coronavirus cases over a 24-hour period. It says the additional figures brought the country’s total to 13,816 with 296 deaths. The agency says 20 of the newly recorded cases were locally infected patients...

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Son of US District Judge Esther Salas...
A gunman posing as a delivery person shot and killed the 20-year-old son of a federal judge and wounded her husband at their New Jersey home before fleeing, according to judiciary officials. The shooting occurred Sunday evening at the North Brunswick home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, and killed her son, Daniel, Chief District Judge Freda Wolfson told The Associated Press. Her husband, defense lawyer Mark Anderl, was injured in the attack, Wolfson said. Salas was in the...

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