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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.

 
A Swedish artist’s model house could soon...
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish artist is about to have the dream of a lifetime fulfilled: a little red model house he created will be launched into space this week and, if all goes according to plan, put on the surface of the moon. The Moonhouse, the size of a big hand, will hitch a ride to the moon on a lunar lander operated by the Japanese company ispace. It’s set for takeoff on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from...

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The Latest: Wind conditions are expected to...
After making some progress battling wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people in the Los Angeles area, firefighters are preparing for a return of dangerous winds that could again stoke the flames Monday. Here’s the latest: Beyoncé donates $2.5 million to Los Angeles-area wildfire relief Beyoncé has contributed $2.5 million to a newly launched LA Fire Relief Fund created by her charitable foundation, BeyGOOD. The announcement was posted on the BeyGOOD foundation Instagram account...

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Beyoncé donates $2.5 million to fire relief...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Weaker winds and intense firefighting efforts over the weekend boosted containment of fires burning in and around Los Angeles, but the effects of the blazes on the entertainment world continue. Several projects and awards shows have been delayed, with the Producers Guild opting not to announce its nominations Sunday due to ongoing effects of the fire. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, also announced she would not launch a Netflix lifestyles program until March. Celebrities and...

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During the NFL playoffs, NBC offers a...
NBC offered up a reminder of sorts during the NFL playoffs on Sunday night: The NBA is on its way back to its platforms next season. NBC Sports debuted a promotional spot for its upcoming NBA coverage during halftime of the Washington-Tampa Bay wild-card game. The spot — featuring Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama and Boston’s Jayson Tatum — is NBC’s first with original content including NBA players since the league’s new series of TV deals were...

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Los Angeles tree advocates wait and hope...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — People across Los Angeles have worked for years to increase the number of trees that shade the pavement, provide a respite for people and even clean some air pollution. They’ve confronted increasing drought, bad tree-trimming and objections from some neighbors who resent the leaves and sap. Now they wonder what January’s fires have done to their efforts. Bryan Vejar, associate director of community forestry for TreePeople, an environmental nonprofit that works to expand tree equity...

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President-elect Trump, Gov. Youngkin discuss drone response,...
President-elect Donald Trump listens as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP Photo/Evan Vucci President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP Photo/Evan Vucci President-elect Donald Trump speaks as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin listens during a meeting with Republican governors at Mar-a-Lago, Thursday, Jan. 9,...

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The California wildfires could be leaving deeper...
ALTADENA, Calif. (AP) — The sight of celebrity mansions and movie landmarks reduced to ashes can make it seem like the wildfires roaring through the Los Angeles area affected a constellation of movie stars. But a drive through the charred neighborhoods around Altadena shows that the fires also burned through a remarkable haven for generations of Black families avoiding discriminatory housing practices elsewhere. They have been communities of racial and economic diversity, where many people own their own homes....

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Fires burn Los Angeles schools and destroy...
For Irina Contreras, a program manager for Los Angeles County’s Department of Arts and Culture, outdoor education was a refuge for both her and her daughter during the pandemic. Now, much of that refuge has been burned in the raging wildfires around Los Angeles. Her 7-year-old daughter, Ceiba, hikes with a kid’s adventure group called Hawks and attended Matilija, a bilingual forest school for preschool and kindergarten. Rain or shine, she and her friends would spend their days climbing,...

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What ignited the deadly California wildfires? Investigators...
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Investigators are considering an array of possible ignition sources for the huge fires that have killed at least 16 people and destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in the Los Angeles area. In hilly, upscale Pacific Palisades, home to Hollywood stars like Jamie Lee Curtis and Billy Crystal who lost houses in the fire, officials have placed the origin of the wind-whipped blaze behind a home on Piedra Morada Drive, which sits above a densely...

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Photo Credit: Craig Dudek Photo Credit: Craig Dudek This article contains references to products from our advertisers and/or partners, and we may receive compensation when you click on links to products and services Step into the action with Sleeper promo code WTOP and lock in bonuses for NFL Wild Card Weekend. New users who play $5 on the NFL will win bonus cash automatically. Click here to start signing up. Locking in a $5 play on any NFL game...

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Devils score an overtime power-play goal to...
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Stefan Noesen scored a power-play goal in overtime and Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Saturday night. Ondrej Palat and Jack Hughes also scored for New Jersey, which was coming off a 1-4-1 road trip since a 4-2 win over Carolina at home on Dec. 27. Markstrom is 21-8-3 in his first season with the Devils. Noesen got his 17th goal 3:19 into the...

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How a week of weather extremes upended...
It was a week of fire and ice. It began with millions of people across the U.S. shivering amid blizzard conditions and frigid air that lasted for days, thanks to a jet stream that slips out of its usual path more often these days. Then, catastrophe in California, with wind-whipped flames taking off in a landscape parched by months of drought to become Los Angeles’ worst-ever wildfires. To cap it off, major weather monitoring agencies confirmed 2024 as the...

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Many Democrats don’t think they’ll see a...
NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats are harboring strong feelings of stress and gloom as the new year begins. And many are questioning whether their party’s commitment to diverse candidates — especially women — may lead to further political struggles in the Donald Trump era. A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that a significant number of Democrats believe that it may be decades before the United States will get its first female president....

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With their Los Angeles-area homes still smoldering,...
A plume of smoke rises from the Palisades Fire on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)(AP/John Locher) A plume of smoke rises from the Palisades Fire on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/John Locher)(AP/John Locher) LOS ANGELES (AP) — Many watched their homes burn on television in a state of shock. Since the flames erupted in and around Los Angeles, scores of...

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Firefighters battle devastating Los Angeles wildfires as...
Firefighters work from a deck as the Palisades Fire burns a beach front property Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)(AP/Etienne Laurent) Firefighters work from a deck as the Palisades Fire burns a beach front property Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025 in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)(AP/Etienne Laurent) LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters battled early Thursday to control major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to...

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