RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (CBSNewYork)   He confessed to murder and served more than three decades behind bars, all for a crime, it turns out, he didn't commit. The courtroom erupted in cheers Wednesday when a judge overturned the decades-old conviction of Keith Bush, following a dramatic reversal by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. Bush hugged his lawyer and said he hoped and prayed for this day since he was 18 years old, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported. For 44 years, Bush maintained his innocence and on Wednesday was finally cleared in the murder and attempted rape of a teenage girl in 1975. Bush, now 62, spent 33 years behind bars. MORE : Wrongly Convicted Man Graduates With Law Degree, Plans To Keep Helping Others The Justice System Failed He was 17 and at a house party in North Bellport when police arrested him in the killing of 14-year-old Sherese Watson, who was found strangled and stabbed near the house. Over the years, Bush and his lawyers made several attempts to get him exonerated. Only recently new evidence came to light after months of investigating. In court, the judge said Bush was denied a fair trial and that there has since been newly discovered evidence of another potential murder suspect. "We believe Keith Bush did not commit this murder," Suffolk County DA Timothy Sini said. "We believe that John Jones is a more probable suspect." The judge said he could not give Bush back what was taken from him, but could restore his presumption of innocence. MORE : Exclusive: Wrongfully Convicted Marty Tankleff Says $10M Settlement Doesn't Make Up For 'Everything That I've Lost In Life' After serving his time, Bush was released from prison in 2007, but had been on lifetime parole since. Even after getting out he said he never felt free. He had to register as a high-risk sex offender, but Wednesday he was cleared. Bush said he lived a long time with hurt and pain and no one would hear him out. Finally, someone listened to him. Officials said this is one of the longest running wrongful conviction cases in U.S. history.


BALTIMORE (WJZ)   Officers with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 12 illegal immigrants during a four-day sting. The 11 men and one woman arrested were from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Mexico and Zimbabwe. "Today's announcement reflects the agency's commitment to enforcing our immigration laws in an orderly and logical manner as we experience increasing strain on our limited resources," said Baltimore Field Office Director (FOD) Diane Witte. "The illegal aliens targeted for arrest today came to the attention of our fugitive operations teams by way of the criminal justice system, and by nature of their outstanding orders of removal." The immigrants were arrested for violating the Immigration and Nationality Act . Those targeted for arrest had been issued final orders of removal within the past five years and had criminal histories or pending criminal charges. "Operating in an environment with increasingly limited cooperation from local jurisdictions creates an equally increasing need to arrest fugitives within the communities in which they live and work. When illegal criminal aliens are released from jails into the community despite the presence of an ICE detainer, we see the compromise of public safety and officer safety, as well as the potential for encountering additional individuals previously unknown to ICE who are illegally present in the United States," said Witte.


Because Northwestern football is just 41 days away. THE INTERSECTION OF RIDGE AND NOYES, EVANSTON   I can't put my finger on the exact reason why, I just know that every year around this time, I start to think about college football again. Like clockwork, the butterflies return to my stomach and my mind peeks forward to the end of summer, wandering to stadiums and college-towns, to tailgates and Saturdays in the fall. Maybe it's the smell of hot dogs in a crowded parking lot or the omnipresent whiff of beer that only comes in racks of 30. Maybe it's the sight of fans walking through the streets on their way to the game, still brimming with anticipatory excitement and an extra bounce in their step. Maybe it's the feeling of tilting your head upward and staring at hulking stadiums that dot the country and define that towns that house them. Maybe it's the togetherness of communal urinals and triumphant roars. Maybe it's the routine of waking up, turning on College GameDay and fantasizing about where my team fits into the jigsaw puzzle. Regardless, it's football. It's college football. We love it. We'll miss it when it's gone again. The funny thing about my relationship with college football is that I didn't really care about it until three years ago, when I went to college myself. I liked college football as a form of entertainment, but that was about the extent of it. Until I came to Northwestern, I didn't breathe college football. It was what I watched, not a part of who I was. Now, it's mid-July and my thoughts involuntarily drift to college football, especially as media days lead into fall camp. I have morphed from a willing viewer to a full-blown fanatic. This enthralling, stupid, hilarious spectacle of a sport is intoxicating. The main reason I'm writing this is because I'm an impatient person, and I needed a way to channel all of these things at a time when there's CFB buzz percolating but not enough to satisfy my appetite (that will come August 31   sorry Week 0). Someone might read this and think, "This is Northwestern, they have no shot to win a national title!" Whatever dude. You're right (although the fan in me still says there's a sliver of a chance), but that's not why we watch. That's not what this whole thing is about. It's about seeing Pat Fitzgerald dart out of the tunnel for the same school he once helped bring to Pasadena. We call him Fitz, and we do it in a manner so casual he might as well be one of our good friends. It's about that exasperated yet predictable facepalm that all NU fans collectively do when Mick McCall runs the speed option on third-and-five after two runs up the middle on first and second down. It's like when you see a car accident about to happen and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Unfortunately, we've seen this transpire all too often. It's about seeing the cozy purple corner of Lucas Oil Stadium erupt when Ohio State is on its heels in the second half of the Big Ten title game. The freaking Big Ten title game! Sadly, it's also about Northern Illinois, Illinois State and Akron, and the existential questions that invariably follow. It's about replacing the 'w' in Io_a with an underscore. It's about irrationally caring about a top hat bolted to a metal board once a year. It's about living and dying by a team with thousands of other people who instinctively add The Ball Carrier to the end of our star running back's name. It's about hearing the mythical lore stories about when GameDay came to Evanston in 2013, even if Kain Colter came up short on fourth down. It's about knowing what you'll be doing for four hours for 12 Saturdays every fall, and passionately hoping it's 13 or 14 or 15. It's about that fleeting feeling when you stand up and yell after Bennett Skowronek pops up off the Kinnick Stadium turf holding the football, knowing Northwestern's on the precipice of seizing the West. It's about treating fourth downs like third downs, and treating field goals like roller-coaster rides. It's about a season of tremendous fun and stress and heartbreak, a season that lifts us up, punches us in the gut and keeps us sane all the same. It's about Fitz, it's about me and it's about you. It's about us, and it's about spending the fall together, even if we're on opposite coasts when the 'Cats are playing. Maybe you think about college football differently. That's totally fine. To each their own. But for us die-hards, we're so close. Football is around the corner. More importantly, Northwestern football is around the corner. And it can't come soon enough. Here's to (almost) making it through the offseason. Beat Stanford.


Ready for paradise? Plan a visit to one of these destinations there's a reason they're the most popular beaches on the globe. Finding the most popular beaches Thanks to Instagram and Travel Supermarket, a UK-based price comparison site, it's easy to track some of the planet's most popular. After cross-referencing TripAdvisor ratings with a thorough review of #beach hashtags on Instagram, the following 12 most-visited beaches emerged supreme. Take a peek at the dozen most popular stretches of shoreline in the world and start adding favorites to your beach bucket list. Here's a shock: When people voted for the best beach in the United States, this place beat out Hawaii . Whitehaven Beach, Australia Accessible only by boat, helicopter, or seaplane, this four-mile stretch of sand on Whitsunday Island is the most Instagrammed beach in the world. Quartz-like and bright white, the sand here doesn't retain heat the way most other types of sand do, making it easy to walk barefoot comfortably all day. Camp facilities are provided for overnight visitors, but plan ahead for reservations as this slice of paradise is in high demand. Fun fact: Some say the sand here was used to make the glass used in the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1970s, but NASA has never verified this claim. Lanikai Beach, Hawaii Its name means heavenly sea, and one look at this beach on the eastern shores of Oahu and it's clear its moniker is a perfect fit. A bit tricky to find, the access point is tucked between residential homes in a neighborhood called Lanikai in Kailua. Once there, the powdery white sand and turquoise waters are some of Hawaii's best. Perfectly situated for sunrise watching, erosion has taken Lanikai Beach from one mile long to about half that, but its beauty is still unparalleled, with picture-perfect views of two tropical islands just offshore. The calm water is perfect for kayaking, but snorkelers love it for its reefs and the stillness of the water. The closest bathrooms, picnic tables, and outdoor showers are nearby at Kailua Beach Park. Horseshoe Bay, Bermuda This crescent-shaped stretch of rosy pink sandy beach a blend of crushed coral, coral, and calcium carbonate is Bermuda's most famous, and with good reason. The dramatic rock formations surrounding the crystal-clear water are home to hidden caves and coves perfect for adventure seekers. Climb to the top of the tallest rock formation to catch a stellar sunrise. For little ones, the enclosed part of the bay known as Port Royal Cove keeps the big waves out. Beach chairs, umbrellas, paddle boards, and more are available for rent. Cayo Coco Beach, Cuba This island just north of mainland Cuba boasts ultra fine white sand and shallow, aquamarine water where wild flamingos can often be seen sunbathing. Named after the white ibis known in Cuba as coco (coconut) birds, Cayo Coco Beach was the setting for several scenes in Hemingway's Islands in the Stream and The Old Man and the Sea . The cays here are protected by a stunning coral reef that ensures calm beaches and makes this a top spot for diving and snorkeling. Many all-inclusive resorts on the island provide a bevy of watersports. Bávaro Beach, Dominican Republic Where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean on the Dominican Republic's east coast, the water is always warm, and the soft white sand goes on for miles. While some parts of this beach are lined with resorts and the balmy breezes are just strong enough for windsurfing, other stretches are calm and clear, with nary a crowd or wave in sight. Wherever you go, tropical palm trees shoot out of the sand, providing cooling shade from the hot Caribbean sun. Local artisans sell handmade arts and crafts at a central point known as Plaza Bávaro, while vendors near the resort area walk up and down the beach offering beachgoers everything from cool drinks to shiny trinkets. Boulders Beach, South Africa One of Cape Town's most visited beaches, Boulders Beach is the only place in the world where you can get up close to African penguins. The sheltered beach is made up of inlets nestled between granite boulders, earning the beach its name. Three wheelchair-friendly boardwalks ensure anyone can catch a glimpse of these charming tuxedoed birds as they waddle about. Kids especially love climbing over the boulders, exploring the rock pools, and swimming in the clear False Bay water. Now an endangered species, the African penguins here are protected in part by a conservation fee you contribute of 65 Rand (about $4.50). Bournemouth Beach, United Kingdom Who says you can't find a gorgeous stretch of coastline in England? Seven miles of golden sands across four separate beach areas comprise Bournemouth Beach, hugging a coastal resort town that bears the same name. Nestled beneath a dramatic cliff, the bay enjoys some of the warmest sea temperatures in the UK and stunning views of the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Purbeck. Visit in August and catch the Bournemouth Air Festival, a free, four-day event featuring amazing flight displays and live entertainment. Long piers jet out over the ocean, making it easy to spend a day fishing or watching the surfers tackle the waves farther offshore. Pink Sands Beach, Bahamas One of the most unusual beaches in the world, the three-mile Pink Sands Beach is also one of the only beaches in the Bahamas where you can go horseback riding. On the eastern shores of Harbour Island, the light pink sand that serves as this beach's claim to fame is really thousands of broken coral pieces, shells, and calcium carbonate materials left behind by foraminifera, tiny marine creatures with red and pink shells that live in the coral reefs surrounding the beach. With calm, translucent water, Pink Sands Beach is also popular for swimming and snorkeling. The island itself is home to several charming, luxury hideaways perfect for a romantic getaway. Ao Nang Beach, Thailand Smack in the center of a popular resort town, Ao Nang Beach is known as one of the best places in the world to watch the sunset over the horizon. The low tide creates a ripple effect in the water as the waves recede from the shore, leaving behind a glistening layer of soft sand. Ao Nang is also a popular departure point for unique long-tail boats that whisk visitors to nearby islands. Hotels, shops, and restaurants line the road that hugs the shoreline, making it easy to spend a night or a week taking in the beach views. Playa Paraiso Beach, Mexico Only about a mile south of the Tulum ruins, this beach offers a perfect way to start or end a day exploring the ruins. Even with an average of 290 days of sunshine and a coral reef just offshore that's perfect for divers and snorkelers, it's the remote feel of this picture-perfect beach that's the key draw here. Towering palm trees with curved necks and rustic thatched-roof huts to shade beachgoers from the sun are pretty much all that dots the stunning white sandy beach, yet it's the aqua waters that are the real star of the show. Dreamland Beach, Indonesia The limestone cliffs that cradle the rugged coastline of the southern Bukit Peninsula near Bali give this stunning beach a secluded feel. The beach itself boasts strong currents offshore and significant breaks that lure surfers from all over the world. But who wants to deal with either when you can just lie on the sand, take in the incredible view, and indulge in an inexpensive massage for less than $7? Grace Bay, Turks and Caicos This idyllic, family friendly, 13-mile stretch of Caribbean coastline boasts warm, shallow water that stretches into the sea, allowing beachgoers to walk out quite far while remaining above water, hence those picture-perfect Instagram shots. Lavish resorts can be found up and down Grace Bay Beach, each one offering everything from parasailing to catamaran cruises and everything in between. But with a beach this gorgeous, the best thing to do is dig your toes int he sand under the shade of a casuarina tree and practice the art of relaxation. Avid divers love the mammoth undersea Wall off Grand Turk.


Automotive scion Lee Iacocca, known best for developing the Ford Mustang and yanking Chrysler Corp from the brink of bankruptcy in the 1980s, has died. He was 94. His appearances in television ads challenging consumers, "If you can find a better car, buy it," made him a presence in every household during prime time, noted TMZ . The cause of death was not given, Market News reported. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.


A Utah Judge who's been on the bench in Taylorsville for more than 20 years has been suspended for six months without pay over Facebook post slamming President Trump's "inability to govern and political incompetence." Utah Supreme Court Justice John A. Pearce concluded in an opinion posted Wednesday that Judge Michael Kwan's politically-charged posts on both his Facebook and LinkedIn accounts in 2016 and 2017 were in violation of the judicial code of conduct and diminished the "reputation of our entire judiciary." "Welcome to the beginning of the fascist takeover," a post from February 2017 read. "We need to be diligent in questioning Congressional Republicans if they are going to be the American Reichstag and refuse to stand up for the Constitution, refuse to uphold their oath of office and enable the tyrants to consolidate their power." On Inauguration Day, he posted: "Welcome to governing. Will you dig your heels in and spend the next four years undermining our country's reputation and standing world? … Will you continue to demonstrate your inability to govern and political incompetence?" Pearce added that while Kwan's accounts were set to private, his friends were still able to share what he posted. "Judge Kwan's behavior denigrates his reputation as an impartial independent, dignified and courteous jurist who takes no advantage of the office in which he serves," the opinion read. Pearce also noted in the 19-page document that Kwan's Facebook posts are among several other issues raised about his conduct, which include making politically charged comments in the courtroom. He once told a defendant who planned to use a tax refund to pay off his court fines that Trump's tax cuts would result in no refunds. "You do realize we have a new president, and you think we are getting any money back?" he asked the defendant, who responded saying they were still praying for the refund. "Okay. Prayer might be the answer. 'Cause he just signed an order to start building the wall and he has no money to do that, and so if you think that you are going to get taxes back this year, uh yeah, maybe, maybe not. But don't worry there's a tax cut for the wealthy so if you make over $500,000 you're getting a tax cut. You're right there? Pretty Close?" he said according to Pearce's opinion. Kwan has been a justice court judge in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville since 1998. He typically handles misdemeanor cases, violations of ordinances and small claims. Greg Skrodas, Kwan's attorney said they were disappointed with the lengthy suspension but acknowledge they were always expected some type of disciplinary action. He defended he client, saying Kwan felt very strongly about the results of the 2016 election and made his remarks "in haste." "He certainly regrets making those statements and is committed to not doing anything like that again," he said. Taylorsville officials accepted the punishment and agreed to allow Kwan to return to the bench following his six-month punishment. With News Wire Services


It was the moment his family had been anticipating. It just came a little early. Air National Guard Master Sgt. Patrick Gallagher had been deployed overseas for the better part of the past seven months. It's neither the first time he been away from his family   he's been deployed many times over nearly 30 years of military service   nor his first homecoming. But this was the first time Sgt. Gallagher was able to surprise his kids when they weren't expecting him to be home. "I've done this many, many times," Sgt. Gallagher said Friday. "From the moment you leave, what you look forward to the most is coming back to your family. This one was pretty special." Sgt. Gallagher arrived Friday morning at Aquinas Academy in Greensburg, where he had an emotional reunion with his sons, 18-year-old Connor and 11-year-old Liam. Liam is a sixth-grader at Aquinas, and Connor, a junior at Greensburg Central Catholic, was at the school because he was supposed to be volunteering for a school-wide activity called The Crusade. The boys, though, became the center of attention when their father walked in during the assembly. "In that moment I was just in shock," Connor said. "I just felt really good, and I was excited to see him. I usually am not the one to cry, and I cried a lot." Air National Guard Master Sgt. Patrick Gallagher, hugs his wife Christine, as their sons Liam, 11, and Connor, 18, hug after Patrick surprised them during an assembly at Aquinas Academy after a 7-month deployment to Afghanistan and Guam on Friday, May 17, 2019. (Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette) The family had last been together during the Christmas holidays while Sgt. Gallagher was home for a short time between three-month deployments to Afghanistan and Guam. Sgt. Gallagher's wife, Christine, asked Aqunias Principal Joe Rice earlier whether it would be OK for her husband to meet the boys at the school. Mr. Rice was fine with the plan, but came up with the idea of surprising them. Connor and Liam were expecting their father to arrive Friday, but Ms. Gallagher told them his flight had been delayed and it would take another day or two for him to get home. Ms. Gallagher said Liam was in a bad mood after hearing that. Liam's mood changed quickly when his father walked into the assembly. It was a special moment for the whole family. "When I saw him just go to his dad ... I just started crying," Ms. Gallagher said. "I was happy because we're together." Andrew Goldstein: agoldstein@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1352.


Editor's note: The opinions in this article are the author's, as published by our content partner, and do not necessarily represent the views of MSN or Microsoft. As the beneficiary of simultaneous attacks by both President Donald Trump from the right and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from the left, former Vice President Joe Biden could not have orchestrated it better. The good fortune of being caught in the crossfire of the polarized partisans defines Biden for who he is the real progressive, just as he claims . And this may explain why Biden, with his unique reach across constituencies, towers over rivals in the latest polls . To the consternation of Trump's advisors, his made-for-TV taunts have accelerated Biden's transcendence over his two dozen Democratic primary rivals as Trump seems fearful Biden is the sole candidate who can beat him. When Trump targeted Biden during a rally in Pennsylvania, asserting that Biden had abandoned Pennsylvania for Delaware, Biden responded that he had to move from Scranton at age 10 because his father needed to find work. "I've never forgotten where I came from," Biden wrote in a fundraising email, adding that Trump "doesn't understand the struggles working folks go through." Days earlier, Ocasio-Cortez seemingly blasted Biden for being too centrist on climate change, charging, "I will be damned if the same politicians who refused to act then are going to try to come back today and say we need to find a middle-of-the-road approach to save our lives." This 29-year-old freshman Democrat helped market the Green New Deal and celebrated helping to drive Amazon HQ2 with its 25,000 new jobs out of New York. She decried the $3 billion in tax incentives, insisting that money should be spent elsewhere (perhaps not realizing that such funds were not cash piles to Amazon but rather projections of tax reductions in anticipated future revenues from Amazon). A survey of 700 voters in New York showed that more than a third of New Yorkers polled blamed her for this needed lost investment with the so-called progressives behind her truly being the minority. New York Times columnist Bret Stephens suggested that Biden should welcome such attacks from Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and the voters supporting them. Stephens identified such opportunities as Sister Souljah moments harkening back to when candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 rebuked singer and activist Lisa Williamson (Sister Souljah) for reverse racism. As Stephen writes, Clinton seized this opportunity to distance himself from his party's fringe and win the election, including with 83% of the African American vote. While Biden is neither a Trump Republican nor an Ocasio-Cortez Democrat, is it fair for him to claim he is genuine progressive? Yes, because the term is often misunderstood and misused. New age Democrats cannot simply redefine the term "progressive," an existing political brand. The Progressive movement in American politics, which grew out of the Progressive Era a century ago, was defined by centrist unifying social activism across communities and it spanned Republican and Democratic parties. In examining Biden's record as a senator from 1973 to 2009, Biden was consistently ranked among the 25 most liberal senators and in the middle of the Democrat's ideological spectrum. His progressive initiatives have had a lasting impact: Biden promoted the first bills fighting climate change and supported clean energy investment, authored the Violence Against Women Act, triumphed over the NRA with an assault weapon ban, and provided the diplomatic skill to get the Affordable Care Act ratified. While he has been widely decried for his Judiciary Committee chairmanship of the Clarence Thomas hearings, Biden expressed regret for how Anita Hill's case against Thomas was handled. Progress through common ground is real progressivism and, most importantly, Biden knows how to bring disparate parties together to achieve progress. In 2011, President Barack Obama and Senator Mitch McConnell were in a stalemate over debt financing with the government approaching default. Just as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner prepared for the certain market crash to follow from the breakdown, Biden was called in to triumphantly negotiate the deal. When Bernie Sanders criticizes top performing Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger over executive pay standard for his industry, what progress does that grandstanding produce? And when media darling Ocasio-Cortez drives away coveted jobs and prestige from her own district, what does that accomplish except more personal media attention? At best, when we move beyond the grandiosity, there is a social change agenda of today's self-styled progressives. They often address virtuous workplace, education, healthcare, and income disparity concerns, but then indiscriminately finger corporations and government as villains, over larger structural issues in society. This parallels the early 20th century institutional attacks by Eugene V. Debs, a proud socialist not a progressive. Trump's base also channels anti-institutional themes laced with racism, isolationism, anti-northeast, and anti-intellectualism in what echoes Millard Fillmore's xenophobic No Nothing political party and the agrarian populism of Georgia's Tom Watson of the same period. Authentic 20th century progressives, by contrast, were centrist reformers and included moderate Democrats and forward-looking Republicans like Wisconsin Senator Robert LaFollett and Democrats like Montana Senator Burton K. Wheeler. They were running mates as President and Vice President candidates nominated at the Progressive Party's first national convention in 1924. As progressives, they transcended party differences to champion the construction of highways and bridges while protecting forests, cleaning up pollution from cities, improving unsafe workplaces with efficient factories and scientific management, and celebrating technological inventors. This was done while also welcoming new immigrants, offering settlement houses to orient them, and giving new arrivals a shot at the American dream. Rather than drive wedges between groups based on their backgrounds, the progressives stood for national unity and shared values. Biden is neither socialist not populist. He is the true American progressive. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld is the senior associate dean and the Lester Crown professor of management practice at the Yale School of Management. More opinion in Fortune :   Joe Biden is wrong. Businesses will and want to pay for Medicare for All   Breaking up Facebook 'won't be enough,' says Morgan Stanley boss. Here's his proposal  Why we need a public health insurance option  The number of men uncomfortable mentoring women is growing  Why the U.S.-China trade war won't be ending anytime soon Listen to our new audio briefing, Fortune 500 Daily


Houston will see a return of last week's warm temperatures in the coming days, according to drone-powered weather forecasting service Saildrone . Temperatures will reach a high of 88 degrees on Wednesday. The immediate forecast also includes a chance of rain. The greatest chance of rain is predicted on Tuesday at 52 percent. Skies will be cloudy tomorrow, and mostly cloudy on Thursday. Winds are expected to reach a modest high of 13 miles per ho today, but will weaken beginning on Wednesday. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


We owe a debt of gratitude to decades of scientific research and development. Inventions inspired by space exploration Space research and development is useful in many ways here on Earth, influencing everything from health care to selfies. These technologies have long been chronicled in Spinoff, NASA's premier publication. Here are just a few of the nearly 2,000 products that have been profiled. Air purification In the '90s when NASA began studying whether or not astronauts would be able to survive long-term space missions, the research resulted in an air purification technology that is now widely used by consumers today. Athletic shoes A process referred to as "blow rubber molding" used in producing helmets was applied to create hollow shoe soles to be filled with shock-absorbing materials. That's one small step for astronauts, one giant leap for athletes. Artificial limbs NASA's innovations in robotics and shock-absorption enable the private sector to create solutions for animal and human prostheses. Baby formula Over 90 percent of baby formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment ingredient that is the result of NASA-sponsored research that "explored the potential of algae as a recycling agent for long-duration space travel," according to a description in the 1981 edition of Spinoff. Camera phones Back in the 1990s, a team from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory worked to create a camera small enough to fit on a spacecraft. Today, a third of all cameras contain this technology. CT scans and MRIs NASA scientists pioneered digital signal processing to produce computer-improved images of the Moon during various Apollo missions. That breakthrough is the basis for the machinery used for CT scans and MRIs. Cordless vacuums and power tools Your cordless, handheld tools were inspired by a portable drill used to extract core samples from below the surface of the moon. The computer program used to develop that drill for the Apollo and Gemini space missions was designed by none other than Black & Decker, creators of the DustBuster and other cordless tools. Deicing systems The next time your December flight from New York to Chicago arrives on time, you can thank NASA for Thermawing, "a reliable anti-icing and deicing system (that) allows pilots to safely fly through ice encounters and provides pilots of single-engine aircraft the heated wing technology usually reserved for larger, jet-powered craft." Ear thermometers An aural thermometer developed by Diatek Corporation and NASA uses infrared astronomy technology to measure the amount of energy emitted by the eardrum the same way the temperature of stars and planets is measured. GPS navigation According to Spinoff, "NASA monitors the integrity of global GPS data in real time for the U.S. Air Force, which administers the positioning service worldwide." So whether you need directions to your vacation stops or you're a member of the military seeking specific coordinates, precise navigation is available thanks to NASA. Invisible braces NASA partnered with Ceradyne Inc. to create a translucent polycrystalline alumina to protect the infrared antennae of heat-seeking missile trackers. This material became the critical component of the first "invisible" dental braces. Freeze-dried food The technology behind this food preparation created for astronauts is widely used today. Mylar Anyone who has seen a marathon or any other long race has probably noticed the Mylar blankets used to cover the runners once they crossed the finish line. According to PBS, Mylar was invented in the 1950s to protect NASA's spacecraft from the sun's heat and to also keep them insulated. Olympic swimsuits Flying through space and swimming through water can be such a drag, literally. After the 2004 Olympics, SpeedoUSA asked NASA to help design a swimsuit with reduced viscous drag. The resulting LZR Racer provides extra compression in key areas to help a swimmer use less energy to swim faster. Scratch-resistant lenses Work done at Ames Research Center on coatings for astronaut helmet visors inspired some of the earliest research into effective scratch-resistant coatings for prescription and sunglass lenses. Solar panels Solar panels lit up the space exploration scene in the early '80s, and the technology has been further enhanced for both space and commercial use today. Temper foam Originally designed to improve crash protection, the material known as "memory foam" has been incorporated into household products such as mattresses and pillows. It is also being used by NASCAR to provide added safety in racecars.


After a late kickoff in the Pacific Northwest, there has been a little time to digest the Denver Broncos' 22-14 loss in the preseason to the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night. This game featured Broncos fans being subjected to watching Paxton Lynch, the same guy who looked like he didn't belong in the league during his time with the Broncos, look like a star. The man tabbed as the future of the franchise, much as Lynch once was, Drew Lock will not appear on either list here after a mixed bag in this game. He had some poor throws and an interception, but he did finally lead the team on a touchdown drive. It is refreshing to see the team giving him so much work. There is no reason not to. However, he's a long-term project, and it shows. Winner: Malik Reed (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports) Reed's young career is off to a terrific start, regardless of the level of competition he is up against. The undrafted linebacker out of Nevada is making plays all over the field and seems to have gained the respect of his teammates. Taking advantage of the fact that Todd Davis and Josey Jewell were both out of the lineup, Reed made an early impact. He had a sack in this game, but the plays he made that won't show up on the stat sheet were just as impressive. He got pressure on the quarterback several times and was able to stick with that quarterback when he tried to shake him. Reed is a highly athletic player who is starting to carve out on a spot on the 53-man roster. If I were a betting man, I'd say he'll be on it. Loser: Devontae Booker (Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports) Booker needed to step up and have a good game against the Seahawks, and he was just too quiet. Playing for his professional livelihood at this point, Booker almost looks like a guy who knows his fate is sealed. Though he got the ball back, he fumbled the opening kickoff and carried the ball just two times for seven yards after that. Winner: Josh Watson (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports) Like Reed, Watson is having a strong summer while trying to earn a roster spot. He led the way for the Broncos in this game with 10 tackles and could be a key reserve and special teams player. At worst, he will be one of the top players on the team's practice squad this year. The former Colorado State player has 15 tackles and one hit on the quarterback in limited snaps during two preseason games. Loser: Austin Fort (Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports) This was so unfortunate. Fort, who had turned heads during the summer as an undrafted tight end out of Wyoming, was carted off with a torn ACL. The injury will end his season and it gives the Broncos, a team already thin at tight end, more issues. It's time for Jake Butt (if he can ever get back on the field) or Troy Fumagalli to step up. Winner: Su'a Cravens (Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports) Cravens didn't light up the stat sheet, and though he shouldn't be considered a major "winner" following this game, there should be some optimism because it looks like he could be a good fit for this defense. Cravens has looked good in both preseason games and led the Broncos with four solo tackles on Thursday night. Desire and motivation have always seemed to be the biggest questions surrounding him, and he played with motivation on Thursday night. Winner: Devontae Jackson (USA TODAY Sports) Last week it was Khalfani Muhammad, this week it was Jackson. While Muhammad was held to negative yardage rushing, Jackson carried three times for 18 yards and caught two passes for another 18 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown. While Booker is struggling, there is a chance the Broncos will still keep a fourth running back in addition to Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman and Theo Riddick. That competition could be between Jackson and Muhammad. MORE: Four potential Carmelo Anthony landing spots in free agency Yankees' Brett Gardner gets ejected while sitting quietly, erupts on umpire Studs and duds from Saints preseason opener vs. Vikings Studs and duds from Packers' 28-26 win over Texans in preseason opener Seahawks 'working on' adding a QB while Geno Smith is out


Wang Shichang works 12 hours a day, often for six days a week. The newlywed is so busy he says he barely has time for his wife. At the age of 28, Wang's energy levels are low. His eyes feel strained and dry. His sleep is light, and he says he's put on 20 pounds since he started working as a developer four years ago. "Climbing four floors makes me out of breath these days," he says. Wang blames his condition on what's known in China as "996" -- a grueling work schedule that stretches from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week, which has become the norm at many Chinese tech companies and start-ups. The topic has prompted heated debate on social media, with many tech tycoons and entrepreneurs weighing on the merits of long and stressful working hours. Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba and one of China's richest men, drew criticism earlier this year after he endorsed long work hours, calling them "a blessing." Wang doesn't agree with Ma -- and he's not the only one. Many others have been voicing their complaints on Github, an online forum known in the tech world for code-sharing. They also share "anti-996" memes that poke fun at their predicament. In one, a Japanese actress was photoshopped to carry a sign saying: "Developers' lives matter." In another, a couple hold up wine glasses with the caption: "Come, let's celebrate being in the same room together for the first time in two years." The Github project has been liked more than a quarter of a million times . Despite the humor, Wang, the tech workers and experts alike say overwork is leading to serious mental and physical health problems. No time Long hours and excessive overtime were, for decades, commonplace in the country's manufacturing industry . Now, a long-hours culture has spread to China's offices. A 2018 survey by China Central Television and the National Bureau of Statistics suggested that, on average, Chinese people have 2.27 hours of leisure time a day -- less than half the time that people enjoy in the US, Germany and the UK. According to a 2018 government-led survey on mental health in China , half of 403 surveyed tech workers said they were fatigued. Others reported vision problems, poorer memory, and spine and neck disorders. Zhu, a 25-year-old programmer based in Shanghai, says most people in his company now suffered from "flat back syndrome" -- a disorder that causes the spine to lose its natural low back curve. It can be caused by incorrect sitting postures. "In the annual checkup, some doctors just skip the spine test and check the flat back box by default," Zhu says. He added it's "almost impossible" to maintain a good posture when sitting for long hours at work. On top of the physical symptoms, Wang says his mental health has been affected, too. "Stress at work makes my depression so much worse that I have to get clinical treatment for it," he says. Wang says his doctor urged him to better manage his work stress and get more sleep, but he says he finds it hard to make tradeoffs. "My wife and I sometimes cut short our sleep to do things we enjoy," Wang says. "I could sleep in at weekends, but I'd rather set an alarm and allocate more time to things like watching movies and going to concerts." Twenty Wu, a 23-year-old software developer for a Chinese e-commerce site, says he faces a similar challenge -- wanting to cram in non-work activities and get enough sleep. "I arrive home at around 11 p.m. on workdays and just go straight to bed with no time or energy for entertainment or study," says Wu. Of course, overwork is not limited to China. Neighboring Japan and South Korea also share the culture of prolonged working hours. The terms Karōshi and gwarosa, in Japanese and Korean respectively, both refer to death from overwork. The US counterpart of 996 is the "hustling" culture that emphasizes overwork and is celebrated in Silicon Valley. Elon Musk, the entrepreneur founder of electric car maker Tesla, once said he worked 80 to 90 hours a week, claiming: "Nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week." 'Boring and repetitive' According to Xiang Yuanzhi, chief editor of the Internet Economy magazine, one reason this younger generation of tech workers feels they've been treated unfairly is a mismatch between expectation and reality. Many are well-educated but find the work and pay offered by tech jobs aren't what they had imagined. And unlike other high-intensity professionals, such as doctors or scientists, programmers do not receive equal social status and respect, which further reduces their sense of satisfaction, Xiang explains. "Their work is mostly boring and repetitive, with focuses on tiny parts of gigantic projects of codes," he says. "It's extremely hard to get a sense of fulfillment." "To be blunt, programmers are essentially no different from assembly line workers," Wang adds. "Young Chinese coders have grown up with a more affluent life. They demand more personal freedom and pursuits." Stigma Among the 40 Chinese tech workers CNN reached out to, few said they had sought counseling or help from employee support services -- something that not many Chinese technology companies provide. Enoch Li, who runs a mental health consultancy for companies in China, says that in her experience, the mental wellness of employees is low on the list of things that tech entrepreneurs worry about. "Sometimes they just don't have the budget for it," she says. Even for Chinese companies that offer employee assistance programs, it's more likely to be a one-way emotional support hotline that simply listens. Li says Chinese companies overemphasize "emotional resilience" or "perseverance" but fail to tell employees when to quit putting on a brave face. And the stigma surrounding mental health issues in China means that many workers don't express how they feel or seek help. Zhu agrees that receiving mental health care can be frowned upon. "Yes, I feel anxious, but it never occurred to me that I need help from a therapist," says Zhu, who works for a foreign-funded tech company that provides employees with a free counseling service. Wang hasn't been so lucky. None of the five Chinese tech firms he's worked for has provided any mental health services, he says. He diagnosed his illness by watching YouTube videos on depression and reading online forms. Wang says he still battles with depression but is seeing a therapist, taking medication and making time to listen to music has helped -- although the long hours he's expected to work haven't changed.


Michael Flynn's attorney Sidney Powell said Thursday that her client doesn't plan on ending his cooperation with the government, as federal prosecutors say they intend to argue he was a co-conspirator in charges filed against Flynn's former business partner. Powell told The Hill that Flynn is "continuing to cooperate." "We're doing everything we possibly can," she added. When asked if that could change in the future, Powell replied, "I don't think so." Flynn's case was roiled earlier this week when unsealed court documents showed that federal prosecutors plan to argue that the former national security adviser is a co-conspirator in the case against his former business associate Bijan Kian. Government attorneys had previously stated that they wanted to call Flynn as a witness in Kian's trial, scheduled for next week. But they suggested in one of the court filings that they may no longer be fully confident in Flynn's testimony, and will seek to submit statements he made to investigations as evidence in the trial rather than putting Flynn on the stand. The court document pointed to a July 2 email from federal prosecutors that says they "do not necessarily agree" with Flynn's characterizations on how he made a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) filing that included false information about ties between his company's lobbying and the Turkish government. The email states that Flynn's new attorneys maintain that their client didn't give his previous lawyers false information, didn't knowing the FARA filing had false information and that he didn't read the document. Kian was charged in federal court in Virginia last year, alongside Turkish national Kamil Ekim Alptekin, with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for Turkey in relation to the now-shuttered Flynn Intel Group's lobbying campaign against Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen. Flynn is also set to be sentenced in D.C., after he pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. The former Trump official agreed to cooperate with former special counsel Robert Mueller's probe as part of the deal. Judge Emmet Sullivan, who is overseeing the D.C. case, ordered the parties in the case to make filings on how they expect the developments in Kian's case to impact Flynn's sentencing. Government attorneys said in a filing on Wednesday that they don't know at this point whether the case would impact the sentencing, and that they would "reassess" after Kian's trial. Powell also told reporters on Thursday that she didn't know whether the latest developments would impact the government's prior recommendation that Flynn face little to no prison time. "That's purely up to the Department of Justice and what stance they want to take," Powell said. "Our position is that he is continuing to cooperate. We have done everything humanly possible to do so. And we're going to continue to do that." Powell is also set to make a filing in D.C. later Thursday afternoon responding to the court documents unsealed in Kian's case. She declined to provide details, but characterized the upcoming filing as being "another little truth bomb." Powell recently joined Flynn's legal team after he unexpectedly fired his attorneys last month. She was on Capitol Hill on Thursday to deliver a lecture titled "What it Really Means to be a Federal Prosecutor." The event was sponsored by The Fund for American Studies (TFAS) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who attended the talk.


Most manufacturers today are in a scramble to prove that they are indeed invested in a sustainable future. It's no longer a question of whether a company is going green, it's become a matter of how green and how quickly. Mercedes-Benz addressed these questions this week with the announcement of Ambition2039, its plan to make its business as carbon-neutral as possible. Ambition2039 orbits around a single goal: to have a carbon-neutral new passenger car fleet in 20 years, or about three product cycles. This doesn't simply mean the cars need to be emission-free, it means the entire operation, including the plants, are environmentally friendly. The cars are a key component to accomplishing such a massive project, however, and Mercedes-Benz took its first steps with the EQC electric SUV . It is hoping half of all car sales by 2030 will come from pure electric cars or plug-in hybrids . In addition to electrics, Mercedes-Benz is also continually working on other alternative fuel methods, such as hydrogen , as seen with the GLC F-Cell . Deeper than vehicle emissions, Mercedes-Benz wants to fix manufacturing emissions. M-B sites its carbon-neutral Factory 56 plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, as a green blueprint for the future, and by 2022, all European plants will follow suit. The company also notes that in addition to its plants using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, its vehicles have a "potential recycling ratio of 85 percent," which will help reduce overall waste. Mercedes-Benz knows that it cannot control every single part of this equation. A majority of electric energy still comes from sources that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and many of the parts for its cars come from manufacturers who do not have the same green-thinking mindset. However, it says it is working with suppliers to find green solutions and encourages its customers to charge electric vehicles with renewable energy. Research the latest from Mercedes-Benz on MSN Autos | Find a Mercedes-Benz near you Follow MSN Autos on Facebook and Twitter


Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) are tied atop the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls in Iowa, according to a new poll, suggesting that the crucial first-in-the-nation caucus state is still in play for both men. An Iowa Starting Line/Change Research poll released on Monday shows Biden and Sanders each receiving 24 percent support among likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa. They're trailed by South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who received 14 percent of the vote, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who came in fourth with 12 percent, and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) who also had double figures at 10 percent support. The tie between Biden and Sanders in the Hawkeye State differs from most recent national polling results that have shown the former vice president trouncing his competition, often by double digits. A Fox News survey released last week, for instance, showed Biden with an 18-point lead over Sanders, the poll's second-place finisher. And a recent left-leaning poll of South Carolina voters, an important Democratic primary state, showed Biden leading Sanders by more than 30 points. The Iowa poll, however, shows a much closer race between Biden and Sanders for the all-important opening caucus. The former vice president has double the support of Sanders among voters 65 and older - 30 percent to 15 percent, according to the Iowa Starting Line/Change Research poll. But Sanders carries a significant lead over Biden among voters between the ages of 18 and 31 - 41 percent compared to Biden's 9 percent. Meanwhile, Biden outperforms Sanders among female voters, according to the poll, taking 26 percent support compared to Sanders's 19 percent. Sanders, however, has more backing from male voters, 29 percent of whom say they plan to support the Vermont senator in 2020. Biden has 21 percent support among men. To be sure, the Iowa caucuses are still nine months away, and caucusgoers in the state are often wary to commit too early to any particular candidate. Still, Sanders performed well there in 2016, coming in a close second to Hillary Clinton in the caucuses that year. The Iowa Starting Line/Change Research poll released Monday found that 45 percent of those who caucused for Sanders in 2016 still say that the Vermont senator is their first choice in 2020. The poll surveyed 615 likely Democratic caucusgoers in Iowa from May 15-19. It was a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.


Saint Paul will see a return of last week's light rainfall as early as tomorrow, according to drone-powered weather forecasting service Saildrone . Tomorrow's forecast shows the greatest chance of rain at 94%, while the most rainfall is expected on Monday at 0.59 inches. The immediate forecast also has mild temperatures in store for today. Temperatures will turn warmer from Friday to Monday, with a high of 80 degrees on Friday. Winds are predicted to rise up to 22 mph on Saturday, but will calm beginning on Sunday. Skies will be mostly cloudy today and partly cloudy on Saturday. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


FOX Sports presents highlights from the Group A match in Rennes.


Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham paid quarterback Baker Mayfield a compliment in June when he said he has to adjust to the quarterback's arm strength because it " is completely different " than anyone he's played with in the past. Mayfield has had to do some adjusting as well. Mayfield has learned that Beckham can make plays with defenders "draped all over him" and those plays lead to Mayfield returning the compliment in the wide receiver's direction. "He can do things I've never seen before ," Mayfield said, via Albert Breer of SI.com. "The pure talent is unreal. As we grow chemistry together, it can be pretty special. He makes my job easy. I'm happy to be able to be at camp with him and get better every day." Mayfield said that he believes he is a "much better" quarterback than he was at the end of last season and Beckham's arrival is one of the reasons why people expect the Browns to be a much better team in 2019 than they've been in some time. If they pull that off, the mutual admiration society will only get bigger.


The U.S. and Russian militaries accused each other of unsafe actions on Friday after an American guided-missile cruiser and a Russian destroyer nearly collided in the East China Sea. The U.S. 7th Fleet said the Russian destroyer put the safety of the USS Chancellorsville and its crew at risk, forcing it to reverse all engines at full throttle to avoid a collision.


Houston Astros rookie phenom Yordan Alvarez made MLB history on Sunday. In just his 12th MLB game, he hit his seventh home run and drove in his 16th RBI. Yordan Alvarez. Cuban Rocket. 7 homers in 12 games. pic.twitter.com/dMjWY7QshF   Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 23, 2019 As noted by Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston, Alvarez is now the first player in MLB history to have seven home runs and 16 RBI in his first 12 games. Called up just a couple of weeks ago, Alvarez has been simply amazing for the Astros. This also isn't the first time Alvarez has made MLB history. Just one week ago, he became just the fourth player in league history to hit four-plus home runs in his first five games. At this pace, it won't be long before Alvarez is challenging other, more prestigious records.


The Golden State Warriors continue an offseason overhaul. After losing Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets and Jordan Bell to the Minnesota Timberwolves and trading away Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies, they are now losing their backup point guard. After making a name for himself in The Bay, the Warriors are losing Quinn Cook. According to Yahoo! Sports' Chris Haynes, the Cook is signing a 2-year $6 million deal with the rival Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged 6.9 points and 2.1 rebounds and shot 40.5 percent from deep in 74 games with the Warriors in 2018-19. He now joins a Lakers team that will be in need of his shooting services. Free agent guard Quinn Cook has reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year, $6 million deal, league sources tell Yahoo Sports. - Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 6, 2019 The Lakers are on the come up in the Western Conference after bringing in Anthony Davis to team up with LeBron James and adding a guy like Cook who has Finals experience and has proven to be a shooter is a move that could go a long way for them. MORE: NBA fans had fun taking shots at Drake after hearing Kawhi Leonard will join the Clippers Russell Westbrook Chased Away Another Star Teammate NBA Free Agency 2019: The top players Kendrick Perkins confirms report about Kevin Durant's ending in OKC How does Kawhi Leonard's decision effect the Boston Celtics Related slideshow: 2019 NBA offseason moves (Provided by imagn)


In a recent interview on Danny Green 's podcast , Josh Hart said he felt that LeBron James and fellow Rich Paul client Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were the only untouchables when the Lakers tried to deal for Anthony Davis in February (hat tip to Christian Rivas of Silver Screen and Roll ). Caldwell-Pope had the equivalent of a no-trade clause because he signed back-to-back one-year contracts and would have lost his Bird rights with any team that dealt for him. Even so, Hart described the experience as disruptive. "It was just different because guys feel like, 'All right, we rocking together,'" Hart said. "Beginning of the year, we rocking together and then we had the injuries and A.D., who's obviously with Klutch, so it's like, 'All right, we don't know what's going on with this one.' So it's just different." There's more today from Los Angeles: Former Celtics great Paul Pierce isn't surprised that James' first year in L.A. turned out poorly, telling Steve Bullpet of The Boston Herald that James chose the Lakers for reasons other than basketball. "Based on the roster, this was an after-basketball decision," Pierce said. "They had an opportunity to make the team better, but based on how the team was when he went there, that wasn't about basketball." Pierce also claims that LeBron never fully won the acceptance of Lakers fans. James was on hand to watch Jarrett Culver 's pre-draft workout, tweets Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Coming off a magnificent performance in the NCAA tournament, Culver is in the mix to be selected by the Lakers with their No. 4 pick. "He was just kind of sitting back and watching," Culver said of James. "You know, you've got LeBron in the gym. That's amazing to have as a young kid like me. After the workout, he just told me to keep working." More embarrassing stories continue to lower the public perception of the Lakers' front office, writes Mark Heisler of The Orange County Register . This week's look inside the organization by ESPN's Baxter Holmes uncovered more charges of nepotism and cronyism, along with a picture of Magic Johnson as an abusive executive.


When the 49ers lost quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to a torn ACL last season, they initially turned to C.J. Beathard as their new starter. After five straight losses, the 49ers decided to give Nick Mullens a shot. They won his first start and generally looked better offensively while closing out the season with three wins in their final eight games. Mullens outdid Beathard in quarterback rating, completion percentage and yards per game while he was piloting the offense. That would seem to give Mullens an edge when it comes to being the No. 2 quarterback this year, but head coach Kyle Shanahan called it "dead even" between the two players. Mullen said this week that he's fine fighting for the job. "It doesn't matter what you did in the past ," Mullens said, via the San Francisco Chronicle . "On the door it says, 'What's Important Now.' And that's what I've been focusing on and will continue to do every single day. What's important now: I want to be best at QB drills we did with the coaches today. I embrace it. Competition brings out the best in people." If Beathard and Mullens both do well in the preseason while other teams find their backup situations lacking, the competition could wind up being settled with a trade before Week One but there's much to play out before reaching that point in the calendar.


Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor made amends for their race one retirement by taking their first victory of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe season for Audi at Misano. The Belgian pairing qualified second on the grid and held that position behind the leading Akka ASP Mercedes AMG GT3 of Raffaele Marciello in the opening stint. But Marciello and team-mate Vincent Abril were denied a shot at victory after a pit mix-up left them only 16 th at the finish. Race one winners Andrea Caldarelli and Marco Mapelli finished a close runner-up in their FFF Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 to close the deficit to Maro Engel and Luca Stolz (Black Falcon Mercedes) to just six points at the top of the standings. Pole-sitter Marciello made the best getaway from the rolling start in the #88 Mercedes, beating the #2 Audi R8 of Vanthoor into the first corner. Engel on the other hand, went backwords from an already lowly 11 th on the grid. The German was pushed onto the grass along the back-straight and slipped to 13 th . Out front, Marciello opened up a healthy one-and-a-half second margin over Vanthoor ahead of the mandatory pit-stops, but this was wiped out due to a full course yellow to remove an errant sausage kerb. The safety car came in eight seconds before the pit window opened, leaving those behind the leading duo of Marciello and Vanthoor free to make their stops. The Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini of Mirko Bortlotti was the first to dive in but a lengthy stop, and subsequent full course yellow infringement   which warranted a drive-through penalty   curtailed any victory chances for the #63 crew. Marciello and Vanthoor made their stops a lap later, but radio problems meant his Akka ASP crew were not ready for the #88 Mercedes. The resulting 1m38 pit-stop time dropped Abril, who had taken over from Marciello at the rear of the field. Abril eventually recovered to 15 th place at the end, two spots ahead of Christian Engelhart in the #63. The key beneficiaries of the Akka pit blunder was the #2 Audi. Now with Weerts at the wheel, the 18-year-old kept his nose clean for the remainder of the stint and fended off a late charge from Caldarelli in the #563 Huracán to become the youngest Blancpain GT winner. Caldarelli rejoined from the pit-stops in third place but had superior pace on the second-placed Sainteloc Audi of Simon Gachet and got the better of the Frenchman with nine minutes remaining. There was some joy for Akka ASP however, as Nico Bastian claimed Silver honours after a race-long scrap with the Team WRT Audi of Rik Breukers. Pro-Am spoils went the way of the AF Corse Ferrari of Andrea Bertolini and Louis Machiels for the second day in a row, while Am victory was taken by another Ferrari of Wolfgang Triller and Florian Scholze.


MADISON - As the nation faces the largest outbreak of measles in 27 years, a bill that would make it more difficult to send children to school without vaccinations likely won't make it through Wisconsin's Legislature. It's the second time legislation aiming to eliminate parents' ability to waive vaccination requirements on the basis of their personal beliefs hasn't gained enough support among state lawmakers. Rep. Chuck Wichgers, R-Muskego, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he won't schedule a public hearing on the bill to avoid putting new rules on parents' medical decisions for their children. Wichgers, who leads the committee where the bill is assigned, said he "supports a parent's right to decide when and how their children should receive treatment." The decision to stall the bill comes after Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, also said that while he supports vaccinations, he doesn't support mandating them. "Would I go out and testify and say that vaccination is the way that Wisconsin parents should go? Yes, I would. But I also think it's not the role of government to dictate a decision like that for their kids," he said in May. "But it should be something we strongly support." Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, also hasn't shown support for the bill. Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said he would sign the bill should it get to his desk. Since January, 1,044 cases of measles have been confirmed in 28 states   the highest number of cases reported in the U.S. since 1992   and since measles was declared eliminated in 2000, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases of measles have been found in three of the four states that border Wisconsin   Illinois, Iowa and Michigan. With more than 11,000 students in Milwaukee alone who are not fully vaccinated , doctors say the state's largest city is at risk for an outbreak. Nearly 15% of students attended public schools in the last school year without all necessary vaccinations against such viruses. That means there could be too few vaccinated students within the district's boundaries to create what's known as herd immunity, which prevents newborn babies, unvaccinated children or adults in poor health from contracting diseases that could disable or kill them. "There are sadly many individuals who cannot be immunized for medical reasons, or may not develop full immunity after vaccination," said James Conway, a doctor who specializes in pediatric infectious diseases and associate director for health sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. "They deserve to be able to attend and benefit from school in a safe manner, and should not be placed at risk when prevention is readily available." Conway said he remains hopeful that "common sense and fairness" will prevail at some point. Wisconsin is one of 17 states that allow parents to withhold vaccines based on personal beliefs. Parents also may waive vaccination requirements for religious and medical reasons. New York lawmakers earlier this month eliminated the state's religious exemption, prompting other states to reconsider whether to require parents to seek the vaccination if they want children to attend school. Parents against the bill said it infringed on their guaranteed right to exercise their religion. "People came to this country to get away from exactly this kind of stuff," said Stan Yung, a Russian Orthodox attorney and father, according to the Associated Press. Democrats who passed the bill said religious beliefs about vaccines shouldn't supersede the danger large groups of unvaccinated children pose in a school community. "If you choose to not vaccinate your child, therefore potentially endangering other children ... then you're the one choosing not to send your children to school," said New York state Rep. Jeffrey Dinowitz, the bill's author. You can find out who your legislators are and how to contact them here . Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck . Our subscribers make this coverage possible. Subscribe to the Journal Sentinel today and get a special offer at jsonline.com/deal. Top Headlines: Probation for 4th OWI conviction is a common sentence in Wisconsin Mayor, aldermen spar over how to deal with reckless driving How to ask the parents of your kids' friends if they have guns SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: 22 must-see acts at Summerfest 2019 in Milwaukee FOLLOW THE JOURNAL SENTINEL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin lawmakers reluctant to push parents to vaccinate children


The automotive industry's constant babbling about vehicle platforms and architectures can sometimes sound like a whole lot of hair splitting and baloney. The sixth-gen Ford Explorer arriving for 2020 is neither. It may look like a modest step forward from its predecessor, but there's a lot going on underneath that makes this transformation more significant than it appears. Its new unibody platform with a longitudinally-mounted engine and standard rear-wheel drive mimics the layout found in many luxury SUVs, marking the third major change to the Explorer's construction after it went from being a body-on-frame, truck-based SUV for its first four generations to being a transverse-engined crossover for its fifth. It was about time. The previous-gen Explorer aged less than gracefully over a life span stretching from 2011 to 2019, and its ancient Volvo-derived architecture-with origins dating to before the turn of the century-was largely to blame. Those bones, which are fossils by automotive standards, have finally given way to this new sixth-generation model 's rear-wheel-drive-based (all-wheel drive is optional) layout, which brings a wide range of improvements. Much Better to Drive Chief among them is the way that the new Explorer drives. Ford engineers say that the rear-drive chassis brings a newfound sense of balance thanks to its improved weight distribution, and they're right. Where the old model was ponderous and unwieldly, the new one is composed and collected over a variety of terrain. Over-boosted steering prevents it from feeling particularly agile, but proper damping keeps body motions minimal and the ride fluid and stable. While it is far from playful, the Explorer inspires confidence on a twisty road and has gone from being one of the worst-driving three-row family SUVs to being one of the best. The Explorer ST made headlines with its 400-hp V-6 (we will review that model separately), but engine choices for the rest of the lineup include a 300-hp turbocharged 2.3-liter inline-four, a detuned 365-hp version of the ST's twin-turbo 3.0-liter V-6, and a hybrid drivetrain that uses a 3.3-liter V-6 with a single 44-hp electric motor. The Ford/GM co-developed 10-speed automatic is the sole transmission choice for every engine, and all Explorers can tow between 5000 and 5600 pounds when equipped with an optional towing package. Thanks to a claimed curb weight that's about 200 pounds lighter than the old Explorer, the 2.3-liter engine is perfectly adequate, with smart transmission mapping making the most of the available mid-range torque. The hybrid offers a bit more output, at 318 horsepower combined, but its added weight offsets that so its acceleration feels about equal to the turbo-four's from our seat-of-the-pants perspective. But the hybrid's lack of refinement is a letdown; perhaps the rough transition between electric and gas power and the spongy brake pedal can be solved with better tuning. And they should be, given its $4150 premium over the four-cylinder. The Explorer hybrid introduces a new type of gas-electric drivetrain setup to the Ford lineup that the company refers to as a "Modular Hybrid Transmission." Rather than the power-split setups seen on many smaller, more economical hybrids, the Explorer hybrid doesn't use a planetary gearset or dual electric motor-generators. Instead it places a single 44-hp electric motor between the V-6 gas engine and the 10-speed automatic transmission. Intended for larger vehicles that are meant to tow and haul, this hybrid system relies less on the electric motor and focuses more on power and capability than fuel sipping. We suspect that similar gas-electric powertrains will make their way into the promised hybrid versions of the next-generation F-150 pickup and upcoming Bronco SUV. The twin-turbo 3.0-liter engine available in the Platinum, meanwhile, packs a real punch. Despite being detuned slightly from the ST's 400-hp version, the 365-hp tune in the Platinum moves the Explorer around with authority and sounds good to boot Space for Hauling People and Stuff Some of the Explorer's static improvements are due less to its layout change than to its new platform, which isn't a hack job like its predecessor's. Because the old model's platform had been dramatically stretched to create such a large SUV, its interior was oddly proportioned. Wide side sills and a high cowl created a bathtub-like feeling in the front seats, and there wasn't as much useable cargo space inside as its large footprint suggested. The new car's seating position is far more natural, and outward vision is improved. Cargo space is effectively a wash compared with the old Explorer, as the new car has more cargo volume with all seats folded but fewer cubic feet behind the second and third rows when they're in use. Still, many of the Explorer's front-wheel-drive-based competitors are packaged better, and the Ford's third-row seat is especially disappointing. Although getting back there is easier than before thanks to a button that easily tumbles the second-row seats (offered either as a three-place bench or individual captain's chairs), the back row's bottom cushion is low and unsupportive. This problem, in which passengers' knees are forced into their chests, plagues many third-row seats, but rivals from Subaru, Volkswagen, and Chevrolet give occupants more space to uncurl from the fetal-tuck position. We found the first two rows to be more pleasant than before. Even in lower trim levels, the door panels and dashboard use mostly soft-touch materials and everything fits together well enough. The dashboard lacks design flair, but we're willing to give it a pass because it's so functional and easy to use. The climate-control buttons are logically laid out, the radio can be controlled by real tuning and volume knobs, and the central touchscreen display looks crisp and has well-organized menus. A cool but slightly gimmicky vertically oriented 10.1-inch touchscreen also is an option. Broad Price Range The few driver-assist systems that don't come standard are offered as reasonably priced options, and desirable features such as a power liftgate and three-zone automatic climate control are included across the board. Mainstream four-cylinder XLT and Limited models are priced competitively in the high-$30,000 to high-$40,000 range, and for that kind of money the Explorer is a compelling contender in the nonluxury three-row SUV throng. (A less expensive base model that starts in the low $30,000s is forthcoming.) Paying nearly $55,000 for the hybrid or even beyond $60K for a fully loaded Platinum model is a tougher sell. You can get the closely related and more nicely appointed Lincoln Aviator with the same twin-turbocharged V-6 for similar money, not to mention some seriously posh European SUVs for just a few thousand more. But the fact that we can even discuss the Explorer in this sort of company with a straight face means that this domestic SUV has entered a new milieu, not least of all because of what's going on underneath it. Research the Ford Explorer | Look for a Ford Explorer in your region Follow MSN Autos on Facebook and Twitter


Ajax Director of Football Marc Overmars has stated that Hakim Ziyech could be set to stay at the club this summer, despite recent speculation linking him with a move to Bayern. Ziyech scored 19 goals and assisted a further 16 in all competitions for Ajax last season, as the Dutch side surpassed all expectations and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, narrowly losing to Tottenham in the dying seconds of the second leg. Their remarkable run included two-legged victories over European giants Real Madrid and Juventus , with Ziyech playing a key role in their success. The Moroccan, in tandem with Dusan Tadic, was the main source of creativity and goals, catching the eye of many neutrals. Overmars, therefore, is confused why Ziyech isn't more highly sought-after. Speaking to AD , he stated: ''I am a little surprised that things are still so quiet around Hakim. I think he has played better every year and his statistics are exceptionally good. Many clubs are increasingly looking at that. ''They look more at the numbers than at what he shows and what is happening around him. I think Hakim is better than Mesut Özil. I would say: sell it and you will get Hakim for half. But they didn't listen to me. So it could just be that he stays with Ajax." Overmars also touched on Matthijs de Ligt's imminent transfer to Juventus. The 19-year-old captained Ajax to a domestic double last season, and had been linked to both Manchester United and Barcelona heavily before a reported £60m fee was agreed with the Serie A champions. Overmars explained: ''The end of Matthijs de Ligt's transfer is in sight. We're awaiting bank guarantees because we are very strict with this at Ajax. Hopefully, things will progress, but I think there will be no further obstructions. They are Italians.''


Charlie McAvoy's emotional declaration of admiration is a great moment. And also a chance for him to be capital P PAID. The offseason is finally here, and with that comes the talk of free agent signings. While the finer points are up to agents to pull together, there are a few members of the Boston Bruins who absolutely need to be signed over the summer, one of those guys being Charlie McAvoy . The blueliner has done more than enough to prove himself in Boston over the length of his entry-level contract, and now he's ready to sign a long term deal. McAvoy told reporters on Friday that he wants to stay in Boston "forever," and that in itself should be enough to get B's fans riled up about the future. So, he wants to call Boston home, but what will a contract look like for the young defenseman? Well, I can tell you this: this man is going to get some heavy compensation, and he deserves it. Over the course of his two-year career, the 21-year-old has racked up 60 points (14 G, 46 A) in 117 regular season games played and in the playoffs, he's tallied 16 points (3 G, 13 A) in 41 games played. He has played like a veteran defender since nearly his first game on TD Garden ice. He has swallowed minutes and starts all over the ice that defenders with better press coupdnt dream of. McAvoy wants a long-term deal, and there's no doubt about that. If we're talking numbers and length, he's going to get somewhere between $7-8 million per season for seven to eight years. He deserves that contract too. It's expected that he becomes Boston's No. 1 defenseman at some point in his career, and that day is likely fast approaching, what with the continued slide of Chara's Time on ice. I can imagine McAvoy signing a contract very similar to the one Aaron Ekblad signed with the Florida Panthers back in 2016. Ekblad 's deal was $7.5 million for eight years. Ekblad and McAvoy are fairly similar players. Both can move the puck, put up points and play shutdown defense. The Bruins defenseman is probably more similar to Ekblad than people realize (except he's actually good at defense), so he's a good foundation point. It's quite obvious that Don Sweeney wants this guy in Boston for a very long time, so I can imagine that a deal will get done sooner rather than later. Hopefully sooner, just so we can breathe a sigh of relief that the New York native will be in Boston for another Stanley Cup run. Related slideshow: Stanley Cup Final (Provided by imagn)


NEW YORK   Rihanna certified her status as a cultural fashion icon with her groundbreaking new deal with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's largest luxury group. The pop star, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, announced Friday that she will debut a line called Fenty this spring through LVMH. Her luxury house will be based in Paris. The 31-year-old singer becomes the first person since 1987 to launch a new house with LVMH (the last person was Christian LaCroix). Rihanna is also reportedly the first woman to create an original brand at LVMH and the first woman of color at the top of an LVMH maison. "Designing a line like this with LVMH is an incredibly special moment for us," Rihanna said in a statement. She added that Bernard Arnault, the chairman and CEO of LVMH, "has given me a unique opportunity to develop a fashion house in the luxury sector, with no artistic limits. I couldn't imagine a better partner both creatively and business-wise, and I'm ready for the world to see what we have built together." LVMH's leather and goods division includes Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior Couture, Celine, Kenzo, Givenchy, Fendi, Marc Jacobs and more, while its wine and spirts includes Moët & Chandon and Dom Pérignon. The company has also backed Rihanna's ultra-successful cosmetics brand, Fenty Beauty. Arnault said "everybody knows Rihanna as a wonderful singer, but through our partnership at Fenty Beauty, I discovered a true entrepreneur, a real CEO and a terrific leader." "She naturally finds her full place within LVMH," he continued. "I am proud that LVMH is leading this venture and wish it will be a great success." Fashion has been synonymous with Rihanna's name since the Grammy-winning superstar launched her music career in 2005. She has collaborated with brands like Armani, Puma, Dior and more to launch products and lines, and she debuted her lingerie line, Savage X Fenty, last year. Her Fenty Beauty collection disrupted the beauty industry when it launched in 2017, offering 40 foundation shades and bringing in more than $500 million by the end of last year. The success of it forced other cosmetic brands to be more inclusive and launch more foundation color shades, while Fenty even extended to 50 shades. A release date for Rihanna's new Fenty line with LVMH was not announced, but a website where consumers can eventually purchase the line launched Friday. The new line "is centered on Rihanna, developed by her, and takes shape with her vision in terms of ready to wear, shoes and accessories, including commerciality and communication of the brand," according to a press release. "Celebrity fashion brands have been around a long time and led by singers, but in the past they've tended to be done via licensing, wholesale distribution and often more with mass retailers or department stores. What's different about this Rihanna project is her partner, which is the world's largest luxury group, which has expertise across a range of leather goods, perfumes, fashion, beauty   so it really raises the bar for celebrity-led fashion brands," Miles Socha, editor-in-chief of WDD, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Rihanna, a native of Barbados, expressed her excitement about the epic new deal in an Instagram post Friday. "Big day for the culture," she wrote. "Thank you Mr. Arnault for believing in this little girl from the left side of an island, and for giving me the opportunity to grow with you at @LVMH. This is proof that nothing is impossible. Glory be to God."


FRANKLIN, WI   Baseball fans and people who like a night out on a hot summer night got a boost this year as the Milwaukee Milkmen independent baseball team made its debut at Routine Field in Franklin. The team plays at brand-new 4,000-seat Routine Field - a spacious and relaxing venue to take in a ballgame. Wisconsin Patch editor Scott Anderson and his 11-year-old son Henry were invited to a baseball game in early July to see for ourselves and to report on what it's like to watch a game there. Here are the top 10 things we liked about going to the game - a Wednesday, July 10 game against the Cleburne Railroaders. 1. Free Parking Routine Field is located at 7035 S. Ballpark Drive in Franklin. After a quick turnoff from W. Rawson Ave., you'll find a pleasant surprise: free parking and a short walk to the game. 2. Affordable Concessions Routine Field has a couple main concession stands at the park, with affordable ballpark fare. Hot dogs, burgers, brats, french fries, chips and pretzels will cost you between $3 to $5. Domestic tap beers are $5 each, and craft beers are $8. There is a selection of cocktails that will run you between $6 and $8. 3. A Picture-Perfect Field Routine Field's baseball field is a picturesque sport turf artificial surface. It's two-tone infield and outfield turf presents a postcard-perfect field. 4. Comfortable Concourses Routine Field's concourses are spacious and feature two covered sections in the event the weather fails to cooperate. Comfortable sofas and lounge chairs ring the seating bowl at concourse-level, giving spectators a relaxing family setting to take in a game. 5. Affordable Tickets There really isn't a bad seat in the house at the 4,000-seat Routine Field. If you want to be close to the action, Scout-class seats will run you $16. Infield seats cost $12. The park's most economical seats will put you out in left field for $8. Routine Field features a second-deck called the Ascension Club Level that entitles the ticket holder to all you can eat and drink through the seventh inning. Those seats range from $60 to $65 each. 6. A Lively, Creative Entertainment Team Clad head-to-toe in a white milkman outfit, Director of Fun Van the "Milkman" McNeil is the head of the entertainment team and the person you'll see - and hear - leading the festivities during the game. Bo Vine, the team's mascot, adds a comical presence to just about any moment involving between-inning fun, or a fun prank on an unsuspecting fan or opposing player. 7. Between-Innings Fun There's something going on between just about every half-inning at Routine Field. Sometimes, it's water balloon batting practice, fan races while wearing cow suits, baseball-throwing contests or general malarkey. Prizes are often involved. 8. The Hop Yard The Leinenkugel's Hop Yard is located out in Right Field and has one of the best views of the action. The Hop Yard is a a self-contained beer garden and concession area. For $35, it's all-you-can-eat-and-drink for ticket holders. The Hop Yard features a second-story balcony, concourse-level tall tables, and a couple of baggo sets where you can toss the beanbags for fun. 9. Friendly Players The Milwaukee Milkmen play in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which features college, as well as former minor and major-league players. It's a common sight to see players talk with fans, pose for pictures and sign autographs for children following the game. 10. Kids Run The Bases After the game, children are invited to run the bases at Routine Field. There's a good chance they'll get their running in during the game, hunting down foul balls that peel off into the left and right-field concourses. If a lucky kid gets a ball, they can keep it - but they can also turn it in to the concession stand for a free popcorn. 11. The Promotional Stuff The Milwaukee Milkmen have unveiled a wide-ranging promotional schedule for their inaugural 2019 American Association of Professional Baseball league season. Daily themes at Routine Field are: Mangia and Merch Mondays (food specials and 10% off merchandise) Loco Locals & Triple Play Tuesdays (Appreciation Nights and $2 soda, hot dogs, and pretzels) Wednesdays feature Ladies Night (the Hop Yard will turn into the "Grape Yard" featuring all-you-can-drink wine as well as specialty food items) Thirsty Thursday ($2 domestic beer and $4 craft beer) Fridays are Boom With a Beat nights (fireworks synched to theme music) Saturdays are Promo Nights (giveaways) Sunday is Family Funday (Gates Open Early for Brunch and Bloody Mary Bar, plus free Kids Brunch with every Adult Brunch purchase). A wide range of Promotional Giveaways feature everything from Commemorative Milwaukee Milkmen Pennants (June 24) to Mosquito Repellent Wipes (August 20). Milkmen Bobbleheads will be featured on July 13th and August 24th.


The commercial space race got a little more crowded Tuesday when the aerospace company Blue Origin, headed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, said it will begin launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, later this decade. After losing a bid in 2013 to lease a historic launch pad -- where US moon missions lifted off in the 1960s and 1970s -- to rival SpaceX, Blue Origin announced it would make its home nearby at the NASA center's launch complex 36, and rename it "Exploration Park." "Today we are thrilled to be coming to the Sunshine State for a new era of exploration," Bezos told a press conference. He said 145 launches "thundered into space from here," including the Mariner missions which were the first US spacecrafts to visit other planets; Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt; and Surveyor 1, the first US spacecraft to land softly on the moon. "The pad has stood silent for more than 10 years. Too long. We can't wait to fix that," Bezos said. "We will be launching from here later this decade." The arrival of Blue Origin to the area known as Florida's Space Coast was expected to bring $200 million in investment to the area and create 330 jobs, according to governor Rick Scott, who congratulated Bezos for his success and gave the billionaire a "business ambassador" award. Though Bezos revealed few details about Blue Origin's flight plans, he said there would be a "21st century production facility where we will focus on manufacturing a reusable fleet of orbital launchers." He also said a vehicle assembly building would be located near the launch pad in order to make it easier to "process and transport really big rockets." He said the company is working on a US-made BE-4 rocket engine that would undergo tests at the pad, and that the BE-4 would eventually power United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket. - New Shepard - Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft is built to fly just to the edge of space, in sub-orbit, and the company is working on a future launch system to send as many as six astronauts to orbit at a time. New Shepard made a successful demonstration flight from Texas in April, reaching about 58 miles (93 kilometers) high, just short of the boundary between Earth and space which lies at 62 miles above Earth. Blue Origin joins a host of other companies that have installed themselves at Cape Canaveral, home to Kennedy Space Center on Florida's Atlantic coast. SpaceX, which made history as the first private company to send cargo to the International Space Station, blasts off its Falcon 9 rockets from launch pad 39A, the same spot from which the Apollo missions to the moon departed. Headed by Internet tycoon Elon Musk, the cofounder of PayPal, SpaceX is also racing Boeing to be the first to send astronauts to space aboard a crew version of the California-based company's Dragon capsule. Boeing, meanwhile, announced earlier this month it is building its crew capsule, the Starliner (formerly known as CST-100) in a hangar at Kennedy Space Center where the space shuttles used to be kept for maintenance and service. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing, launches its Atlas V rockets from launch complex 41. Among a pool of commercial space competitors, Boeing and SpaceX have received the most seed money from NASA to get astronauts into space by late 2017 or early 2018. The retirement of the space shuttle program in 2011 left the United States reliant on Russia's Soyuz space capsules for transport to the International Space Station, at a cost of nearly $81 million per seat, according to NASA administrator Charles Bolden.


Citywide San Francisco is forecast to turn warm this coming week, according to drone-powered weather forecasting service Saildrone . Temperatures will make way for warmer weather on Sunday, with a high of 72 degrees. There's no rain in the forecast this week, with the chance of showers remaining below 10% for the next seven days. Skies will be partly cloudy for the next few days, and clear Saturday through Sunday. Winds will reach a modest high of 13 mph today, with daily top speeds over 10 mph for the rest of the week. This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.


DENVER -- A new proposal would allow people to consume alcoholic beverages in certain areas between businesses in the city of Denver. In 2011, the legislature approved a law that lets cities designate enclosed areas where one can legally consume alcohol from a neighboring business. Aurora, Fort Collins and Greeley are some of the cities who have adopted the measure. Now, Denver is preparing a 5-year pilot program. "We've been working on it for almost 18 months now, reaching out to communities, talking to City Council about it," said executive director of Denver's Excises and Licenses Department Ashley Kilroy. Kilroy says they have already talked to the city's business committee about the idea and hope to formally introduce the draft in June. If approved, it would head to council to go through readings and a vote. "It is not going to be Bourbon Street or Las Vegas," Kilroy said. "It's not an open container or open consumption." Basically, businesses would pool together and designate an outdoor or indoor zone -- like an alleyway that connects businesses -- as a social place where patrons can bring alcoholic drinks. Under the proposal, one could not bring a drink from one liquor-licensed establishment into another liquor-licensed establishment. One could bring the drink into a boutique or shop that doesn't sell liquor if they are a part of the agreed-upon area. For venues with multiple businesses, like The Source, individual business owners like the idea of letting guests mingle and explore more. "I think the cohesiveness for the guest experience will allow them to experience multiple spots," said Smok Owner William Spiricueta. "All working together, I think it lends a lot of value for everyone." Businesses would need evidence of community support before applying. Under the current proposal, the areas would have to close no later than 2 a.m. ___ (c)2019 KDVR-TV, Denver Visit KDVR-TV, Denver at www.kdvr.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


Marcus Rashford has branded Manchester United's season as 'rubbish' after the club fell to a dismal sixth-place finish in the Premier League. Jose Mourinho was relieved of his duties late last year before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took temporary, then permanent, charge, yet he was unable to inspire the club's ascent up the Premier League table. 🥋 pic.twitter.com/vCqyMDNI15   Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) May 24, 2019 England striker Rashford finished the season with 13 goals, but he too was unable to bring any glimmer of success to Old Trafford in what will go down as one of the club's worst season in recent memory. Reflecting on the campaign while speaking to talkSPORT, the 21-year-old was honest in his assessment of United 's season. "It started rubbish," he said, as relayed by The Sun . "Midway through it got a little bit better and then obviously it was a disappointing end." Solskjaer's initial caretaker charge looked to be the catalyst for a mid-season revival for the Red Devils, but the Norwegian's improved showings during the beginning of his reign soon came to a crashing halt upon his full-time appointment. After he was given the job permanently, the club won just two of their next ten matches, finishing the Premier League a full 32 points off leaders Manchester City . However, it was the initial winning run Rashford chose to focus on, as he looks for positives ahead of the coming season. "But we have to look at it from a wider perspective," he added. "If you looked at the the league table in December there was no way you was putting us in question for top four, there was not a chance. Then two months later we was fighting getting into fourth place, into third place, and then we fell short right at the very end."


GALLOWAY, N.J. (AP) Lexi Thompson made a 20-foot putt for an eagle on the 18th hole Sunday to complete a late comeback and win the ShopRite LPGA Classic. Trailing Jeongeun Lee6 by two strokes after the 15th, Thompson finished birdie-par-eagle to finish up a round of 4-under-par 67 and a 54-hole score of 12-under 201. She posted her 11th career LPGA Tour victory, extended his streak to seven straight years with at least one win on the tour. RELATED: SHOPRITE LPGA CLASSIC FINAL SCORES Lee6, the champion of last week's U.S. Women's Open who was playing two groups behind Thompson, lost her lead with three consecutive bogeys from holes 13 through 15 over the Bay Course at Seaview before bouncing back with a birdie at No. 16 to tie Thompson. However, needing an eagle to force a playoff after reaching the green in two, she just missed a 45-foot putt to tie and had to settle for a birdie, giving her a 70 and second place at 202. Ally McDonald, seeking her first career LPGA Tour victory, challenged on the back nine and took third place at 204 following a 70. Two-time ShopRite LPGA champion Anna Nordqvist had a 69 for fourth place at 206. Mariah Stackhouse, who began the day one stroke off the lead, fell back with a double bogey at the fifth hole and couldn't come back. Her round of 74 left her in a three-way tie for fifth at 207 with Ariya Jutanugarn (68) and Yu Liu (72). Thompson's win came nine years after she made her debut at age 15 as a professional in the 2010 ShopRite LPGA Classic, where she missed the cut. It is her 11th LPGA Tour victory, and first since last year's season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.