Florida

USA: SpaceX capsule delivers latest four-member crew to International Space Station

March 3 (Reuters) - A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS) after a brief delay early on Friday, carrying two U.S. astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and a United Arab Emirates astronaut on a six-month science mission.

The autonomously flying spacecraft dubbed Endeavour docked with the space station shortly after 1:40 a.m. EST (0640 GMT) on Friday, about 25 hours after launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

SpaceX launches US, Russia, UAE astronauts to space station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on Thursday, including the first person from the Arab world going up for an extended monthslong stay.

The Falcon rocket bolted from Kennedy Space Center shortly after midnight, illuminating the night sky as it headed up the East Coast.

Nearly 80 spectators from the United Arab Emirates watched from the launch site as astronaut Sultan al-Neyadi — only the second Emirati to fly to space — blasted off on his six-month mission.

NASA's SpaceX mission called off minutes ahead of blast-off

27 Feb 2023; MEMO: NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 space mission, which included Emirati astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi, has been called off minutes ahead of blast-off. The mission, which was to launch from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida as part of a six-month space mission to the International Space Station (ISS), was postponed due to an issue with ground systems, which is currently being investigated.

USA: NASA, SpaceX postpone launch of next space station crew at 11th hour

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb 27 (Reuters) - NASA and SpaceX early on Monday postponed the launch of a capsule containing two U.S. astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and a United Arab Emirates crewmate minutes before scheduled lift-off from Florida on a flight to the International Space Station.

The U.S. space agency and SpaceX, the private rocket company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, cited a technical glitch concerning the ignition fluid used to start the spacecraft's engines.

USA: Young gymnast among 3 killed in shootings near Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — At age 9, T’yonna Major excelled at her school work and in gymnastics, shown flexing her arms after competitions with newly won medals around her neck in photos her proud dad posted on social media.

“She was a light to everyone that knew her,” the girl’s father, Tokiyo Major, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe, where he has asked for donations to help pay for his daughter’s funeral. “She was everything to us.”

Florida Democrats to pick party chair after tough midterms

MIAMI (AP) — Florida Democrats on Saturday are set to choose a new party leader after a disastrous midterm performance in the onetime presidential battleground state, with particularly abysmal results among Latinos.

The strongest contenders are former state Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and former state senator Annette Taddeo, both of whom lost their own races last year. Fried lost the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to Charlie Crist, while Taddeo failed to unseat Republican Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar.

USA: Florida lawmakers to meet next week on Disney, immigration

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida lawmakers will meet next week to complete a state takeover of Walt Disney World’s self-governing district and debate proposals on immigration and election crimes, as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to leverage national political fissures ahead of an expected White House run.

Republican leaders of the Legislature, in coordination with DeSantis, on Friday ordered lawmakers to convene for a special session next week to deal with the Reedy Creek Improvement District, as the Disney government is known.

USA: Bolsonaro ponders election defeat, as crowd chants ‘fraud’

MIAMI (AP) — Only a few weeks after his supporters stormed the seat of his country’s government, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday expressed bafflement at how he could have lost October’s election, then smiled silently as a crowd of supporters cried, “Fraud!”

He did not directly address the Jan. 8 assault on the buildings housing Brazil’s Congress and Supreme Court during his appearance in Miami before a conservative group tied to former U.S. President Donald Trump.

USA: DeSantis pushes ban on diversity programs in state colleges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced plans to block state colleges from having programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory.

The Republican governor debuted the proposal as part of a larger, higher education legislative package that is expected to be taken up by the GOP-controlled statehouse when its regular session begins in March.

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