What happens when you use a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus supply ship? A record-setting resupply mission to the International Space Station.

The first flight of Northrop’s upgraded Cygnus spacecraft, called Cygnus XL, is on its way to the international research lab after launching Sunday evening from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This mission, known as NG-23, is set to arrive at the ISS early Wednesday with 10,827 pounds (4,911 kilograms) of cargo to sustain the lab and its seven-person crew.

By a sizable margin, this is the heaviest cargo load transported to the ISS by a commercial resupply mission. NASA astronaut Jonny Kim will use the space station’s Canadian-built robotic arm to capture the cargo ship on Wednesday, then place it on an attachment port for crew members to open hatches and start unpacking the goodies inside.

A bigger keg

The Cygnus XL spacecraft looks a lot like Northrop’s previous missions to the station. It has a service module manufactured at the company’s factory in Northern Virginia. This segment of the spacecraft provides power, propulsion, and other necessities to keep Cygnus operating in orbit.

The most prominent features of the Cygnus cargo freighter are its circular, fan-like solar arrays and an aluminum cylinder called the pressurized cargo module that bears some resemblance to a keg of beer. This is the element that distinguishes the Cygnus XL from earlier versions of the Cygnus supply ship.

The cargo module is 5.2 feet (1.6 meters) longer on the Cygnus XL. The full spacecraft is roughly the size of two Apollo command modules, according to Ryan Tintner, vice president of civil space systems at Northrop Grumman. Put another way, the volume of the cargo section is equivalent to two-and-a-half minivans.

“The most notable thing on this mission is we are debuting the Cygnus XL configuration of the spacecraft,” Tintner said. “It’s got 33 percent more capacity than the prior Cygnus spacecraft had. Obviously, more may sound like better, but it’s really critical because we can deliver significantly more science, as well as we’re able to deliver a lot more cargo per launch, really trying to drive down the cost per kilogram to NASA.”

Cargo modules for Northrop’s Cygnus spacecraft are built by Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, employing a similar design to the one Thales used for several of the space station’s permanent modules. Officials moved forward with the first Cygnus XL mission after the preceding cargo module was damaged during shipment from Italy to the United States earlier this year.

A double dose of ‘Monday Night Football’ kicks off with C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans hosting Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The hosts are looking for their first win of the 2025 NFL season after stumbling in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams 14-9. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers head into NFL Week 2 with a victory under their belts, having held off the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 to start their season. Both teams will be missing a key receiver with Christian Kirk (hamstring) out for Houston and Chris Godwin (foot) out for Tampa Bay.

Kickoff from NRG Stadium is set for 7 p.m. ET. Houston is a 2.5-point favorite in the latest Buccaneers vs. Texans odds, and the over/under for total points scored is 42.5. The Texans are -146 favorites on the money line (risk $146 to win $100), while the Bucs are +122 underdogs (risk $100 to win $122). Before making any Texans vs. Buccaneers picks, be sure to see what the SportsLine projection model has to say. 

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The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up well over $7,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception. The model is on a 33-17 run on top-rated picks dating back to 2024. Anybody following its NFL betting picks at sportsbooks and on betting sites could have seen strong returns.  

Now, the model has zeroed in on Texans vs. Buccaneers. You can head to SportsLine now to see its picks. Here are several NFL odds and betting lines for Buccaneers vs. Texans:

Why the Buccaneers can cover

The Bucs went 10-7-0 ATS last season and have already covered the spread in their first game of the season. They were arguably lucky to get the win in Week 1 since they didn’t generate much yardage, but Mayfield still threw three touchdown passes and rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka shined by catching two of those TDs. Egbuka can help open up the offense by taking some of the attention off of Mike Evans, giving Mayfield options against a Texans defense that allowed 244 passing yards in Week 1. See which team to back at SportsLine. 

Why the Texans can cover

Houston is in a position to rebound after Ka’imi Fairbairn scored all of its Week 1 points with three first-half field goals. Nico Collins can have a bounce-back game by frustrating a Buccaneers defense that allowed the fourth-most passing yards in Week 1 (289 out of 358 yards total). Nick Chubb had 13 carries for 60 yards against the Rams, so he should be firing on all cylinders in his first home game with the Texans. Houston was 7-8-2 ATS in 2024 and covered four times at home. See which team to back at SportsLine. 

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How to make Texans vs. Buccaneers picks

For this NFL Week 2 Monday Night Football game, the model is leaning over the total, and also says one side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time. See what it is at SportsLine.

Who wins Buccaneers vs. Texans, and which side of the spread hits almost 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Texans vs. Buccaneers spread you need to jump, all from the model that is 33-17 on top-rated picks since 2024, and find out.

Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor involved in cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell and led the recent case against Sean “Diddy” Combs, filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging her abrupt termination as politically motivated retaliation against her father, former FBI director James Comey.

According to the court documents, the justice department fired Comey without cause or explanation on 16 July, citing only “article 2 of the United States constitution and the laws of the United States” in a brief email. When she asked for a reason, interim US attorney Jay Clayton told her: “All I can say is it came from Washington. I can’t tell you anything else.”

Just three months before her termination, the 35-year-old prosecutor received a glowing review from the same attorney who would later deliver news of her firing, the lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit seeks her reinstatement, back pay, and a declaration that her termination violated the constitution.

Her removal came after a sustained pressure campaign by Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and Trump administration whisperer with clear influence over personnel and policy decisions. In May, Loomer posted to her 1.7 million X followers calling for the firing of James Comey’s “liberal daughter”.

“Both Maurene Comey and Lucas Issacharoff need to be FIRED from the DOJ immediately,” Loomer wrote. After the termination, Loomer celebrated: “This comes 2 months after my pressure campaign on Pam Blondi to fire Comey’s daughter.”

The lawsuit alleges the firing was designed to retaliate against James Comey, whom Trump has attacked in hundreds of social media posts, repeatedly calling him the “worst” FBI director in history. Tensions escalated in May when the elder Comey posted a cryptic message featuring seashells arranged to spell “8647”, which Trump interpreted as an assassination threat.

Maurene Comey’s case portfolio included high-profile wins: the conviction of Maxwell for sex trafficking, the prosecution of gynecologist Robert Hadden for sexual abuse, and most recently leading the team that convicted Combs.

The Trump administration has argued that article 2 grants unlimited presidential removal authority over career prosecutors, but the federal lawsuit claims that violates constitutional separation of powers and federal service protections.

In a farewell email to colleagues, Comey said: “If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decision of those who remain. Do not let that happen.”