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Morning Start: A Texas law allows astronauts to vote from space

Your morning start for Friday, August 14, 2020
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(Natalia Cuevas-Huaico - Ïã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥)

Things are gradually heating up in the Okanagan and Shuswap as we approach a weekend with temperatures in the low to mid 30s. For today, expect a few clouds and highs of around 28 C.

Fun Fact of the day:

At roughly 350 kilometres from earth, the International Space Station is a long way from the voting booth on Election Day.

ThatÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s why, in a democratic nod to astronauts, state legislators in Texas passed a in 1997 that made it possible to cast a ballot from space in any local, state or federal election.

One might ask, why Texas? NASAÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s Johnson Space Centre is located in Houston, which is therefore where a majority of American Astronauts live.

The first astronaut to do so was David Wolf, when in 1997 he cast his ballot from RussiaÏã½¶ÊÓÆµÖ±²¥™s Mir Space Station as it orbited the earth at more than 27,000 km/h!

Weather forecast according to Environment Canada:

In Kelowna:

In Vernon:

In Penticton:

In Salmon Arm:

In case you missed it:

A man who drove an ATV int a crowd at an outdoor music festival near Princeton last summer has been sentenced to 14 months in jail. The 25-year-old Merritt man pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and causing bodily harm in Princeton court on Thursday (Aug. 13).

Video of the day:

Just for fun, see if your mind can withstand this dizzying display of the scale of the universe!

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started at the Morning Star as a newspaper carrier at the age of 8. I went on to pursue a Master of Journalism at Carleton University and have been a journalist in Vernon since 2019.
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