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This video recorded by NASA commander Chris Hadfield has gone viral.

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“Unforgettable return to earth.” That’s how astronaut and Davidson College grad Tom Marshburn described his return from the International Space Station this week.
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Charlotte area police officers started their Bike to DC in Charlotte Thursday morning. (Cindy Mills photo)

Officer Melvin Waller just before pedaling off on the Ride to DC. That’s Kaybri, the daughter of  fellow Davidson officer Paul Lowry, with him.  (Paul Lowry photo)

Davidson Police Officer Melvin Waller climbed onto his bike in Charlotte Thursday at 9am and began pedaling the first of what will be a 500-mile ride to Washington, DC, over the next few days. Waller and about 85 other officers from around the area are taking part in their annual Bike to DC, which honors fallen police officers.

Waller has dedicated his ride to officers including Mark Allen Swaney, a Davidson officer who died on Christmas Day 1997 in an exchange of gunfire that also killed a suspect on Davidson’s West Side.

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Hough principal Terri Cockherham addressed a crowd of parents and students in the school gym. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

By DAVID BORAKS
DavidsonNews.net

CORNELIUS – Several hundred parents and students filled the gymnasium at W.A. Hough High School Wednesday night, looking for information and reassurance about safety at the school after a series of security scares over the past week. Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools leaders did their best, but at times there seemed a huge gap in expectations and even in some audience members’ perceptions of the incidents. Read the full story

By LINCOLN DAVIDSON
DavidsonNews.net

Fossil fuels pose an immediate global threat, say Davidson College students petitioning the school to divest of all investments in the fossil fuels extraction industry. The students are part of a nation-wide coalition taking a stand against fossil fuels. Read the full story

The full moon shone over the Lake Norman area Thursday night. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Thursday’s full moon over the Lake Norman area was big and bright. But on the other side of the world, earthlings saw a brief (27-minute) partial eclipse, and a pink moon.

How short was it? Twenty-seven minutes. It wasn’t visible here.  (See more at “Earthsky.org”)

Read below for info on how to submit your photo of the day. And to see previous photos of the day, CLICK HERE» Read the full story

Tom Marshburn gives a cheer upon successfully hearing transmissions from the 900 Room (NASA)

By LINCOLN DAVIDSON
DavidsonNews.net

Dr. Tom Marshburn, the NASA astronaut and Davidson alumnus now aboard the International Space Station, finally had a chance to answer questions from a college audience Monday, speaking about his experiences via a video downlink to the student union’s 900 Room. Read the full story

Tom Marshburn speaks to a Davidson College audience by video from the International Space Station Friday, March 12.

Davidson College alumnus and NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn ’82 will speak live from the International Space Station on Monday, April 22 from 4:55 to 5:25. A video downlink hosted by Davidson College will be broadcast live to the 900 Room in Alvarez College Union, where doors will open at 4:15 and will close at 4:45. Seating is limited, but the event will be simulcast on video monitors in an overflow area outside of the 900 Room, as well as online at http://www.davidson.edu/live/. Read the full story

More than two dozen Lake Norman area runners were in Boston for Monday’s 117th Boston Marathon, which was cut short by two deadly explosions. We’ve heard from a several local runners, including a Cornelius town commissioner, who report that they and other local entrants they know are OK. But they echoed the news reports of chaos at the scene. Read the full story