Final Frontier: After a series of failures, SpaceX took a big step for private space exploration last night, successfully launching a Falcon 9 supply rocket from Cape Canaveral to the International Space Station and safely landing the booster stage on dry land for re-use. The ability to re-use the booster dramatically lowers the cost of a launch.

The company’s last supply rocket bound for the space station disintegrated and two boosters failed to land safely.

For the techo-minded, it’s interesting that they increased the power of the rocket engines by chilling the liquid oxygen to minus 340 degrees Fahrenheit, about 40 degrees colder than previously, and the kerosene fuel to 20 degrees instead of 70.

Permawar: Six American service members were killed in Afghanistan yesterday when a suicide bomber drove a motorcycle into a group of American and Afghan soldiers on patrol not far from Bagram Air Base. One of them was a 45-year-old New York City police detective who was a member of the Air National Guard.

The attack came as the Taliban are taking more territory in Afghanistan. They are reported to be close to seizing the strategic town of Sangin in Helmand province.

The situation has been so serious in recent months that President Obama reversed plans to withdraw American troops and leave a force of 9,800 in place through next year.

World: Rescuers in China are digging through a pile of mud and rubble that leveled 33 buildings and left more than 80 people missing in the city of Shenzhen. It’s another embarrassment for the Chinese government because the disaster was caused by the slide of a manmade hill of construction rubble and dirt that had been used to fill an old quarry. This comes just four months after the explosion of a chemical storage facility in the port city of Tianjin that killed 150 people.

Nation: In a phenomenon that’s great for drivers and a crash for energy investors, the average price of gasoline in the country has dropped just below $2, but if you live in or near a big city, you’re not likely to see that.

>Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed a law permitting any resident of his state to carry a concealed gun without a permit, and without training for how to use it. Brownback said, “We’re saying that if you want to do that in this state, then you don’t have to get the permission slip from the government. It is a constitutional right, and we’re removing a barrier to that right.”

Dropout: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham has withdrawn from the race for president. Among other Republican candidates in the shadow of Donald Trump, Graham was nearly invisible among the pack of also-runnings.

Hello Friend: Bill Cosby is fighting. Among other women he’s suing for defamation, the comedian filed a lawsuit against the famous Beverly Johnson, who in 1974 was the first black model to grace the cover of Vogue.

Like many other women, Johnson says Cosby drugged her in the 1980s in an attempt to have his way with her when she went to his apartment to read for a part on “The Cosby Show.” Cosby’s suit says the accusation is “false, malicious, opportunistic and defamatory,” and described the story as an “attempt to revive her flagging career.”

Thrown for a Loss: After playing Sunday’s game against Carolina more like a street fighter than a professional athlete, NY Giant receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has been suspended for one game. Beckham is one of the flashing talents in the NFL, having perfected the one-handed catch.

Beckham got into repeated incidents with the Panthers’ Josh Norman, once slamming his helmet into Norman’s, a clear and dangerous violation. Beckham drew three penalties during the game.

After the game Beckham said, “We are competing. You are a competitor. I’m a competitor. We are always going to go at it.” Now he faces losing more than $50,000 of his salary.

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