Sunday, July 3, 2011

NASA's Final 4: Fate grants them farewell flight.



America's longest space-flying streak ends this week with the smallest crew in decades — three men and a woman who were in high school or college when the first space shuttle soared 30 years ago.History will remember these final four as bookending an era that began with two pilots who boldly took a shuttle for a two-day spin in 1981 without even a test flight. That adventure blasted space wide open for women, minorities, scientists, schoolteachers, politicians, even a prince.On Friday aboard Atlantis, this last crew will make NASA's 135th and final shuttle flight. It will be years before the United States sends its own spacecraft up again.Commander Christopher Ferguson, co-pilot Douglas Hurley, Rex Walheim and Sandra Magnus are delighting in their good luck.NASA managers were looking for space vets when they cobbled together this minimalist crew with seven space flights among them, to deliver one last shuttle load of supplies to the International Space Station.

Djokovic wins third Slam title.



Novak Djokovic won his first Wimbledon title Sunday beating defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3.The Serbian second seed saw off the top seed and defending champion to claim his first Wimbledon crown and confirm his status as the new world number one.The first set went with serve until Djokovic pounced in the 10th game to break Nadal and he played inspired tennis to romp through the second set in 33 minutes and take complete control of the match.Finally Nadal got a foothold in the match when a rare Djokovic error handed him a break in the second game of the third set and he broke again before taking it 6-1.Nadal looked to have the momentum but Djokovic displayed nerves of steel to break for a 2-0 lead in the fourth.


Pippa Middleton Recycles Her Dress & Her Date.


Pippa Middleton has started recycling outfits, showing off her tanned and toned legs at Wimbledon in a black knit Tania dress, the same dress she wore in white knit to the AEGON tennis tournament on June 10.The other accessory Pippa is recycling is her date. On Friday Pippa watched the tennis match with her friend George Percy, the same guy she went to the AEGON tennis match with as well.

US qualifies for quarterfinals.


The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup with a 3-0 rout of Colombia on Saturday.The two-time World Cup champions advanced to the last eight with Sweden, which beat North Korea 1-0 in the early Group C match.The Americans and Sweden both have six points, but the U.S. leads the group on goal differential and can claim the top spot with a victory or a tie.Colombia is a team on the rise, finishing fourth at the Under-20 World Cup last year. But the youngsters were no match for the more experienced Americans. The U.S. harassed goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda relentlessly, and she didn't get much help from her defenders, who were shredded by the speedy O'Reilly time and again - and set up O'Reilly's goal in the 12th minute.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Monaco's sovereign ruler Prince Albert wed South African Charlene Wittstock .


Monaco's sovereign ruler Prince Albert wed South African Charlene Wittstock on Saturday in an opulent ceremony attended by European royalty.The 53-year-old married Wittstock, 33, in the courtyard of his palace at the foot of a marble double staircase lined with white flowers.The long-awaited nuptials are the first of a ruling prince in Monaco since the prince's father, Prince Rainier III, married the Hollywood star Grace Kelly in 1956, and comes two months after Britain's wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton.Albert winked at his bride, who smiled shyly, as they sat on red velvet chairs holding hands, while the voice of a South African singer filled the courtyard.The long white train of Wittstock's Giorgio Armani duchess satin gown encrusted with thousands of tiny crystals flowed over the red carpet. The groom wore the white dress uniform of Monaco's Carabinieri royal guard.