Saturday, July 2, 2005

Spotlight
Twenty years after Bob Geldof rocked the world with his Live Aid concerts, rockers take to the stage again today in London, Paris, Berlin, Rome and Philadelphia, in what he has dubbed "Live 8" concerts. The original concerts raised $100m to help fight famine in Ethiopia. Today's concerts are aimed at raising awareness of poverty in Africa, just before the G8 summit meets in Scotland. Among the artists set to perform at the concerts are Paul McCartney, Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi, Sting, U2, Faith Hill, Stevie Wonder, Madonna and more.

Quote
"It went beyond idealism and that ridiculous term activism, which basically means talking about something but doing nothing. We made giving exciting." – Bob Geldof

Word of the day
eleemosynary: benevolent; related to charity (© )

Today's News

• spam: now Michigan parents can shield their children (story)
• The Da Vinci Code: starts filming in Paris (story)
• Etch-a Sketch: doodle application coming soon to UK cellphones (story)

Today's History

• James Garfield: US president was shot by assassin; he died 3 months later (1881)
• Ernest Hemingway: author shot himself to death (1961)
• Steve Fossett: completed first solo nonstop balloon flight around the world (2002)

Today's Birthdays

• Hermann Hesse: author, Siddhartha, Steppenwolf (1877-1972)
• Thurgood Marshall: 1st African-American US Supreme Court justice (1908-1993)
• Lindsay Lohan: actor, Mean Girls (19)