Thursday, July 20, 2006

 

Spotlight: The Tour de France is in its final stages as the cyclists coast into Morzine today, at the end of Stage 17. With only three more days to ride, some of the frontrunners are America's Floyd Landis, Germany's Andreas Kloeden, Australia's Cadel Evans, Spain's Carlos Sastre and Russia's Denis Menchov. The first Tour de France was run in 1903: 60 riders rode 2,428 km (1509 mi) in six stages. Only ten riders finished the race. This year, 198 bikers began the 3,653.6 km (2270 mi) route, which will be completed in 20 stages over about three weeks.

Quote: "Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." – HG Wells

Today's News:

• meth: number of labs drops, but it's still the top drug problem in the US (story)
• dooced: UK woman in Paris sues ex-employer for wrongful termination over tell-all blog (story)
• US Postal Service: superhero stamps go on sale tomorrow (story)
• Dennis Hwang: meet the artist who designs Google's special-events logos (story)
• tectonic plates: Arabia drifting away from Africa, splitting the
  southern side of the Red Sea (story)

Today's History:

• assassinations: Hitler survived bombing at headquarters (1944); King Abdullah I of Jordan was killed by a Palestinian gunman in Jerusalem (1951)
• space: Neil Armstrong became 1st man on the Moon, joined by Buzz Aldrin (1969); Viking 1 landed on Mars, taking 1st color pics of the red planet (1976)
• Myanmar: military regime first placed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest; her latest detention has lasted since 2003 (1989)

Today's Birthdays:

• Sir Edmund Hillary: New Zealander who scaled Everest (87)
• Frantz Fanon: a leader of Algeria's FLN and author of the anti-colonialist Wretched of the Earth (1925-1961)
• actresses: Diana Rigg, The Avengers' Mrs. Emma Peel (68); Natalie Wood, Maria in West Side Story (1938-1981)
• Carlos Santana: head of Santana rock band (59)
• Gisele Bundchen: high-profile Brazilian supermodel (26)