‘G-Force’ tops box office
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LOS ANGELES — An elite squad of guinea pigs has worked its own brand of magic at the box office, taking the No. 1 spot from boy wizard Harry Potter. The 3-D “G-Force” was the top movie at the box office this weekend, opening with $32.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
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thebattalion 7.27.2009 corrections
The man with a plan
In Wednesday’s article, “Former students show gratitude,” the Ann and S. Ray Huffines ‘74 Military Appreciation Scholarship may be awarded to children of veterans disabled or killed in the line of duty, or veterans disabled in the line of duty.
NASA breathes easy CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A space station air purifier was working again Sunday after it shut down at the worst possible time, when company was still visiting and had swollen the on-board crowd to a record 13. The repair by flight controllers, albeit temporary, came as a great relief to NASA. Even if the carbon dioxideremoval system had remained broken, shuttle Endeavour would not have had to undock early from the international space station, said flight director Brian Smith.
Palin to continue in politics FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin steps down Sunday, giving few clues about her political future, which has been clouded by ethics probes, mounting legal bills and dwindling popularity. A few things are known: She is scheduled to speak Aug. 8 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, and has said she plans to write a book, campaign for political candidates from coast to coast and build a rightof-center coalition. She also plans to continue speaking her mind on the social networking site Twitter. Friend and foe alike have speculated that Palin may host a radio or TV show, or launch a lucrative speaking career. Her political action committee, SarahPAC, has raised more than $1 million. Associated Press
Ray Huffines is a member of the Class of 1974. Ann Huffines is not a graduate of Texas A&M University.
Jeremy Northum — THE BATTALION
Interim President R. Bowen Loftin speaks in an open forum Friday morning in Rudder Theater. Bowen discussed the University budget and answered questions from the audience.
Contador wins Tour de France PARIS — Lance Armstrong’s children were dressed in yellow at the Tour de France awards ceremony. He was not. When the seven-time Tour de France champion returned to the Tour podium Sunday, his family was there. His fans were there. And so was rival and teammate Alberto Contador — wearing the coveted and hardwon yellow jersey. Four years after his seventh Tour win, Armstrong capped his return with an impressive thirdplace finish. A massive crowd poured out onto Paris’ most famous avenue for the finish — Norwegians in Viking helmets, flag-waving Britons and an American in a starsand-stripes top hat among them.
Contador cruised down the Champs-Elysees to win the Tour for a second time Sunday after 2,141 miles over three weeks of racing. He repelled challenges in the mountains, excelled in the two time-trials — winning a pivotal race against the clock in the 18th stage — and won the first Alpine stage. Andy Schleck of Luxembourg, Contador’s toughest rival in the mountains, was second overall. Contador said his biggest battle, however, was against his own Astana team. “It has been an especially difficult Tour for me, but I savor it and it is more special because of it,” he said after the prize ceremony. Only 26 years old, Contador already is one of cycling’s greats,
having won all three Grand Tours of France, Italy and Spain. Armstrong’s comeback after 3½ years of retirement raised questions about who would lead Astana during cycling’s most prestigious race. Those questions remained through much of the Tour as tensions mounted over who was the No. 1 rider. “I’m realistic, I did everything I could,” Armstrong said before the final stage. “For me, and even more for my kids, it’s probably a healthy thing for them to see, because they saw their dad that never lost, and the kids in their class (say) ‘your dad never loses,’ so it’s good for them to see dad get third and still be cool with that and still be happy.” Associated Press
Fire
me and thrust it forward. I repeated three times, quicker each time, and jerked on the hose to help angle it. We turned our faces toward the hose, to shield from the blinding heat. My visor fell, but it took minutes for me to realize it. Only when my eyes began to sting did I snap it back up. As I stood holding the hose to my chest, I looked forward and saw the determined face of the students in front of me on the line. Water droplets gathered at the rim of their visors and dripped down, and plunged from the tips of their noses. The metal ID rings on the back of their helmets shined and swung with the wind and water. As a blur of orange glowed beside the black iron grated stairs, they were calm; they were steadfast, like American bald eagles. I hope the memory of that image never fades. When I was offered the opportunity to help fight a fire I
was excited. The excitement kept growing, and I thought it would climax at the experience, but surprisingly it continues to grow as I revisit the snap shots in my mind. I knew it would add to my life experience, but I didn’t realize how much it could alert my perspective. I could not have anticipated how I would feel afterward. After we backed out, instructor Robert Noah and others stopped to talk to me. “I looked down and suddenly I was fire,” one student said. “And I was scared you were going to start running.” “I thought you would be,” I said. “But we’re all on fire together.” Noah, who is the assistant chief of the Rolling Oaks Volunteer Fire Department, thanked me. “It’s incredible for an outsider to come in and have that attitude. Great job. We’re proud of you.” I shook his hand and walked away, enthralled and dehydrated.
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hose on our right. The hose opened up and the power of 125 gallons of water per minute got blood flowing to my biceps. With much effort I looked down and saw fire unexpectedly racing along the concrete past my feet. “Don’t run!” shouted the student in front of me. We slowly backed out. “Yeah, small steps!” he said approvingly. We extinguished the floor fire and went back in. The fire floated along the ceiling, looking like ocean waves from underwater. “To your left, guys!” screamed one of the instructors. To our left we saw the fire raging toward us, flames whipping at our helmets. “More slack!” the front student shouted. I pulled the hose from behind
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‘Twilight’ dominates Comic Con SAN DIEGO — Most camped out overnight. Some spent two nights outside the San Diego Convention Center. They wore homemade T-shirts, made friends with fellow fans and talked about their allegiance to Team Edward or Team Jacob. They are the “Twilight” fangirls, and they came to Comic Con by the thousands to see the movie’s stars in person at a panel Thursday for the film’s sequel. Director Chris Weitz was joined by Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Ashley Greene. So many women and girls relate to the “Twilight” series because they identify with Bella, Stewart said. The annual fan convention lasted from Thursday to Sunday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tour winner Alberto Contador of Spain, left, and third-place Lance Armstrong, on the podium after the race Sunday.
To say I was pumped would be an understatement. There are no words for the experience, and no way to truly communicate what it was like. But there are some words for how it’s made me feel. Grateful. Happy. Hopeful. Spellbound. Humble. I know how it feels to fight fire. I was there. I felt the heat, the fear, the confusion and the unity. I know what it is they feel every time they’re dispatched, every time they depend on one another to stay alive, every time they brave their fears. I was appreciative of firefighters before, but now I am in awe of them. Every fire is different, and every day they face uncertainty. And, volunteer firefighters do it for free. This experience has changed me and I now know was pivotal in shaping the person I will be. We fought a 1,700-degree liquefied petroleum gas fire and we came out alive.
Associated Press
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