• Madoff family member seeks name change.
• In Chile, people put pieces back together.
• The Senate might finally pass a bill regulating Wall Street.

• Early voting ends today!
• Stack's widow will be dropped from wrongful death suit.
• Chinese solar manufacturing company proposing $20.7 million Austin plant.

• Eight years after Taliban, Afghanistan death toll nears 1,000
• Alleged Colorado school shooter had history of violence
• New political poll: 100% of Americans thoroughly confused

• Obama puts forward nearly $1 trillion, 10-year health care overhaul plan
• New York City terrorism suspect Zazi reportedly plans a plea deal
• NATO airstrike kills 27 civilians in Afghanistan

• Toyota considers Corolla recall after complaints about steering
• Captured Taliban commander providing providing "useful information"
• Britain to investigate fake passports used by suspects in Hamas assassination in Dubai

• Haiti's president says it'll take three years just to clear away the rubble.
• China wins first figure-skating gold.
• Sen. Evan Bayh says buh-bye, leaves Dems in a pickle.

• Sarah Palin: global warming "a bunch of snake oil science."
• And Sarah is always right.
• Puxatawney Phil's predictions ain't no joke.

• Three Americans share Nobel Prize for medicine
• Iran playing nice?
• Foreign frenemy policy: Obama delays meeting with Dalai Lama

• Reuters: Iran flexes muscle ahead of talks
• Big win, conservative course for Germany's Angela Merkel
• Republicans push for more troops in Afghanistan

Hansen's mother, Miriam, told the Associated Press that her son was returning to Austin from a bachelor party, and was carrying his gold medal from the 400-meter medley relay. The medal slipped out of the side pocket of his backpack, and he realized it was gone after getting off the flight in Texas. more ›

• Survivors of Madrid plane crash tell their story
• The USA Softball Team's Olympic journey ends but you can still watch the Babes In Bikinis
• Baby in hospital cooler pronounced dead, comes back to life

• Deaths reported as plane skids off runway at Madrid airport
• Hua Guofeng, who succeeded China's Chairman Mao, dies at 87
• Obama and his new VP choice to campaign together on Saturday

Hong Kong dear Edward/flickr
• As the Beijing Olympics moves into its second week, attention moves from the pool to the track. Local athletes who stood out during Week 1 included Ricky Berens, who was part of the US's thrilling win in the 4x200 freestyle relay; Kirsty Coventry, winner of three silver medals while swimming for her native Zimbabwe; Aaron Peirsol, who won a gold medal in the 100 backstroke and a silver in the 200; and Garrett Weber-Gale, who was part of the men's gold-medal winning 4x100 freestyle relay. And who could forget former Longhorn Cat Osterman, who pitched a no-hitter for the US women's softball team and has picked up two wins so far in the tournament.
• Texas will retire Vince Young's No. 10 jersey in a ceremony at the Longhorns' season opener, Aug. 30 against Florida Atlantic. Young will be in attendance and is hosting a benefit dinner for the Vince Young Foundation on Aug. 29.
• Tomorrow's Fan Appreciation Day activities will be held in Gregory Gym (corner of Speedway and 21st) because of ongoing construction in and around the stadium. The event begins at 11 am.

• Georgian president says "there is no cease-fire" as Russian convoy advances
• Phelps makes Olympic history with two more golds; US women gymnasts take silver
• Opening ceremonies singer, chosen for her cuteness, lip-synched song

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain distributed tire-pressure gauges labelled “Obama’s Energy Plan” to members of his travelling press corps on Monday. The tire-pressure gauges were in response to a comment that Obama made last Wednesday alleging that the amount of oil available through increased offshore drilling could be saved each year if Americans kept their car tires properly filled with air. more ›

• Scientists in the Congo discover a previously unknown group of 125,000 gorillas
• Over the objections of pretty much everyone, Texas executed a convicted rapist and murderer Tuesday night
• Perchlorate (a salt used in rocket fuel) found in Martian soil

If chants of "U-S-A, U-S-A" don't quite satisfy your home-team favoritism in the upcoming Beijing Olympics, there is a more geographically select group that might warrant your attention. more ›

More than a dozen current or former UT athletes emerged from last weekend's Olympic Trials to earn a spot on the U.S. team. more ›

Foreclosures went up like crazy in January as mortgages readjusted. China, with Olympics looming in the background, is now willing to talk about human rights. More Americans now jump around from religion to religion, survey says. Teenage drivers are lagging in getting licenses. more ›

Photograph of the Trump Soho by Riccardo Sinti more ›

CAMPO approved the toll roads . . . who didn't see that coming? UT's statue of Cesar Chavez was unveiled today. GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee was in town over the weekend. Austin resident Marion Jones has given back her 5 medals from the 2000 Olympics and may have to give up $100,000 of prize money after admitting to steroid use. The Supreme Court won't hear the appeal re: the 1999 Aggie bonfire deaths... more ›

If you're hiking, consider charging up your iPod, as Seattlest finds out that a man lost during a hike was found by the glow of his iPod. That cleverness seems to be devoid in cops who were using police cruiser instant messaging clients - although we imagine IMs "so are you nakie" to be included in cop shows, just for realism. If only the cops were busting the Hummer-driving jerk who made a poor... more ›

Jagshemash! Borat is a hit. It's getting rave reviews, grossing millions, and definitely the most quotable thing we've seen in ages. But Borat seems to have missed most of the -ist cities, and we were all wondering how the film would have been different if he'd made his way around the world on the -ist tour. In Shanghai, Borat would be observing Inane Learnings of Penis Photos for Make Benefit Glorious Flat World of... more ›

Whether it's because it's Friday the 13th or because folks are getting antsy over this cold front, everyone's throwing a block party this weekend. We know of at least four fun (and free) things happening around town. If you hear tell of another, let us know. Friday The indie shops on South Lamar are throwing a massive collective get-down with DJs, bands, beer, and food, stretching from Bluebonnet to Heather. Participating stores include Strut, Irie... more ›

BackstageDrama, Dir. Emmanuelle Bercot, 2005 Screens: Monday, October 2nd at 7pm "In a world relentlessly tuned in to “American Idol” and the daily lives of the TomKats and Bennifers, the universal obsession with celebrity can cross the line into fanaticism. In keeping with the times, Emmanuelle Bercot’s stunning feature directorial debut explores the psyches of both the star and her adoring fan to reveal a troubling view on the world of celebrity worship and... more ›

Hey, have y'all been using our new "Recommend this" feature at the bottom of each post? This week we're bringing you the "Most Recommended" posts from across the -ist world, as well as recommending some of our own. more ›

One of the sillier competitions that we watched during last year's Winter Olympics was curling, a sport that involved teams of un-Olympian-like people gliding in tandem pairs down a slab of ice, accompanied by a big rock, while furiously carving a pathway ahead of them. We still don't understand why the Canadians are so keen on this, though we'd imagine it to be intensely cerebral, mostly because there's so very little happening on the ice.... more ›

On October 20, 1993, Gilbert Tuhabonye was on the verge of a bright future. A student leader and a top-ranked high school runner in his home country of Burundi, Tuhabonye looked forward to coming to the United States to attend university on a running scholarship, and it seemed that the only thing standing in the way of his dream was a particularly tough chemistry teacher. Twenty-four hours later, his world was turned upside down and those dreams seemed to have gone up in the flames that killed his classmates and scarred his own skin. more ›

We’re surprised to report that we’ve recently been inspired by something related to the Olympics. Bode: Go Fast, Be Good, Have Fun, by Olympic ski racer Bode Miller in conjunction with reporter Jack McEnany, reads like Tao of Jeet Kune Do as told by Bertie Wooster and is our favorite sports-related book since Jose Canseco’s. more ›

Police busted 38 places with 700+ slot machines recently. Who knew? Apparently this is the biggest gambling bust in Austin history; big enough to warrant the involvement of the FBI and the IRS. Austin Police Chief Stan Knee seems appalled that not only was there gambling but the machines may have been ! Who would have thought that places like "Pasty’s Game Room" and "Gold Touch Game Room" would have gambling? more ›