The World 7/7/11

THURSDAY

A federal judge blocked a new South Dakota abortion law requiring the longest waiting period in the nation at 72-hours and a meeting at an anti-abortion counseling center before a woman can have the procedure.

Flights at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport were delayed when about 150 diamondback terrapins crossed a runway.

Just days before cycling’s elite gather to race in the grueling Tour de France, pigeon fanciers began a 13-stage bird race around the country, reaching speeds as high as 100 mph with favorable wind gusts.

FRIDAY

Minnesota’s state government shut down after the Democratic governor and Republican legislative leaders failed to agree on a budget.

The White House said it will pay $37,121,463 in salaries for 454 employees in 2011. The average White House salary in 2011 is about $82,000. In 2010, the White House paid out $38,796,307 for 469 employees, an average of nearly $83,000 a year.

Disgraced IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, was released from house arrest on charges he raped a maid in a New York hotel, after revelations his accuser had changed details of her story.

Former California first lady Maria Shriver filed for divorce from her estranged husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the ex-governor and film star who has admitted fathering a child out of wedlock more than a decade ago.

Prince William and Duchess Kate hit a Canada Day celebration in Ottowa to kick off their Canadian vacation. An estimated 300,000 people crammed Parliament Hill and chanted “Will and Kate.”

Prince Albert of Monaco married South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock in a modest civil ceremony.

WEEKEND

An undetermined amount of crude oil spilled from an ExxonMobil pipeline into the Yellowstone River in Montana, prompting evacuations of nearby residents on Saturday.

Czech tennis star Novak Djokovic feasted on center court grass Sunday in celebration of his 6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3 win over rival Rafa Nadal in the Wimbledon mens’ championship. Saturday, 21-year-old Czech Petra Kvitova celebrated with a shy smile after her 6-3 6-4 defeat of Russian Maria Sharapova.

The fugitive baboon of central New Jersey was captured Saturday after she was spotted sitting on a fence post on a farm in Howell Township. The animal escaped from the 350-acre wildlife preserve at the Six Flags Great Adventure park in the Jackson Township.

Motorcyclist Philip Contos, 55, crashed, struck his head on the roadway and died from his injuries while riding bare-headed in protest of New York state’s helmet law.

MONDAY

Four veteran astronauts landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for the launch of NASA’s last space shuttle this Friday.

Joey Chestnut, who weighs 220 pounds, was declared world champion for the fifth year running at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest at New York’s Coney Island after stuffing 62 hot dogs down his throat in 10 minutes. Winner in the women’s division was Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas, a 5-foot 5-inch, 105-pound 42-year-old from Alexandria, Virginia. Takeru Kobayashi claims to have eaten 69 hot dogs in 10 minutes in a rival event the Japanese champion staged while embroiled in a contract dispute with Major League Eating.

A Seattle judge ordered Jack Daniel McCullough, a 71-year old former police officer and suspected abductor and killer of a 7-year-old girl from a town in Illinois 54 years ago be held on $3 million bail.

Otto Habsburg-Lothringen, the eldest son of the last Austrian emperor, died aged 98 at his home in Germany.

TUESDAY

A Florida jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee in 2008, stunning many legal experts and media pundits who had predicted she would be convicted in a bizarre case that riveted millions of Americans.

A boat packed with refugees bound for Saudi Arabia sunk off the Sudanese coast, drowning 197 people.

Two Austrian youths discovered more than 10,000 euros ($14,550) in an envelope and handed the money in to the Salzburg lost and found bureau.

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera, beset by mass student protests over education standards and costs seen threatening his legislative agenda, proposed a $4 billion fund for higher education. The funding will come from proceeds earned by selling the nation’s top export, copper.

WEDNESDAY

Thousands packed the northern Spanish town of Pamplona to run through narrow streets alongside dozens of angry bulls for the 89th year. Local media have tallied 15 dead in the annual festivities since it began.

Libyan rebel fighters launched offensives on two fronts to the south and east of Tripoli in the biggest push in weeks toward Muammar Gaddafi’s stronghold in the capital.

The perjury trial of Roger Clemens began with the selection of 12 jurors charged with deciding if the former baseball star lied when he said he never took drugs to boost his pitching as he aged.

Compiled by the Gazette from a variety of sources.