Two people familiar with knowledge of the IRS review process have told Roopstigo reporter Selena Roberts that the government agency is reassessing the non-profit. Though Livestrong said it had not been contacted by the IRS, Roberts points out that notification isn't necessary for a review, and that new information has emerged that might warrant investigation.
In October, Betsy Andreu and Kathy LeMond described to Roopstigo a 2008 email Armstrong had sent to Sen. John Kerry that threatened to use the Livestrong database against the Democratic Party if then-presidential hopeful Barack Obama did not attend the cyclist's cancer summit. Although there is no evidence that Armstrong acted on the ultimatum—Obama was in Germany and did not attend the event—it is against 501(c)(3) regulations for a tax exempt organization to wield political influence either for or against political candidates.
The American Alpine Club is now accepting applications for the 2013 Copp-Dash Inspire Awards. The awards honor the late climbers Jonny Copp and Micah Dash, who were killed—along with filmmaker Wade Johnson—in May 2009 by an avalanche in China's Sichuan province. This year's winners will share grants totaling $20,000.
In late August, adventurer Davey du Plessis was two months into a 4,000-mile source-to-sea expedition down the Amazon when he was shot several times. He was hit in the back, face, neck, and leg. The men who shot him were coming after him, and his voice was gone courtesy of gunshot that penetrated his throat. He escaped and made it to a hospital via help from a string of locals and a beer company that paid for a medical evacuation flight. We told the story of the South African's escape and recovery via Facebook posts left by du Plessis' mom, who frantically asked for aid and advice as she tried to reach and help her son in Peru. This video is the other side of his story, told in matter-of-fact, life-or-death detail by du Plessis himself. Watch it.
This past weekend at the Leon International Balloon Festival, Jonathan Trappe lifted a fake house off the ground using a cluster of balloons. The stunt, inspired by the Disney movie Up, is the latest in a series of jaunts Trappe has completed to prep for what he calls "the great white whale of adventure:" a trans-Atlantic cluster balloon flight. Before you settle on snickering as the appropriate reaction, at least consider this: five other people have died attempting to be the first to complete the crossing, according to The Telegraph.
Last fall, ESPN said All.I.Can was the best movie in skiing. The film blew up after a clip of skier J.P. Auclair performing tricks in three British Columbia towns went viral. He skied down stairs, jumped a clothesline in someone's backyard, and sent sparks flying as he crossed roads on his skis. The street segment likely inspired more than a few questionable urban tricks off roofs and rails.
