Hayden Kennedy, Kyle Dempster, and Urban Novak have made the first ascent of the east face of K7, enduring an open bivouac on their way to the top of the 22,753-foot peak in Pakistan's Charakusa Valley. The American-Slovenian team took three days to get to the top of the peak, enduring deep snow and climbing difficult mixed terrain en route. Kennedy and Dempster attempted the east face in 2011, but encountered difficulties and ended up making the first ascent of nearby Hassan Peak instea... Read More
Greek triple-jumper Voula Papachristou has been banned from the 2012 Olympics three days after posting a racist joke on Twitter. On Sunday, Papachristou tweeted, “With so many Africans in Greece, the West Nile mosquitoes will be getting home food!!!” Today, the Hellenic Olympic Committee announced that Papachristou would not be competing in the London, saying her comment was “contrary to the values and ideals of the Olympic movement.” Papachristou has expressed suppor... Read More
NASA scientists expressed surprise and alarm on Tuesday in announcing the discovery of a widespread thaw in Greenland unprecedented in recorded history. An estimated 97 percent of Greenland’s ice sheet has undergone thawing, jumping from 40 percent in only a five-day period in July. Typically, about half of the ice sheet sees melting, but the proportion has doubled this year due to a dome of warm air that moved over Greenland. The ice melt is unmatched in the 30 years that satellites hav... Read More
World Anti-Doping Agency President John Fahey announced Tuesday that over 100 aspiring Olympic athletes were banned from London as the result of positive doping tests in the six months prior to the start of the Games. More than 70,000 tests had been conducted in the run-up to London. "Doping athletes should know that their chances of avoiding detection are the smallest they have ever been," Fahey said. The announcement was quickly followed by the news that nine track and field athletes were su... Read More
A civilian laborer who reportedly set fire to a nuclear Navy submarine is facing life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 for the $400 million in damage he caused. Casey James Fury, 24, started the first fire on May 23rd to get out of work early after he became anxious, he told investigators. Fury set a second fire to the dry dock cradle on which the submarine rests on June 16 after he became anxious over the relationship between his ex-girlfriend and the man she started seeing. The Navy... Read More
