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Georgian born Khatuna Lorig will carry the US flag.U.S. team picks Georgian to lead them in closing ceremony

Lost-boy Lomong to carry U.S. flag

J .K. ROWLING’S SEVENTH AND FINAL HARRY POTTER NOVEL, HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, TO BE PUBLISHED ON JULY 21, 2007New York, NY (February 1, 2007) -- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling, the seventh and final book in the best-selling series, has been scheduled for release at 12:01 a.m. on July 21, 2007, it was announced today by Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company. In making the announcement, Lisa Holton, President of Scholastic Children’s Books said, “We are thrilled to announce the publication date of the seventh installment in this remarkable...

NO VERBAL ATTACKS! NO NAME CALLING! NO BASHING! THE OVERWEIGHT! NO NASTY PICTURES! NO OFFENSIVE KEYWORDS! They will only be deleted anyway. This will be a thread about getting healthy and no attacks will be tolerated.Todays theme is HEALTHY RECIPES! Please share your favorite! Here are a few I found... Spinach, Grapefruit and Almond Salad This recipe serves: 6 Preparation time : 15 minutes Cooking time : 10 minutes Ingredients For the vinaigrette: 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots 1/3 cup olive oil salt to taste freshly ground black pepper For the...

NO VERBAL ATTACKS! NO NAME CALLING! NO BASHING! THE OVERWEIGHT! NO NASTY PICTURES POSTED! This will be a thread about getting healthy and no attacks will be tolerated. Any fitness or activity level. 100+ pounds to lose or no weight to lose. Those who have lost weight and kept it off, please share with us what has worked for you. Maybe you love a certain activity, biking, skiing, rock climbing, walking, running, whatever, tell us about how it helps you stay in shape. Share your weight loss success. Just a place to share ideas about all things exercise and diet...

A few of us were thinking of starting an on-going FReeper diet and fitness thread. It would be a place where we could discuss weight loss, diet, exercise, getting back in shape, encourage each other in our efforts to get healthy, and celebrate our successes. Any fitness or activity level. 100+ pounds to lose or no weight to lose. Those who have lost weight and kept it off, please share with us what has worked for you. Maybe you love a certain activity, biking, skiing, rock climbing, walking, running, whatever, tell us about how it helps you stay in shape....

TURIN, Italy - This gritty city below the Alps gave a heartfelt "benvenuto" Friday night to the Winter Games, a fiery opening ceremony dedicated to passion and to igniting the competitive spirits of more than 2,500 of the world's best athletes. Before a cheering audience bundled against the winter cold, Yuri Chechi, one of Italy's greatest gymnasts and a gold medal winner, swung a mighty hammer onto a bronze anvil. And so the pageantry began. "Rhythm, Passion and Speed," promised the show's producers, and those watching — an estimated 35,000 at the Olympic Stadium and 2 billion tuning in —...

There is an international trailer of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that has tons of new scenes. I stumbled on it over at Ain't It cool News.com. Seems the folks over at The Leaky Cauldron got an e-mail with a beauxbatons.edu.fr email address. Anyway, follow the link to The Leaky Cauldron.org and it's about halfway down the page under the title "High-Res Footage of International GoF Trailer Online".

MILWAUKEE - Weighing in at 13 pounds, 12 ounces, Delaney Jessica Buzzell isn't your average newborn. Her parents have even dubbed her the "Big Enchilada." The baby headed home Tuesday after being delivered by Caesarean section on June 23 — a surprising three weeks early. Her family isn't quite sure what to make of her weight. The father is 6-foot-2 and the mother is 5-foot-7, and nurse Judy Nadolski described them as "regular-sized." "We're pretty normal," 34-year-old Paul Buzzell said. Nadolski said carrying the baby in her arms was like holding a 4- or 5-month-old infant. The diapers and baby...

Just a heads up to the HP fans out there...ABC is showing Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on Saturday May 7 at 7 PM EST/6 CST hosted by the three stars of the series. Included will be behind the scenes footage of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and some never before seen footage of CoS. Mugglenet is saying they have word that the actual trailer will be shown, but I'd take that with a grain of salt, because the movie isn't due out until November. I would expect maybe a short teaser, but not the full...

(CP) - The players on the Israeli men's hockey team will get championship rings if a Montreal trucking executive has his way. They deserve something for what they've accomplished, says Alan Maislin, who is chairman of the Israeli Ice Hockey Federation. "Our guys have heart," he says. They proved as much by defeating Iceland 4-2 to win the world title at the third-tier level last Sunday in Belgrade. How this is possible for a country with only one artificial ice rink - Canada Centre at Metulla - boggles the mind. "Our guys have heart," repeats Maislin, 59. "My big challenge...

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Telephone company MCI Inc. (Nasdaq:MCIP - news) has received a $6 billion takeover bid from Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE:Q - news) and has held talks with another potential suitor, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ - news), sources familiar with the situation said on Thursday. Although MCI has been looking for a buyer for months, interest in the company intensified after long-distance rival AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - news) last week agreed to be acquired by SBC Communications Inc. (NYSE:SBC - news) for $16 billion, the sources said. Long-distance companies have been slammed by eroding long-distance revenue, price wars...

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The Pittsburgh Penguins have hired an adviser from the Al Gore and John Kerry U.S. presidential campaigns to help in the NHL team's pursuit of a gambling licence. David Morehouse, a 44-year-old native of Pittsburgh, will serve as the Penguins' senior consultant for special projects. The state legislature legalized slot machines last year. The Penguins plan to use proceeds from the slots parlour to build a new downtown arena. Morehouse most recently served as John Kerry's travelling chief of staff. He was a senior adviser to Al Gore from 1999-2001, working on the Gore presidential campaign. He...

BTK Back Wichita KAKE News Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2004 Police are confirming that they believe a found package is an authentic BTK communication. A man walking through Murdock Park overnight discovers a mysterious trash bag and decides to take a closer look. The man calls KAKE News and speaks only to KAKE News about what was inside. The package was quickly turned over to police and now it’s in the hands of the FBI. “I didn’t know what it was, because it was wrapped in rubber bands,” says the man. “So, I just held on to it and I brought...

NEW YORK (AFP) - Bernie Ebbers, former chief executive of telecom giant WorldCom, was expected to be charged with fraud and conspiracy in connection with the biggest bankruptcy in US history, media reported. Citing Justice Department (news - web sites) sources, New York's NewsChannel 4 said US Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) was expected to announce the charges here later Tuesday. Ashcroft scheduled a news conference for 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) in New York on a criminal matter, according to a Justice Department statement. WorldCom, the number-two US long-distance phone carrier, declared bankruptcy in July 2002. The...

August 21, 2003 -- Embattled telecom giant MCI will lay off about 2,400 workers in the next three months as the company's battle to stay alive gets tougher each day. The first round of layoffs will be announced on Aug. 29, with subsequent layoffs announced in September and October, sources familiar with the situation told The Post. Although the company declined to comment on any workforce reduction, MCI did say its restructuring continues. "As we continue to restructure our operations to better position the company going forward, including improved integration and automating certain functions, we expect to continue to add...

I got this in the mail today regarding the letter I sent Sen. Durbin's opposition to AG Ashcroft. Wasn't that about 2 months ago? Anyway, I thought IL freepers might be interested....Dear Ms. Kitten:Thank you for contacting me regarding the nomination of John Ashcroft for Attorney General. I appreciate hearing from you.Senator John Ashcroft had three full days of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The hearings were fair and complete, with witnessess testifying both for and against Senator Ashcroft's nomination for Attorney General. After carefully reviewing his public record, questioning Senator Ashcroft and the other witnessess, and listening to ...

In a sly move, the FDA has designated January 16th as the last date by which we consumers can protest the govenment's ratification of an international agreement that promises to be quite detrimental to everyone's health. To stop this agreement from being ratified, we would have to voice our opinion by January 16th, even though the international meeting at which the final decision will be made is still 11 months away! We the undersigned, users of natural health products and food supplements, ask legislators and administrators in all European countries and delegates to Codex Alimentarius discussions world wide to take ...