1. ROMNEY PICKS PAUL RYAN AS HIS RUNNING MATE
At 7 a.m. EST Mitt Romney's campaign alerted his supporters via an iPhone app that he has chosen Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his running mate. Romney will formally make the announcement at a press conference in Norfolk, Va., on Saturday. In a second message via the app, Romney's campaign called Romney and "America's comeback team." By choosing the seven-term congressman — "the intellectual heart of the movement within the Republican Party to slash deficits" — Romney has made a potentially "bold but risky move." Romney's choice signals "a desire to place the nation's looming fiscal challenges at the center of the campaign's final months." [Washington Post]
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2. GOV. WALKER SPEAKS AT SERVICE FOR SIKH VICTIMS
At a memorial service attended by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Attorney General Eric Holder, three Sikh musicians in dark turbans sat cross-legged on the ground next to the six coffins of those killed during a shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek, Wis., last Sunday. Mourners — Sikhs and non-Sikhs — walked past to pay their respects to the victims. "Our friends and neighbors in the Sikh community have shown us the best way to respond is with love," Gov. Walker told the hundreds who filled the Oak Creek High School gymnasium. [CNN]
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3. OLYMPIC CLOSING CEREMONY DETAILS LEAK
While it's hard to compete with a sky-diving Queen Elizabeth, Sunday's Olympics closing ceremony is shaping up to be the "greatest after-party in the world," according to the event's music director David Arnold. Though no performers have been confirmed, it's rumored that the show, titled "A Symphony of British Music," will include live performances from talents such as Adele, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, George Michael, The Who, Muse, and the Spice Girls, who are reportedly reuniting for the event. The two-and-a-half-hour concert will also include pre-recordings by the London Symphony Orchestra and a set design by Es Devlin, who has previously worked with Lady Gaga and Rihanna. The concluding Olympic event will air on NBC in prime time Aug. 12 at 7 p.m. EST. [Entertainment Weekly]
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4. FAREED ZAKARIA SUSPENDED FOR PLAGIARISM
After being accused of plagiarism, CNN host and TIME editor-at-large Fareed Zakaria issued a public apology for "striking similarities" between his latest TIME column and an essay by Jill Lepore in the April 23 issue of The New Yorker. Reporters have pointed out "close similarities" in a few of the paragraphs, said Zakaria. "They are right. I made a terrible mistake. It is a serious lapse and one that is entirely my fault. I apologize unreservedly to [Lepore], to my editors at TIME, and to my readers." A TIME spokesperson says the magazine has accepted his apology, but is suspending his column "pending further review." CNN has also suspended Zakaria. [The Atlantic Wire]
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5. DWIGHT HOWARD TRADED TO L.A. LAKERS
The NBA's most coveted free agent is officially headed to Los Angeles. After a long, drama-filled summer, all-star center Dwight Howard is joining the Lakers as part of a massive four-team deal that sends Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers, U.S. Olympian Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets, and three protected first-round draft picks to the Orlando Magic with Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington (among other players). Los Angeles now boasts a starting line-up of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace, Pau Gasol, and Howard. [ESPN]
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6. JAPAN RECALLS AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA
Japan has recalled its ambassador to South Korea to protest South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak's visit to the Takeshima Islands in the Sea of Japan, a group of islands (known as the Dokdo Islands in South Korea) that both countries claim. Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said Friday that Lee's visit was "utterly unacceptable," and would have a "strong impact" on South Korean-Japan relations. Lee is the first South Korean president to visit the islands. [Voice of America]
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7. PERSEID METEOR SHOWER TO PEAK SATURDAY NIGHT
The annual Perseid meteor shower will make a dazzling display of shooting stars late Saturday night into early Sunday morning. The shower usually occurs annually in late July or early August, when the Earth passes through the dusty remains of the Swift-Tuttle comet. [Discovery News]
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8. BENEFITS OF STATINS OUTWEIGH DIABETES RISK
The benefits of taking cholesterol-lowering medicines, or statins, outweigh the increased risk some patients have of developing diabetes, according to a new study published in The Lancet. Patients who were at higher risk for diabetes were 39 percent less likely to develop a cardiovascular illness on statins and 17 percent less likely to die. Patients who were not already at risk for diabetes and were taking statins had a 52 percent reduction in cardiovascular illness, and no increase in diabetes risk. [USA Today]
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9. STUDY: GROUNDWATER OVERUSED ON AGRICULTURE
Researchers from McGill University in Montreal and Utrecht University in the Netherlands say that the world is depleting underground water reserves faster than they can be replenished due to over-exploitation. The paper suggests that about 1.7 billion people around the world, mostly in Asia, live in areas where underground water reserves are under threat. [Reuters]
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10. SPOUSES OF DECEASED GOOGLE STAFFERS GET PAY
Spouses or partners of U.S. Google employees who die will now be entitled to half their deceased husband or wife's salary for 10 years. The benefit does not include a tenure requirement, so the employee needs only to have worked for the company long enough to have filled out the paperwork and be accounted for by the system. The surviving spouse or partner of a deceased employee will also acquire vested stock benefits, and children will receive $1,000 a month until the age of 19. [ABC News]
Italian senate passes law allowing anti-abortion activists into clinics
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