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Pope Benedict XVI arrives at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, DC, USA on Tuesday 15 April 2008. The Pope will make stops in Washington and New York City during his six-day visit. This is his first trip to the U.S. since being elected head of the Roman Catholic Church almost three years ago. EPA/MATTHEW CAVANAUGH
Pope Benedict XVI arrives on Shepherd One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, USA, 15 April 2008. In a show of respect, this is the first time President Bush has left the White House to meet an arriving foreign dignitary. EPA/SHAWN THEW
Pope Benedict XVI steps off Shepherd One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland USA 15 April 2008. In a show of respect, this is the first time President Bush has left the White House to meet an arriving foreign dignitary. EPA/SHAWN THEW
U.S. President George W. Bush, with First Lady Laura Bush (R) and Daughter Jenna Bush (2-R), greets Pope Benedict XVI (L) as he steps off Shepherd One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland USA 15 April 2008. In a show of respect, this is the first time President Bush has left the White House to meet an arriving foreign dignitary. EPA/SHAWN THEW
Pope Benedict XVI waves after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland, USA, April 15, 2008. On Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI will visit the White House and on Thursday he will he will say Mass at the Nationals Baseball stadium. EPA/MARK WILSON / POOL
Pope Benedict XVI steps off Shepard One at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland USA 15 April 2008. In a show of respect, this is the first time President Bush has left the White House to meet an arriving foreign dignitary. EPA/SHAWN THEW
U.S. President George W. Bush (L) greets Pope Benedict XVI (R) upon his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland, USA, April 15, 2008. On Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI will visit the White House and on Thursday he will he will say Mass at the Nationals Baseball stadium. EPA/MARK WILSON / POOL

news.monstersandcritics.com

It was the sound of F-18 Hornet fighters, the brightly decorated first of the Blue Angels, the U.S. Navy’s flight demonstration squadron practicing for free air shows Saturday and Sunday at Barksdale Air Force Base.
“I was at Lowe’s, and everyone was watching them as they flew overhead,” said Suzanne Patterson, a financial adviser at the Chase Bank branch in the 1600 block of Line Avenue. “Everyone was just puzzled and first and we thought something was going on, but then we realized it was the Blue Angels” she said. “They were so pretty. It makes you proud to be an American.”
The airplanes were a familiar sight to people after a series of practice runs that took them over most of the major historic neighborhoods, including Highland and Broadmoor.
The Blue Angels continued to practice formation flying above the base flight line as a group of curious Air Force members and families watched, enjoying a free show.
Pamela Hale was there with her 14-year-old daughter, Hannah, and with friend Kelly Hall and her children Katy, 12; Joey, 7; and Josh, 4.
“It’s exciting for the kids to see and experience this firsthand,” Pamela Hale said.
“I think they’re really interesting,” said Joey Hall, who has seen the Blue Angels once before, at Andrews Air Force Base. “They’re pretty cool.”
The Blue Angels pilots are Cdr. Kevin Mannix, of Lindenhurst, N.Y.; Lt. Cdr. Paul Brantuas, of San Diego; Lt. Mark Swinger, of Warrenton, Va.; U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Clint Harris, of Senath, Mo.; Lt. Cdr. Craig Olson, of Kirkland, Wash.; and Maj. Nathan Miller, of Lapeer, Mich.
Pilots of the unit’s support C-130, nicknamed “Fat Albert,” are U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Russ Campbell, of Houston, U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Drew Hess, of Rockford, Ill., and U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Brendan Burks, of Auburn, Ala.

shreveporttimes.com

It was one of those bright balmy April days in Wilmington, a time which in later years would become famous as Azalea Festival season.
The champagne bottle, gaudily festooned with official ribbons, caught the sun glints as the teenage girl from Fayetteville carefully grasped it and waited for her big moment.
Then at a signal, Jean Huske gave the bottle a hearty push toward the bulky wall of metal that loomed in front of her.
With a stupendous shattering, the bottle exploded. A photographer caught the very second when the great cloud of foam hung in the air and the ship was properly christened.
And so 65 years ago began the short and ultimately tragic career of the SS Robert Rowan, a World WarII Liberty ship bearing the name of Fayetteville’s most illustrious Patriot leader of the War of Independence.
If the vessel’s end would be tragic, its launching was an appropriately festive moment.
It was April 8, 1943, and the crowd at the launching platform in busy N.C. Shipbuilding Co. included several dozen of Fayetteville’s leading citizens.
The list counted the mayor, officials of the chamber of commerce, ladies from the Robert Rowan chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the commanding general of Fort Bragg and U.S. Rep. Bayard Clark, a Democrat from Fayetteville.
And then there was the bevy of young women taking the day off from school, designated as maids-of-honor for Miss Huske.
All were from old Fayetteville families. Miss Huske and her two younger sisters, Rosalie and Pat, were children of William O. Huske, a World War I veteran who was a champion of river improvement efforts for the Cape Fear.
Others were Betty London Wooten, Anna Parker Sutton, Kate Sutton and Lizzle Dell Sutton.

fayobserver.com

• Police officers apprehend a pro-Tibet activist waving the Tibetan flag during the Olympic torch relay Monday in Paris. Security officials extinguished the Olympic torch four times Monday as chaotic protests against China's policies on human rights and Tibet turned the relay into a jarring series of stops and starts.
Paris — Thousands of rowdy demonstrators forced cancellation of the last leg of the Olympic torch ceremony in Paris on Monday with repeated attacks on the procession, escalating international protests over China's human rights record ahead of the 2008 Games in Beijing this summer.
About 3,000 French police officers, some of them spraying Mace, sought to guard the 17-mile parade route but were often unable to stop demonstrators, many of them waving Tibetan flags, from surging onto the streets as torch carriers passed. At least three times, the torch was extinguished and the athletes retreated for protection into buses.
Protesters often used the most picturesque landmarks in Paris — the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Elysees, the Louvre Museum and Notre Dame Cathedral — as backdrops for screaming face-offs with police and large groups of flag-waving, pro-China supporters.
The torch ceremony is a rich Olympic tradition, and the growing movement against it has left some Olympic officials considering whether to cut back the 58-day pageant, during which the Olympic flame is to travel 85,000 miles through 21 countries.
“The International Olympic Committee may have a bigger problem when the torch relay continues, if we get more of these demonstrations,” Tove Paule, the head of Norway's Olympic Committee, told public broadcaster NRK after a meeting with Olympic officials in Beijing. “One will have to look at whether the plans need to be changed.”
In recent weeks, pressure has been mounting on the International Olympic Committee to respond to complaints from activists and politicians that China's lack of political freedom is incompatible with the values enshrined in the Olympic Charter. Officials have responded that they are concerned about Tibet but that the IOC is not a political organization and cannot strong-arm the host government.

theday.com

For NBC, putting Kathie Lee Gifford back on television apparently was more important than figuring out why.
So there she was Monday morning, beaming as brightly as her yellow slicker while she co-hosted the revamped fourth hour of NBC’s “Today Show” with Hoda Kotb.
The “why” is still being worked out.
The show’s timeslot and tone suggest it would like to become a bridge between Kathie Lee’s old teammate Regis Philbin, who now partners with Kelly Ripa, and “The View.”
Accordingly, it had generous elements of both those well-established institutions.
Gifford and Kotb started the show with a long complimentary schmooze, bravely ignoring the raw April day around them.
They had the can’t-miss “diet success story,” bringing in a feel-good civilian guest who gave up Snickers bars and lost 110 pounds.
They had a famous guest, in this case Harvey Fierstein, over whom they could not fawn enough.
Then, perhaps to give the show a shot of action, they brought in a team of gymnasts wearing “anti-gravity” boots that turn them into human pogo sticks.
The point of this wasn’t clear until Kathie Lee and Hoda strapped on the boots themselves - and became even less clear when the hosts barely stand up while wearing them.
It wasn’t what you’d call a “killer” segment.
In the broader scope, the whole show felt like we were watching musicians learning to play the guitar as the song went along.
A bear hug at the end couldn’t disguise the fact Hoda and Kathie Lee just met a few days ago, and their conversation sounds like it.
Dressing the adoring audience in yellow and orange shirts gives the production a colorful look that should be enhanced when the sun comes out, and the show is grounded in elements that are proven winners - including, not least of all, Kathie Lee’s name.

nydailynews.com

Entries that’ll be participating in Saturday’s Gulf Coast Salute To America Air Show began arriving at the Panama City-Bay County airport on Thursday morning.
They included the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team based out of Birmingham, Alabama.
This is a four-ship team that flies in close formation except in vintage planes. They are World War II trainers called T-6 Texans. The Aeroshell’s are scheduled to perform their acts at 1:30 Saturday afternoon at Tyndall Air Force Base.

wmbb.com

The NCAA tournament selection committee is meeting in Indianapolis this weekend, for the selection of the 34 best at-large basketball teams in the nation, pairing them up against the 31 automatic qualifiers and then listening to the critics instantly pick apart which teams were left out. Here are few things funs can do during the Selection Show.
1. Host a tupperware party - It’ll keep your mind off the crappy end to the season AND you’ll get some nice free gifts from the sales lady!
2. Play a video game that involves killing people in a violent manner - You can pretend your victims are prick coaches you hate like Jim Calhoun, Pete Gillen, and the quitter Bob Knight.
3. Begin spring cleaning - It’ll make your wife/girlfriend happy and maybe you’ll actually get laid in March for the first time since you became obsessed with college basketball oh so many years ago.
4. Go outside - I know this is foreign to all of us on days that involve college basketball games,news, and analysis but maybe you’ll like it. Maybe.
If all else fails swallow your pride, don’t be a hater, and wish a good friend luck on this NCAA Selection Show this Sunday.

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