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From today's featured article

Apollo 15 (July 26 – August 7, 1971) was the fourth crewed mission to land on the Moon. It was the first J mission, with a longer stay on the Moon (July 30 – August 2) and a greater focus on science, including the first Lunar Roving Vehicle. David Scott and James Irwin landed near Hadley Rille and spent 18+1⁄2 hours on extravehicular activity, collecting 170 pounds (77 kg) of surface material. At the same time, Alfred Worden orbited the Moon, operating the sensors in the SIM bay of the service module. During the return trip, Worden performed the first spacewalk in deep space. The Apollo 15 mission splashed down safely, with all goals accomplished, but was marred when it emerged that the crew had carried unauthorized postal covers to the lunar surface, some of which were sold by a West German stamp dealer. The crew was reprimanded for poor judgment, and did not fly in space again. The mission also saw the collection of the Genesis Rock, thought to be part of the Moon's early crust, and Scott used a hammer and a feather to demonstrate Galileo's theory that absent air resistance, objects fall at the same rate regardless of mass. (Full article...)

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Did you know ...

James Reuel Smith

... that the fin de siècle photographer James Reuel Smith (pictured) rode his bike all over Manhattan and the Bronx to photograph the natural springs and wells of New York City before they disappeared?
... that Nelson Mandela claimed in 1994 that people who waved the flag of the National Party were "not sober"?
... that judge Jeremiah T. Mahoney qualified for the 1906 and 1908 Summer Olympics, but did not attend either, and pushed the United States to boycott the 1936 Summer Olympics in protest of Nazi Germany?
... that the name of the band Zuriaake is a metaphor for the Chinese poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself due to his hatred of the government?
... that Baker & Dawson was the largest firm of slave traders in England during the late 18th century?
... that the book Deal With It! was written by the creators of Gurl.com?
... that Jimmy Dunn was the original timekeeper of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1930, and never missed a home game until he retired before the 1972 season?
... that the European version of the video game Tomba! uses the theme song of the television series No Sweat as its opening theme?

In the news

Road destroyed by floods near Satara

Flooding (damage pictured) in western Maharashtra, India, results in more than 250 deaths.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party wins the general election, and Philip Pierre is sworn in as the new prime minister.
The 2020 Summer Olympics open in Tokyo, Japan.
The Australian city of Brisbane is announced as the host city of the 2032 Summer Olympics.
In sumo, Terunofuji Haruo becomes the 73rd yokozuna.
Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City in England is stripped of its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to modern development in the area.

On this day

July 30: International Day of Friendship

Brother Jonathan

1865 – Off the coast of Crescent City, California, the steamer Brother Jonathan (depicted) struck an uncharted rock and sank, killing 225 people; its cargo of gold coins was not retrieved until 1996.
1916 – World War I: German agents sabotaged U.S.-made munitions in New York Harbor that were to be supplied to the Allies.
1930 – Uruguay defeated Argentina at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo to win the inaugural FIFA World Cup.
1981 – Amid a widespread economic crisis and food shortages in Poland, up to 50,000 people, mostly women and children, took part in the largest of nationwide hunger demonstrations in Łódź.
2014 – At least 151 people were killed when heavy rains triggered a landslide in the village of Malin in Maharashtra, India.

Giorgio Vasari (b. 1511)
Lê Văn Duyệt (d. 1832)
Claudette Colbert (d. 1996)

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From today's featured list

Regine Velasquez

Filipino singer and actress Regine Velasquez has received numerous awards and nominations for her work in music, film, and television. She is the recipient of two Asian Television Awards, two MTV Asia Awards, twenty-one Awit Awards, twenty-two Box Office Entertainment Awards, fifteen Aliw Awards, and ten Star Awards for Music. In film, she earned the Box Office Queen award for the romantic drama Pangako Ikaw Lang (2001) and won the Golden Screen Award for Best Actress for the comedy Of All the Things (2013). Velasquez has also accrued television honours in acting and hosting categories. For playing a mentally challenged woman in the drama series Maalaala Mo Kaya (2002), she received a Star Award for Television for Best Actress – Drama. She also won for Best Female TV Host and Best Talent Search Program Host for the television musicals SOP (2005) and Pinoy Pop Superstar (2006), respectively. Velasquez has been the recipient of many honorary awards, including the Golden Artist Award by the Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences in 2006 and the Dangal Ng Musikang Pilipino Award by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry in 2012. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Nebotičnik is a high-rise building located in the centre of Ljubljana, Slovenia. On completion in 1933, it was the tallest building in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the ninth-tallest in Europe. There are shops on the ground and first floors, and offices on floors two to five. The sixth to ninth floors are private residences, and a café, bar and observation deck are located on the top three floors. The entrance on the ground floor leads to a lobby from which the upper storeys are accessible by elevator or by this Art Deco spiral stairway at the centre of the building.

Photograph credit: Petar Milošević

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