Ever wonder what the lady–who–lunches lifestyle would be like? Now you can act the part with a stay at the Mansion on Peachtree, a Rosewood Hotel. Rooms in this slim 42–story building, which towers over the upscale Buckhead neighborhood, are accented with velvet, silk, and black and white marble tiles and offer sweeping views of the city. The spa, created by 29 Cosmetics founder Lydia Mondavi, was inspired by Napa Valley.

What does this mean for you? Grapes. Lots of them. Choose from the grape seed antioxidant tea or signature wine before you hit the heated water beds in the treatment rooms.
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We’re sure you’ll be reading and hearing about this everywhere this afternoon, so we’ll skip to the main reason he’s relevant to our audience: His 2006 rant on net neutrality, defining the Internet as a “series of tubes,” popularized by this Daily Show bit.

By ROBERT JABLON, Associated Press Writer

The strongest earthquake to strike a populated area of Southern California in more than a decade rattled windows and chandeliers, made buildings sway and sent people running into the streets on Tuesday. But there were no immediate reports of serious injuries or major damage.

The 5.4-magnitude quake — considered moderate — was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and as far east as Las Vegas, 230 miles away. Nearly 30 aftershocks quickly followed, the largest estimated at 3.8.

The quake was centered 29 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles near Chino Hills, a San Bernardino County city of 80,000 built mostly in the early 1990s with the latest in earthquake-resistant technology.

Buildings swayed in downtown Los Angeles for several seconds, leading to the evacuation of some offices. Read more » »

South Africa - In the end, it was a split second and not a court’s decision that kept double-amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius from competing in the Beijing Olympics.

Pistorius was left off South Africa’s 1,600-meter relay team Friday, ending his hopes of participating in the Summer Games. He couldn’t hit the 400-meter qualifying time of 45.55 seconds, despite running a personal best 46.25 on Wednesday on his prosthetic blades at a meet in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Other disabled athletes have occasionally participated in the Olympics — legally blind runner Marla Runyan competed for the U.S. in Sydney eight years ago, for instance. Yet Pistorius’ tenacity and a bitter argument over whether his blades gave him an edge made his bid to run stand out. Read more » »

The Rahals team owner Bobby and his racing son Graham — returning to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a lot like eating comfort food: familiar and satisfying.

The track is about 50 miles from the Rahal Letterman Racing shop in Hilliard, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, and not far from New Albany, where 19-year-old Graham grew up and still lives.

The younger Rahal, now an IndyCar Series rookie driving for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, spent a lot of time at the track, nestled in rich, rolling farmlands.

That was a decade ago, when his father, a three-time champion in the CART series, was still racing and Graham spent long summer hours playing with friends and the children of other drivers in the paddock. Read more » »

Fla. - Jaguars wide receiver Jerry Porter had surgery Friday to repair a torn hamstring tendon and will miss all the preseason.

It was a significant setback for a team with Super Bowl expectations.

Porter signed a six-year, $30 million contract with Jacksonville in February and was supposed to give the team its first go-to receiver since Jimmy Smith retired. But he missed most of minicamp and organized team activities with hamstring problems.

Team doctors thought it would heal during the layoff before training camp, but decided Friday that surgery would be the best option to ensure Porter would be healthy during the season.
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Lobster-loving Canadians are trying to persuade a fish market in easternmost New Brunswick province to set free a huge crustacean believed to be more than 100 years old, its owner said Friday.

The 10-kilogram (22-pound) male named Big Dee-Dee was caught earlier this month in the Bay of Fundy and is now on display at the Shediac fish market Big Fish.

According the store owner, Denis Breau, it was to be auctioned off in the coming weeks.

But a massive campaign to stop it from landing in a pot of boiling water has unexpectedly kicked off, with online petitions and a woman in Vancouver on Canada’s Pacific Coast enlisting the help of the Vancouver Humane Society and animal rights group PETA.
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