Stuff to Blog About and More: In the News; August 17, 2008

NUMBER 8

Michael Phelps celebrates after the U.S. won the men's 4x100m medley relay swimming final at the National Aquatics Center in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 17, 2008. Phelps won his eighth gold medal of the games. REUTERS/Jerry Lampen

Reuters

Michael Phelps won his record eighth gold medal as a member of the victorious U.S. 400-meter medley relay team, breaking a tie with Mark Spitz for most golds in a single games.

The Americans have never lost the medley relay at the Olympics. The latest gold was well earned. When Phelps dove into the water for the butterfly — the third of four legs — the Americans were third behind Japan and Australia.

But Phelps, swimming the same distance and stroke that he used to win his seventh gold a day earlier, powered back to the front on his return lap, passing off to Lezak with the Americans in front.

Australia's Eamon Sullivan tried to chase Lezak down and appeared to be gaining as they came to the wall. But Lezak touched in 3 minutes, 29.34 seconds — Phelps' seventh world record in his personal Great Haul of China.
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Septunplets. Ouch!

An Egyptian woman gave birth to septuplets

The newborns, four boys and three girls, weigh between 3.2 pounds and 6.17 pounds and are in stable condition . They have been placed in incubators in four different hospitals that have special units to care for them.

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Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi are married

Ellen and Portia Get Married | Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi

"Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi were married in an intimate ceremony at their home in Los Angeles," their spokesperson tells PEOPLE exclusively.

DeGeneres, 50, and de Rossi, 35, both wore Zac Posen and exchanged rings by Neil Lane during the ceremony.

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Tropical Storm Fay

Officials urged visitors to leave the Florida Keys on Sunday ahead of Tropical Storm Fay, which forecasters said could strengthen to a hurricane.
Tropical Storm Fay strengthened as it approached central Cuba early Sunday on a path that could place it near the Florida Keys by Monday, the National Hurricane Center said.

An infrared image shows Tropical Storm Fay just off Haiti on Saturday, heading west toward Cuba.

As of 5 a.m. ET Sunday, the center of Fay was about 125 miles south-southeast of Camaguey, Cuba, and about 445 miles southeast of Key West, Florida.

It was moving west-northwest at about 13 mph and was expected to turn northwest and slow slightly during the next couple of days, the hurricane center said.

According to the forecast track, Fay was expected to deal a glancing blow to eastern Cuba on Sunday, skirting the coastline of the island nation before coming ashore in western Cuba during the evening hours or early Monday.

FTC: Your Rights: Credit Reporting

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide consumer reporting companies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion — to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, has prepared a brochure, Your Access to Free Credit Reports, explaining your rights under the FCRA and how to order a free annual credit report.

A credit report includes information on where you live, how you pay your bills, and whether you've been sued, arrested, or filed for bankruptcy. Nationwide consumer reporting companies sell the information in your report to creditors, insurers, employers, and other businesses that use it to evaluate your applications for credit, insurance, employment, or renting a home.

How do I order my free report?

You can order your free annual credit report online at annualcreditreport.com, by calling 1-877-322-8228, or by completing the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

When you order, you need to provide your name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. To verify your identity, you may need to provide some information that only you would know, like the amount of your monthly mortgage payment.

A Warning About "Imposter" Sites

The FTC advises consumers who order their free annual credit reports online to be sure to correctly spell annualcreditreport.com, or link to it from the FTC's website to avoid being misdirected to other websites that offer supposedly free reports,but only with the purchase of other products. While consumers may be offered additional products or services while on the authorized website, they are not required to make a purchase to receive their free annual credit reports.

For more information on free annual credit reports, read Your Access to Free Credit Reports.