This stretch lets your fingers do the walking. THE MOVES: Simple cross legs, forward reach. WORKS ON: Hip and lumbar spine mobility, groin flexibility.   SIMPLE STRETCH - To increase hip and back mobility, firefighter Bob Macy sits in a cross-legged position, then slowly reaches out as his chest sinks to the floor. CNS Photo by Nadia Borowski Scott. SETUP: Sit upright on the floor. Cross your legs in front of you so the calf muscle of ... [full story]

Anne Newbury is the embodiment of the Mary Kay dream come true. Newbury drove a pink Cadillac for much of her 38 years with the company, and won numerous mink coats, exotic trips and fancy jewels as rewards for her hard work.   A POSITIVE ATTITUDE - Anne Newbury started with Mary Kay in 1969 and collected more than $11 million in commissions over the years. CNS Photo by K.C. Alfred. But her biggest reward arrived when ... [full story]

Two merg­ing black holes can gen­er­ate a re­coil so pow­er­ful, the merged hole shoots out of its host gal­axy at up to 2,500 miles per sec­ond, ac­cord­ing to a new com­put­er sim­ula­t­ion.Its cre­ators said the work shows for the first time that these vi­o­lent events, which fol­low merg­ers of ga­lax­ies con­tain­ing black holes, can to­tally eject the black holes. So these ti­ta­nic ob­jects may be cruis­ing through the un­iverse, vir­tu­ally in­vis­i­ble un­less they should crash ... [full story]

After years of yo-yo dieting, that familiar and potentially dangerous cycle of losing weight and gaining it back, accounting professor Roger Gee was ready to give up on permanently shedding some of his 321 pounds.   TEAMING UP FOR HEALTH - College accounting professor Roger Gee credits a health coach with helping him shed nearly 75 pounds. The role of a coach can range from helping a client remember to take medicine properly to helping with ... [full story]

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Thursday, NASA senior managers selected June 8 as the official launch date for space shuttle Atlantis. Commander Rick Sturckow and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:38 p.m. EDT on the STS-117 mission to the International Space Station.During the 11-day mission and three spacewalks, the crew will work with flight controllers at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, to install a 17-ton segment on the station's girder-like truss ... [full story]

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - Brian Ouzounian remembers the day, although more than a half-century has passed, when he first came to understand the heart of Yosemite. A late-arriving family of campers was being shut out until his grandparents moved their tent to make room. Those few days of sharing a campfire grew into generations of friendship that endure today. "That's Yosemite. That's the Yosemite we are losing," said Ouzounian, a Los Angeles-area general contractor. But ... [full story]

HOUSTON - Expedition 15 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Flight Engineer Oleg Kotov prepared this week for two spacewalks while Flight Engineer Suni Williams prepared for her return to Earth. In preparation for her successor's arrival, Williams' downlinked a 10-minute video tour for Clayton Anderson, who will travel to the station on the upcoming space shuttle flight.Mission managers gave a "go" for a May 30 Russian spacewalk to install orbital debris protection panels on the Zvezda ... [full story]

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife staff encourage Oregonians and visitors to fish, crab and clam without a license during the 19th annual Free Fishing Weekend June 9 and 10. All current fishing and shellfish regulations apply. More than 40 Free Fishing Events will be held at sites throughout the state. Most are geared toward introductory angling opportunities for young people. Gear, bait and basic angling instruction are provided at most events. Some locations are ... [full story]

So, you like scary movies? Here's one that will really scare the bejesus out of you: "Maxed Out" (Magnolia, 4 stars), a documentary about credit card debt and how it can tear your life apart.   'MAXED OUT' - 'Maxed Out,' by director James D. Scurlock, is a frightening expose of the credit card industry and the high amount of debt most Americans carry. CNS Photo courtesy of James D. Scurlock.  Can? How it IS tearing your ... [full story]

WASHINGTON - U.S. President George Bush said he believes he has been consistent on global warming from his rejection of the Kyoto Treaty to the plan he released this week. "There's a commitment in our country ... that each country has got to develop a plan that suits its own economy and suits its own political environment," he said Friday. "If you want the U.S. to be an active participant, that's the best way to ... [full story]