Lisa Nowak (born 1963) is a former NASA astronaut and United States Navy
officer. Nowak graduated from the Naval Academy in 1985. A naval
aviator, she was selected for NASA Astronaut Group 16 in 1996,
qualifying as a mission specialist in robotics. She flew in space in
July 2006 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-121 mission,
where she was responsible for operating the robotic arms of the shuttle
and the International Space Station. In February 2007, Nowak was
arrested in Orlando, Florida, after she drove about 900 miles
(1,400 km) from Texas and accosted and pepper-sprayed Colleen Shipman,
a U.S. Air Force captain. Shipman's boyfriend, astronaut William
Oefelein, had been in a relationship with Nowak. Terminated by NASA,
Nowak pled guilty to burglary and battery in 2009, after which the Navy
demoted and discharged her under other than honorable conditions. It was
later reported that Nowak was working in Texas.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisa_Nowak>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
919:
A coalition of native Irish, led by Niall Glúndub, failed in
their attempt to drive the Vikings of the Uí Ímair from Ireland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Islandbridge>
1863:
American Civil War: The Little Rock campaign ended with the
Union Army capturing Little Rock, Arkansas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_campaign>
1914:
HMAS AE1, the Royal Australian Navy's first submarine, was
lost at sea; its wreck was not found until 2017.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMAS_AE1>
1989:
Typhoon Sarah dissipated after causing extensive damage along
an erratic path across the Western Pacific, killing 71 in Taiwan, the
Philippines, and the Gotō Islands.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Sarah_%281989%29>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
rotten borough:
1. (historical) A parliamentary borough that was represented in
Parliament although the number of voters had diminished so greatly that
they were largely controlled by the main landowner; such boroughs were
abolished in the 19th century.
2. (by extension) A parliamentary constituency or electoral district in
a similar situation.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rotten_borough>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Work and play are an artificial pair of opposites, because the
best kind of play contains an element of work, and the most productive
kind of work must include something of the spirit of play.
--Sydney J. Harris
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sydney_J._Harris>
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