Concert and recording superstar Eydie Gorme has died at the age of 84. She performed everything from ballads to bossa nova with singing partner and husband Steve Lawrence, leaving an indelible mark on music in the 1960s. “Legendary singer and performer Eydie Gorme passed away peacefully at Sunrise Hospital following a brief illness,” her publicist, Howard Bragman, said. “She was surrounded by her husband, son and other loved ones.” In his own statement today, Steve Lawrence said: “Eydie has been my partner on stage and in life for more than 55 years. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her and even more the first time I heard her sing.” “While my personal loss is unimaginable,” he writes of his spouse of more than a half-century, “the world has lost one of the greatest pop vocalists of all time.” On The Ed Sullivan Show, in showrooms in the Catskills and in Las Vegas, Carnegie Hall and beyond, Steve and Eydie were longtime audience favorites. R.I.P.
Missy Franklin and Michael Phelps, two U.S. standouts from the first week of the London Olympics, each leaped back in to the pool this afternoon in hopes of adding to their already-impressive medal count. Did they succeed? NBC will air the races tonight, so stop reading now if you wish to be surprised on television… YES! Both Franklin and Phelps took home even more Gold, leaving competitors far behind and leaving an even more indelible mark on these Games. Franklin actually set a world record in the 200 meter backstroke, touching the wall in 2 minutes 4.06 seconds, a full second ahead ofRussia’s Anastasia Zueva. The winning medal is Franklin’s third Gold and fourth overall. And she’s only 17, people! Phelps, meanwhile, already the most decorated athlete in Olympic history , increased his haul with a come-from-behind win in the 100 meter butterfly. The ridiculous star now possesses 17 Gold medals and 21 in all. CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH!
In this photo taken Nov. 1, 2010, Bihar state Chief Minister Nitish Kumar displays the indelible mark on his finger after casting his vote at a polling booth in Bakhtiyarpur, India. Over past five years, Kumar built roads, fought crime and helped rescue Bihar state from a near-anarchy that had condemned most of its 83 million people to a life of fear and poverty. A six-stage vote in the region long dominated by caste-based politics ends Saturday. Out in the flat, dusty plains of eastern India,