At 250 feet long, the plane is the largest Boeing has ever built and about 18 feet longer than the existing 747-400 jumbo jet. The company conducted taxi tests on the freighter Saturday at Paine Field in Everett, north of Seattle.

“Based on early indications, the airplane is ready to fly,” said Mo Yahyavi, the 747 program’s vice president and general manager.

Boeing also is developing a passenger version of the plane. It lists 76 orders for the freighter and 32 for the 747-8 passenger jet, with the vast majority from international customers.

The company says the jets will be much quieter, more fuel efficient and have lower emissions than current 747-400 models.

There are typically about 2,500 show aircraft that participate at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, including homebuilts, antiques, classics, warbirds, ultralights and rotorcraft.

The afternoon air show features unique aircraft, from early air racers to historical airplanes, along with the world’s finest air show performers.

To the tune of “The Killers – All These Things That I’ve Done,” I’ve created a video montage of some of this year’s highlights.

Enjoy!

I’ve been waiting for a game like this for years. I am instantly reminded of legendary titles from my past; Out Of This World, Prince of Persia, Castlevania, and the one it most parallels, Metroid. Games where each step is but part of a larger labyrinth, where intricate paths lead to new tools that allow you to backtrack and uncover hidden entrances. Guns to shoot down roaming guards with, yes, but hook-shots and jet packs, upgrades that allow you to climb chasms and cross fiery pits of death. The kind of physical obstacles you’ll need to think creatively about, roll around in your mind and pace your living room to find a solution to. This is a thinking gamer’s action title.

The story centres around ideas banged out with author Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game) and expertly scripted by comic book writer Peter David (The Incredible Hulk). That a group of game designers had enough sense to partner with real writers to work on their game is enough to make me want to cry. I found myself jotting down lines of dialogue because they were that good.

“If it’s any comfort, you’re not the only pawn in play today. There’s a very large Chess board out there…..”

A conspiracy is afoot in America. A powerful and secret military organization called The Restoration envisions the United States as the next Imperial Empire, one to rival Ancient Rome. Infiltrating the highest levels of government, the group aims to start a series of civil wars, to divide and then conquer their very own country so that they may assume control and follow their Manifest Destiny ideals in making Americans the dominating leaders of the world.

This is the plot that powers both Orson Scott Card’s novels Empire and his upcoming sequel Hidden Empire. Shadow Complex takes place in the same world and timeline, crossing similar events, but with different characters and different locations. Some of the technology introduced in the game will apparently end up in the second book.

You play as Jason Fleming, a young and intelligent man who grew up in a military family and benefited from the training handed down to him, but was sensitive enough to question the ideals of the service and pursued a different life instead (a nod surely to Jason, son of James Bond creator Ian Fleming).

One day he and his date Claire head out to the remote country for a climbing and cavern exploration adventure when she suddenly disappears. While searching for her in amongst the hills he uncovers a military base belonging to The Restoration as they assemble for a frightening invasion. When Claire ends up in one of their detention cells, Jason follows his sense of responsibility and is soon crawling around in heating vents and slipping past guards to try to infiltrate the complex and rescue her.

Jason and Claire are grounded, almost average characters in the video game world and I like the natural way they interact with each other. In recent years the video game industry has adopted the marketing tactics used to sell sneakers to sports fans and beer to fratboys and it’s refreshing to have characters that aren’t addicted to trash talk, pumped up on steroids, or crippled by juvenile angst.

At first you run around with just a backpack and a pistol, sneaking up behind guards to execute wicked take-downs and trading shots with the others who come running when you trip the alarms. A flashlight allows you to explore the walls and ceilings and very quickly you come across locked areas that glow with hidden, secretive colours.

Hidden within the complex are the components of a powered armor suit. As you explore the miles and miles of corridors, storage rooms, hanger bays, and underwater lakes, you’ll find upgrades to enter those colour-coded areas. Areas that the flashlight reveals to be yellow break down with gun fire, green with grenades, red with missiles, and so on. Similarly there are physical obstacles; high-up balconies, flooded corridors, and cave-ins that will be accessible with suit components that let you jump farther, run faster, swim underwater, and climb walls with precision.

In an unusual twist, you go up in experience levels, increasing your shooting accuracy, based on points earned not from defeating guards, but rather from exploring new areas of the map and collecting upgrades. Thankfully there’s no area in the game that you can’t return to, in fact by design you’ll visit each section of the map at least twice if not more. At any time you can pull up the map and see just what percentage of the world and its upgrades you’ve managed to collect.

Events in the game do allow for dynamic changes. Some areas you’ll enter will trigger special shoot-out galleries or Boss Fights against massive ‘Mechs that can change that area slightly, forcing you to go through it in different ways.

The most impressive effects involve underwater exploration. There’s a lovely sense of ballet as you float and swim, exploring dark waters with your flashlight and doing your best to find the next air pocket to breathe from.

Combat is satisfying, not because of any blood or gore effects, but simply in the way you “blow away” the guards once you walk into room. There’s a shotgun-like weapon you’ll uncover later in the game that will send them flying with just a simple glance on your part.

As one large puzzle, Shadow Complex is quite engaging. You don’t have to assemble the power suitor visit each section of the map to finish the game, in fact the expectation seems to be that you won’t. Once you finish the game you can start again, carrying over your experience and any special unlockables from before. You still need to gather all of the items and visit the map sections again to keep going up in levels, but the idea being you know better how to and can spend more time exploring new areas and items.

Special unlockables are awarded if you manage to find all of the gold bars and for every ten levels of experience you gain, starting at 20 up to 50. To give you an idea of what that means, I managed to collect all of the items and reach 99% of the map on my first run through and I reached level 20. On my second run, level 30. Yes, each time I was given a bonus to make it easier to finish the game faster, but it will still take several more tries to fully “finish” the game.

One of the game elements that truly sets Shadow Complex apart from others in the same genre is an item called the Foam Gun. With it you can shoot quick-drying globs that stick onto walls and floors, allowing you to use multiple shots to build walk-ways, ramps, and ledges. The foam will become the obsession of the most die-hard players who will no doubt use it to access ahead of schedule and get items out of order.

Shadow Complex is easily one of the year’s best titles, a rare game that makes all the right original choices, so much so that it should be played by other game designers to take notes from. In no way shape or form does it feel like a download title, it could have easily been released on disc for $70, but instead it’s being offered online for 1200 Microsoft Points ($20) making it also the best deal of the year.

AlaskaReport has learned that Todd Palin and former Alaska governor Sarah Palin are to divorce. Multiple sources in Wasilla and Anchorage (including a former Palin staffer) have confirmed the split. The sources preferred to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions from the Palins and their coworkers.

A National Enquirer story exposing previous affairs on both sides led to a deterioration of their marriage and the stress from that led to Palin’s resignation as governor of Alaska last week.

The Palins were noticeably not speaking to each other for most of last Sunday’s resignation speech in Fairbanks. Sarah ditched Todd (MSNBC) right after the speech and left without him. Sarah removed her wedding ring a couple of weeks ago.

According to the ImmoralMinority blog Sarah has recently purchased land in Montana and is considering moving the family there. Sarah Palin is originally from Idaho.

Todd Palin told Fox News last week that he was heading back to his job in the oil fields of Alaska, yet Sarah recently signed a book deal reportedly worth $11 million.

Editor’s note: AlaskaReport was the first website to report that Sarah Palin was running for governor of Alaska and the first website to report that Sarah was picked as John McCain’s VP candidate.

Related stories:
Sarah Palin’s silence on affair deafening

Palin lawyer threatens to serve papers at kindergarten

Sarah Palin on “hurt feelings” – November 5th, 2008

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin says politicians need to have thick skin “just as I’ve got” Which of course is hilarious since she quit as Alaska’s governor complaining about her hurt feelings from Alaska’s bloggers reporting on her 21 ethics violations.

Sarah Palin on “hurt feelings” from Dennis Zaki on Vimeo.

All-Star Game rosters
• Enhanced roster
• By team | By league
• Starters: AL | NL
• Pitchers: AL | NL
• Reserves: AL | NL
• Sprint Final Vote
• Rosters unveiled
All-Stars: AL | NL
Final Vote: AL | NL

But really, it was hard to top what you saw on the giant check sitting in front of Fielder in the news conference afterward. It read: $665,000. That was about double the total of last year’s contribution to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, largely the result of adding $5,000 per normal home run in addition to the usual $17,000 per gold ball.

“It was really a part of Major League Baseball’s ‘Going Beyond’ efforts,” explained Todd Fischer, manager of national sponsorships for State Farm. “It was a matter of doing more, especially in this time. We have 17,000 agents and we’re out there where people live, and there’s no better way to help than with MLB’s ‘Going Beyond’ program.”

Every move that is made in the events surrounding this 80th All-Star Game at Busch Stadium is overshadowed by that “Going Beyond” theme, as fans have seen from the start and as they will see all the way through the end of the Midsummer Classic. The Home Run Derby was just the latest demonstration of the efforts that are taking center stage along with players.

MLB responded to President Barack Obama’s call for community service through “United We Serve,” a program that encourages Americans to engage in sustained and meaningful community service. Examples of the results so far have been the All-Star Charity Concert presented by Pepsi, which benefited Stand Up To Cancer; the first All-Star Charity 5K, which helped not only Stand Up To Cancer but also Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation; the presence of 30 People magazine All-Stars Among Us who will be introduced and celebrated by the living U.S. presidents before Tuesday’s game; and what just happened on a sultry summer night for long balls in front of a packed house at Busch.

Fielder won with a total of 23 home runs at an average of 439 feet, and that included two gold balls in the first round. Those, as is now customary each year, are inserted by the pitcher whenever the batter has nine of his allotted 10 outs per at-bat. That means Fielder accounted for $105,000 for the regular homers and another $34,000 for the gold balls. It’s a pretty good night when you can swing a baseball bat and give $139,000 total to a charity in the process.

“It’s really cool,” Fielder said, clearly exhausted after the night of swinging lumber loaned by Brewers teammates Rickie Weeks and then Ryan Braun. “It’s something you see growing up as a kid, and I’m just happy my kids were here and also I got to win. That’s a big plus. So a very cool night.”

There was a kid sitting right next to him at the dais during the post-Derby news conference. She was Kylie Kochel, 14, from a club in Bethalto, Ill., right across the river. Kochel was part of the Boys & Girls Club player matchup program, and she was matched up with Fielder. So her club now has part of that $665,000 — $50,000 that, according to Fischer, it can apply toward new computers, renovations and school supplies that will benefit the club for many years.

All of the eight matchup youths were representing local B&G Clubs, Fischer said, and the seven whose contestants did not win will each receive $10,000 for their club. So that means $120,000 stays in the local community after All-Star Week is over, and the rest goes to the national Boys & Girls Clubs organization, which is MLB’s longstanding official charity.

Fielder talked at length about the baseball-crushing matters of the night. He nudged the microphone over to Kylie to answer the question about what it meant for such a huge number to appear on that oversized check in front of them.

“It means a lot, because I know that I had a small part in helping with the teen center, and it is just a good feeling knowing that we’re going to have a better place to hang out, and I’m just very proud,” she said.

“What a wonderful evening for the city of St. Louis and State Farm and all these folks — an amazing State Farm Home Run Derby,” Fischer said. “While we sit here tonight and look at Prince as the overall Home Run Derby champion, there are so many winners to talk about. The largest group of them all is the Boys & Girls Club tonight. State Farm stepped up to the plate this year and beyond just the gold ball, came up with $5,000 for every non-gold ball home run. Hopefully at a time when it means the most, it will make a lasting impact.

“This night won’t be soon forgotten.”

Players get in the act by tying charity into this event as well. Adrian Gonzalez and his wife, Betsy, will donate $400 — $200 for each home run he hit — to The Adrian and Betsy Gonzalez Foundation and the Padres Foundation to benefit children. The Padres committed to match their donation and the Trinity Bat Co. will also donate $100 for each Gonzalez home run in the event. Naturally Gonzalez was hoping for a far larger total, but it’s something.

Mark Newman is enterprise editor of MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Basebal

The best players in Major League Baseball, as well as President Barack Obama, gathered at Busch Stadium for the 80th All-Star Game. A sellout crowd greeted the stars of the National and American leagues as they battled for bragging rights — and home-field advantage in this fall’s World Series.

The American League defeated the National League 4-3 in Tuesday’s game.

The fans endured a few headaches with traffic flow and security measures to soak up as much of the national baseball spotlight as possible. And once the festivities inside the stadium were under way, it was a feel-good celebration of baseball — St. Louis style.

It began with the Budweiser Clydesdales, included a salute to America’s volunteer heroes and the National Anthem sung by Missouri native Sheryl Crow. It finished with the Cardinals’ living Hall of Famers — Stan Musial, Bruce Sutter, Bob Gibson, Ozzie Smith, Red Schoendienst and Lou Brock, gathered at home plate to greet Obama.

The game was the centerpiece event of a long All-Star weekend in St. Louis. Thousands of fans jammed the sidewalks surrounding the stadium Tuesday afternoon top watch a red carpet parade of the All-Stars, who rode in the backs of pickup trucks, many with members of their families. St. Louis literally rolled out the red carpet for the event, with the street on the parade route covered in red.

“Look, there’s Marquis!” squealed Brittany Martin, who with five members of her family, traveled from Rolla, Mo., to take in the All-Star festivities. The 19-year-old college student, a lifelong Cardinals fan, was reacting to seeing former Cardinal pitcher Jason Marquis, now of the Colorado Rockies, in the parade.

“I know he’s not a Cardinal anymore, but it’s cool to see him. Having (the All-Star Game) here is fantastic.”

Martin said she and her group had tickets to Monday’s Home Run Derby, but would be watching the All-Star Game at one of downtown St. Louis’ watering holes.

Along with Monday’s Home Run Derby, the weekend-long FanFest at America’s Center and a 5K run Sunday, the All-Star game made for some great memories for baseball fans from around the Midwest.

Like the Martin family, many of the fans along the parade route or checking out the exhibits at the FanFest did not have tickets for the game.

“We just wanted to come down here and take some of it in,” Daniel Cooper of Kirkwood, Mo., said. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for us. They don’t give All-Star Games to St. Louis very often, you know.”

The last MLB All-Star Game staged in St. Louis was in 1966 in conjunction with the opening of then-new Busch Stadium. That venue was razed after the 2005 season and the current Busch Stadium was constructed next door.

It’s a safe bet the security measures taken for that 1966 All-Star Game were a far cry from the ones in use Tuesday. Interstate 64, which runs within a few hundred feet of the stadium, was closed from the Poplar Street Bridge to 14th Street starting at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Streets around the stadium were closed for the afternoon red carpet parade and fans went through security checks as they entered the stadium.

“I don’t mind at all,” said Frank DeMars, who drove to St. Louis from northern Iowa Monday night. “The security is necessary — it’s just a sign of the times. This is a high-profile event and besides, with the president in the house, they have to be extra sure about his safety.”

Souvenir seat cushions were a free giveaway to fans at the game, with some 50,000 waiting at each seat when fans began filtering into the stadium at 3:15 p.m.

The president said Tuesday that renewed employment typically lags behind other signs of improvement as a swooning economy turns around.

More than 2 million jobs have been lost since Congress passed Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package. The unemployment rate stands at 9.5 percent, the highest in 26 years.

Obama said the single biggest challenge for the U.S. and other nations is the creation of enough jobs that pay good wages.

He spoke in the Oval Office after meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Officials made three arrests over the weekend and a fourth Monday evening in the Pensacola killings of Byrd and Melanie Billings, which happened during a home-invasion while several of the children were home.

After saying he hoped to make another one or two arrests Tuesday, Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan later announced that two more suspects were caught in the fatal shootings.

A spokeswoman with the sheriff’s office said that more information would be announced later Tuesday by authorities from Escambia County. A press conference was planned for 1 p.m. EDT.

The new arrests, both in a nearby county, bring the total to six.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the arrests but declined to identify the latest suspects or release other details.

Morgan told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that authorities have tied at least seven people to the crime but that nothing links any of the suspects to the family directly.

Morgan said day laborer Gary Lamont Sumner was arrested on a murder charge in a nearby county Monday after he was pulled over in a traffic stop. The sheriff said investigators have placed Sumner at the scene of the killings, though he wouldn’t provide details.

The couple took care to make their nine-bedroom house a safe place for their growing brood of children, wiring it with surveillance cameras in every room.

It was those cameras that captured images of the masked men who shot the wealthy couple Thursday in a break-in executed with chilling precision.

Morgan said that the crime appeared to have “numerous motives,” though robbery was the only one he would mention.

“Mr. Billings was well-to-do. He was an entrepreneur and he opened his home to the community. You are asking me to speculate on a motive. That could have been one reason,” Morgan said, likening the killings to the 1959 slayings of a Kansas farm family. In that case, chronicled by Truman Capote in the book “In Cold Blood,” the killers mistakenly believed the prosperous family kept a safe full of cash at home.

When asked if the Billings kept much money at their home, Morgan replied, “That has not been verified.”

The video from last Thursday showed three armed, masked men arriving in a red van, entering through the front of the house and then returning to the vehicle. Others dressed in what the sheriff called “ninja garb” went in through an unlocked utility door in the back. They were in and out in under 10 minutes.

The sheriff would not say what, if anything, was stolen.

Some of the nine children in the house at the time were sleeping, but several others saw the break-in, authorities said. One left the house and went to get a neighbor, who called 911.

“I think you’ll find this particularly chilling and here’s why: We have a team that enters at the rear of the home and another that enters at the front of the home,” Morgan said. “It leads me to believe this was a very well-planned and methodical operation.”

Morgan said, however, that there was no indication anyone had unlocked the door for the intruders, adding that people in the community felt comfortable leaving their doors unlocked. He also said he knew of no connection between the men under arrest and the Billings family.

The couple owned several local businesses, including a finance company and a used-car dealership. They lived in Beulah, a rural area west of Pensacola, near the Alabama state line, in a house set deep in the woods. They had 16 children in all — 12 of them adopted.

Tips from the public led police to the van on Saturday. Day laborer Wayne Coldiron, 41, turned himself in on Sunday, and Leonard P. Gonzalez Jr., 35, was arrested the same day in a neighboring county. They were charged with murder and home invasion. The two were expected to have their first court appearances Tuesday.

Authorities also jailed Gonzalez’s father on a charge of evidence tampering. Police said the 56-year-old tried to paint over and hide damage on the van.

Ashley Markham, an adult daughter of the victims, said she plans to carry on with her parents’ legacy. The husband and wife were 68 and 43, respectively.

“My mother always told me some people grow up wanting to be doctors or lawyers or teachers. She wanted to be a mommy,” Markham said in a statement. “Her lifelong dream was loving her babies and being a voice for them.”