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Olympic bronze medalist Warren Weir ran a scorching 19.79 seconds to win the 200 meters on the final day of the Jamaican trials in the joint 14th fastest time ever on Sunday. On a day that Tyson Gay clocked 19.74 to win the American title, Weir covered the entire field by 90 meters and powered away before shutting down in the last 10 meters and slapping his chest in an echo of Usain Bolt at the Beijing Olympics . "Excellent race," Weir, 23, told Reuters. "London was not a fluke and this was a simple statement of things to come in Russia because I'm feeling powerful."   The trials will decide the Jamaican team for the August 10-18 world championships in Moscow. Double Olympic 100 meters champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce secured her second straight national title in the half-lap sprint in a season's best 22.13. Veronica Campbell-Brown, who is facing an anti-doping hearing for using a banned diuretic at the Jamaica International Invitational on May 4, ha

The Detroit Tigers took full advantage of a pair of late Boston errors as they topped the Red Sox 7-5 on Sunday in a battle of two first-place teams. _0"> With the game tied 4-4 in the eighth inning, Boston outfielder Daniel Nava dropped a fly ball before reliever Andrew Miller made an errant throw that led to Detroit's go-ahead rally.   Prince Fielder delivered a two-run single and the Tigers scored three runs in the critical eighth to key their victory and give them a four-game lead atop the American League Central. Despite the defeat, the Red Sox (45-33) remained two games in front of Baltimore (42-34) in the AL East. The Orioles had a chance to gain some ground, but they ran into the red-hot Toronto Blue Jays, who routed them 13-5 for a team record-equaling 11th straight win. Toronto buried Baltimore early by building a 9-0 lead through three innings and cruised in the finale of a three-game home sweep. Edwin Encarnacion hit his 21st home run and finished with t

South African athletes will head to the world championships in Moscow as planned, despite the country's Olympic committee cutting ties with Athletics South Africa (ASA) on Sunday. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) took the decision to suspend ASA's membership as they claim president James Evans axed seven members of his own board unconstitutionally after he was impeached over alleged, and as yet unproven, financial irregularities.   The IAAF have sided with ASA on the matter though and that means South Africa's top athletes, including former Olympic long jump silver medalist Khotso Mokoena and javelin star Sunette Viljoen, will be able to compete in Moscow in August. "We will still be taking athletes to Russia , the decision of SASCOC has no impact on that at all," Evans told Reuters on Monday. "They have never funded us specifically, hopefully this just means they will now leave us alone." However, SASCOC have

The European Space Agency is preparing to launch an experimental reusable spaceship next summer following a successful atmospheric test flight this week, officials said at the Paris Airshow. A mock-up built by Thales Alenia Space was dropped from a helicopter flying 1.9 miles above the Mediterranean near Sardinia on Wednesday to check its handling and parachute system, company officials said. The 14.4 foot long (4.4 meter) craft, known as "IXV" as it is an intermediate experimental vehicle, splashed down in the ocean and was retrieved by an awaiting ship.   The test flight clears IXV for a follow-on demonstration run beyond the Earth's atmosphere in August next year. That program, in turn, paves the way for an orbital prototype dubbed "Pride", slated to launch in 2018. The aim is to help Europe develop an autonomous atmospheric re-entry system that could be used on vehicles flying experiments in space, Roberto Provera, director of space transportation prog

In deciding how to exhibit the space shuttle Atlantis, which goes on display next week, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida opted for a perspective that would allow the public a rare view. "One of the ideas that developed very early was to show the orbiter as only astronauts had seen it - in space," said Bill Moore, chief operating officer with Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, which operates the visitors center for NASA at Cape Canaveral.   The developers of the exhibit raised the 150,000-pound (68,000-kg) spaceship 30 feet into the air and tilted it 43 degrees over on its left side, simulating the vehicle in flight. The shuttle's 60-foot-long cargo bay doors were also opened, a gutsy move since the 2.5-ton panels were designed for the weightless environment of space, and a mock-up robotic arm was added - the real one could not support its weight in Earth's gravity. Then a viewing ramp was built to bring visitors almost within arm'

Plants do complex arithmetic calculations to make sure they have enough food to get them through the night, new research published in journal eLife shows. _0"> Scientists at Britain's John Innes Centre said plants adjust their rate of starch consumption to prevent starvation during the night when they are unable to feed themselves with energy from the sun.   They can even compensate for an unexpected early night. "This is the first concrete example in a fundamental biological process of such a sophisticated arithmetic calculation," mathematical modeler Martin Howard of John Innes Centre (JIC) said. During the night, mechanisms inside the leaf measure the size of the starch store and estimate the length of time until dawn. Information about time comes from an internal clock, similar to the human body clock. "The capacity to perform arithmetic calculation is vital for plant growth and productivity," JIC metabolic biologist Alison Smith said. "

Federal agents on the U.S.-Mexican border would double to about 40,000 under a deal reached on Thursday in the Democratic-led Senate to draw more Republicans to a landmark immigration bill headed toward anticipated passage. Some questioned the costs and benefits of up to $50 billion in the extra border security, which also will include high-tech surveillance equipment such as manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, radar and seismic devices.   But concerns were overshadowed by the deal's main goal: win votes for an overhaul of U.S. immigration law that will open a pathway to citizenship for up to 11 million undocumented immigrants. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid was expected to set a test vote for as early as Monday in a bid to have the deal added to the White House-backed bill in the form of an amendment. A senior Democratic aide predicted the amendment would get upward of 60 votes in the 100-member chamber, more than enough to clear any procedural roadblocks. A vote on p