Jerilee Bennett / The Gazette via AP

Homes are destroyed by the Waldo Canyon fire in the Mountain Shadows area of Colorado Springs, Colo., on June 26, 2012.

Rick Wilking / Reuters

A monster Colorado wildfire raging near some of the most visited tourist areas in the state took a turn for the worse on Tuesday as hot winds pushed flames north, prompting the evacuation of 7,000 more people, officials said.

Adrian Sanchez-Gonzalez / AP

In this aerial photo, the Bear Trap fire burns near Ennis, Mont. Tuesday, June 26, 2012.

msnbc.com staff and news service reports: Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes around Colorado Springs, Colo. as the Waldo Canyon Fire consumed more than 5,000 acres, the Denver Post reported. High winds and 100-plus-degree temperatures have worked against firefighters.

The El Paso County sheriff told reporters Tuesday night that 32,000 people were evacuated in the area.

The U.S. Air Force Academy installation commander also issued an evacuation order for residents on the complex, an Air Force statement said. Continue reading the full story.

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Rick Wilking / Reuters

Evacuated residents and others listen to a briefing as smoke rises from the Waldo Canyon fire west of Colorado Springs, Colorado June 26, 2012.

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Telena Vo poses with the new art exhibit ''Levitated Mass,'' a permanent exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in California on Tuesday, June 26, 2012 in Los Angeles, Calif.

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

A visitor poses with the new art exhibit ''Levitated Mass,'' on Tuesday.

AP reports: The rock was the star as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art pulled the covers off artist Michael Heizer's latest creation — a 340-ton boulder positioned to appear as though it's floating in midair.

Its centerpiece is the two-story-tall chunk of granite that was hauled 105 miles from a Riverside rock quarry earlier this year. Since then, the rock has been carefully positioned above a 465-foot-long trench that museum visitors can stroll. Continue reading the full story.

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Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Telena Vo poses with the new art exhibit ''Levitated Mass,'' on Tuesday.

Genaro C. Armas / AP

Passersby looking at the "Inspiration State College" mural downtown that once included Jerry Sandusky's image.

Genaro C. Armas / AP

Artist Michael Pilato paints a blue ribbon on his mural on Monday.

AP reports: The depiction of Jerry Sandusky on a well-known mural across the street from the Penn State campus has been replaced by an image of a poet and activist draped with a blue ribbon - a symbol for awareness of child sexual abuse.

 Also replacing Sandusky were two red handprints - one belonging to Ann Van Kuren, one of the 12 jurors who convicted Sandusky, and the other belonging to a sexual abuse victim. Continue reading the full story.

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Ann Van Kuren, one of the 12 jurors who convicted former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky poses for a photo as artist Michael Pilato modifies his mural on Monday.

Edward Linsmier / Getty Images

Residents of the Mill Run area ready their homes and prepare to leave under a mandatory evacuation order by emergency management officials on June 26 in New Port Richey, Fla. According to local news, two area rivers have converged and surpassed the 100-year flood plan.

Brian Blanco / Reuters

Matt Smeaton joins friends as they float down a closed six-lane road as floodwater associated with Tropical Storm Debby rises around them in New Port Richey, Fla.

Reuters reports: Tropical Storm Debby weakened as it drifted eastward over Florida on Tuesday, dumping more rain on flooded areas and sending thousands of people fleeing from rising rivers.

After stalling in the Gulf of Mexico, the storm was finally moving but was expected to take two more days to finish its wet slog across Florida.

Emergency managers in Pasco County on Florida's central Gulf Coast ordered a mandatory evacuation for 14,000 to 20,000 people living between the Anclote and Pithlachascotee Rivers. The Anclote rose from 9 feet before Debby's approach to more than 27 feet on Tuesday, well above major flood level, Pasco County spokesman Eric Keaton said.

• Debby's deluge: 2 feet of rain, thousands flee floods

Brian Blanco / Reuters

Madison Montgomery and her boyfriend Gregory Nauykas return with a boat to Nauykas' flooded home to gather belongings after evacuating due to the floodwater associated with Tropical Storm Debby in New Port Richey, Fla. on June 26.

Edward Linsmier / Getty Images

Doreen Ferrilo and Jack Cutler salvage what they can from their flooded home with help from their friend David Rivera before they must leave under a mandatory evacuation order by emergency management officials in the Mill Run area of New Port Richey.

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Oded Balilty / AP

Two Jewish settlers watch as movers, not seen, employed by the Israeli Defense Ministry carry out furniture from an apartment in the Ulpana neighborhood in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit El, near Ramallah, on June 26.

Oded Balilty / AP

Jewish settlers and movers carry out belongings from a settler's apartment in the Ulpana neighborhood in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Beit El, near Ramallah.

Jim Hollander / EPA

A mover employed by the Israeli Defense Ministry moves belongings out from an apartment as two neighbors emotionally talk after they embraced on the staircase of their nearly empty apartments in the Ulpana neighborhood.

Menahem Kahana / AFP - Getty Images

Israeli settlers wrapped in a tallit, or prayer shawl, is hugged by a child as he prays in front of houses in the Ulpana neighborhood of Beit El settlement.

Jewish settlers on Tuesday began moving out of apartment blocs that Israel's Supreme Court ruled had been built illegally on Palestinian-owned land, after reaching an agreement with the government to go quietly.

Sixteen of the 30 families in the contested Ulpana neighborhood of the Beit El settlement were due to leave their homes on Tuesday, and the rest by the end of the week.

The court had ruled that five Ulpana apartment blocs must be torn down by July 1, landing Netanyahu, whose core constituency is pro-settlement, in a political and legal minefield.

--Reuters

Jim Hollander / EPA

A Palestinian worker emerges from a sewer pipe near two Jewish settler homes in a new neighborhood being established on the outskirts of the Beit El settlement.

Ilia Yefimovich / Getty Images

Families evicted from the Ulpana neighborhood move into temporarily housing in the nearby settlement of Beit El on June 26. This is the first day of the evacuation, during which 33 families will be moved several hundred yards to a temporary settlement located inside a military zone.

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Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP - Getty Images

A girl looks at a coffee grain-made paint, competing for a Guinness book record, in central Moscow on June 26. One painter and his five assistants made a 30 square meters mural within twelve days.

Maxim Shemetov / Reuters

An artist assistant sticks coffee beans on a mural while completing the creation after more than ten days of work at the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure in Moscow, on June 26. According to participants and event organizers, the artwork that occupies an area of about 30 square meters has been considered the biggest picture in history made of coffee beans. Its creators intend to send an application to get the artwork to be registered in the Guinness World Records book.

See more photos of record breakers in our slideshow: Guinness World Records 2012

Cathal Mcnaughton / Reuters

Britain's Queen Elizabeth waves to members of the public as she arrives in Enniskillen on the first day of a two day tour of Northern Ireland, June 26.

David Moir / Reuters

People take photographs from a rooftop as Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip arrive for a service of thanksgiving at Saint Macartin's Cathedral in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland June 26.

David Moir / Reuters

Britain's Queen Elizabeth accepts flowers from members of the public after she attended a Service of Thanksgiving at Saint Macartin's Cathedral in Ennniskillen, Northern Ireland June 26.

Chris Jackson / Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II visits Macartin's Cathederal on June 26, in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

Slideshow: Life of a queen

Carl Court / AFP - Getty Images

After more than five decades on the throne, view images from the extraordinary life of Queen Elizabeth II.

Launch slideshow

AP reports: ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland - Queen Elizabeth II arrived in Northern Ireland on Tuesday to celebrate the British territory's hard-won peace in a town that suffered one of the IRA's worst massacres - and inspired its greatest moment of Christian forgiveness.

Catholic and Protestant leaders from across Ireland united in Enniskillen at an ecumenical service in the monarch's honor as, outside in wind and rain, several thousand people waved Union Jack flags and banners honoring the queen amid an unrelenting din of pealing church bells.

The monarch's long-awaited meeting with former Irish Republican Army commander Martin McGuinness comes Wednesday in Belfast. Full story

See more photos from the Queen's life in our slideshow at right.

Alexey Druzhinin / Pool via AFP - Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin lights a candle during his visit to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, in the old city of Jerusalem on June 26.

Alexei Druzhinin / RIA-Novosti via AP

Russian President Vladimir Putin, second left, listens to the Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, right, during a visit to the Holy Sepulcher, in Jerusalem, June 26.

Debbie Hill / Pool via Getty Images

Israeli President Shimon Peres welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Israeli leader's Jerusalem residence on June 25, in Israel.

Jim Hollander / Pool via EPA

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chat after delivering joint statements following their meeting and lunch in Netanyahu's residence, in Jerusalem, June 25.

Majdi Mohammed / AP

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have their picture taken with Palestinian children in traditional clothes during a welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, June 26.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is on his first Middle East tour in seven years, which began with a trip to Jerusalem. Putin met with Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday where the main topics were the crisis in Syria and Iran's nuclear plans.  Sanctions on Iran should be increased, Netanyahu said, and demands enhanced regarding its nuclear program. Netanyahu told a news conference in Jerusalem that Israel and Russia agreed that Iranian nuclear proliferation posed a threat to Israel and the world. Russia hosted the latest talks with Iran earlier this month which failed to produce any commitments. Putin’s visit was scheduled to coincide with the inauguration of the national monument honoring Soviet Red Army soldiers killed in World War II.

On Tuesday, Putin met with Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Bethlehem and visited the Church of the Nativity. Putin's meeting with Abbas was expected to focus on the deadlock over restarting Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that has been on hold for almost four years. Putin will travel next to Jordan, where he will meet King Abdullah.

Story: Netanyahu urges action on Iran after meeting Putin

Dan Kitwood / Getty Images

Girls relax as they wait in the queue to purchase tickets for day two of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 26, 2012 in London, England.

Ben Stansall / AFP - Getty Images

Tennis fans pose for pictures with Andy Murray masks as they queue for tickets.

Local hero Andy Murray is one of the main attractions for fans at Wimbledon today, with the fourth seed due to come up against Nikolay Davydenko on Centre Court. The Scotsman hired Ivan Lendl as his coach late last year as he attempts to break the stranglehold of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer at the top of the men's game.

Related content:

• NYT: Can Ivan Lendl lead Andy Murray to tennis greatness?
• Quiet please! Wimbledon decorum adheres to tradition
• PhotoBlog: Looking back at Wimbledon in 1921
• Full tennis coverage on NBCSports.com

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Andy Rain / EPA

Spectators arrive at Centre Court at Wimbledon on June 26, 2012.

Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com

Electrician Ivan Camillo has been unemployed for five months. He joined members of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) at a protest in Barcelona, Spain, on Thursday, June 21, 2012..

By F. Brinley Bruton, msnbc.com — Despite boasting Europe's fourth-largest economy, hundreds of thousands have been forced into destitution by Spain’s housing crash.

Many Spaniards now exist on the margins of a society that just a few years ago promised them easy access to cars, holiday homes, trips abroad and regular tickets to professional soccer games.

The crisis was born out of a mighty housing and construction bubble that saw house prices triple between 1995 and 2007. They've fallen by at least a quarter since then. About one out of every four people in Spain is without a job, according to government statistics, and hundreds of thousands have lost their homes.

Last week, msnbc.com spoke to some of those affected for a report on the crisis.

When Ivan Camillo, 33, above, took out a foreign currency mortgage in 2007, the bank assured him that he would pay very little interest for around 15 years. This has not been the case, he says, and monthly payments ballooned from 900 euros ($1,125) per month to around 1,500 euros ($1,876).

Camillo, an electrician, has been out of a job for five months and can no longer cover the mortgage, he says.

"The government could try to help us but it doesn't want to know," he says.

Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com

Juan Antonio Pache, 67, lost his business and home during the economic crisis and now lives with his son. Pache doesn't receive a state pension and has been forced to live separately from his wife, who has moved back in with family in another town.

"The only ones helping me are (Catholic charity) Caritas. I've always worked, I've worked a lot, all I've done is work," he says.

"I have no pension, no income, nothing, nothing," he says as he stands in Sabadell, near Barcelona. "I'm living with the 50 euros ($62) my wife is able to send me occasionally."

Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com

Tony Cortes and Ana Valderrama sit with daughters Jennifer, seven, and Ariadna, 11, in the apartment the family occupies illegally in Terrassa, Spain. Cortes, 38, worked in construction and Valderrama, 36, at a cleaning company until they both lost their jobs around three years ago.

"I was left without a job and even though I searched and searched I couldn't find another one," Cortes says.

In December, the family joined 10 others to occupy an empty building owned by a bank.

Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com

Araceli Sanchez, 48, standing in Rambla del Raval, Barcelona, says she used to work in the hotel industry but has been unemployed for three years.

"We are stupid, we let ourselves be fooled (by the government and the bankers)," she says.

Sanchez gets 426 euros ($532) per month in government assistance.

Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com

Members of the Platform for People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) campaign group meets in Barcelona's Old Town.

The weekly meeting is full, with first-timers hoping to get advice on how to avoid repossession vying for time with others trying to plan future protests and actions.

The PAH, founded in Barcelona in 2009, has made a name for itself across Spain by calling attention to the hundreds of thousands who lost their homes after the housing bubble burst. The organization estimates that there are about 200 home repossessions a day throughout the country.

Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com

M-15 activists Xapo and Diana (who prefer not to use their last names), are journalists with 15Mbcn.TV, which works with protest groups throughout the country to create and disseminate video packages about the movement.

Also known as the "Indignados," M-15 was born in 2011 during spontaneous demonstrations against the handling of the economic crisis and helped inspire the global "Occupy" movement.

Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com

Marti Olivella, a long-time peace activist from Catalunya, was a founder of Spain's first group of conscientious objectors to military service. He currently works with a variety of peace and protest groups both in Spain and abroad in an effort to change society fundamentally, he says.

"I am opposed to the armed violence of the military, and the structural violence of the bankers," he says.

Xavier Cervera / Panos for msnbc.com

House-cleaner Stephanie Abarca, 28, says the economic crisis has hit her hard and she now works 20 hours a week instead of 40. The Costa Rica native earns 120 euros a month for cleaning one house for an hour a day Monday to Friday. Her commute to the job in Can Matas, Sant Cugat del Valles, outside of Barcelona, takes over an hour each way, she says.

Read the full report: Spain's economic crisis turns middle-class families into illegal squatters.

Lynn DeBruin / AP

Tammy Lance of Payson, Utah, swaddles a kitten after finding the litter alive under a burned-out truck in the Oaker Hills neighborhood in Sanpete County, Utah, on Monday, June 25, 2012. The area was devastated by a wildfire that started Saturday.

Scott G. Winterton / The Deseret News via AP

An air tanker drops fire retardant while battling a blaze near Mt. Pleasant, Utah, on June 25, 2012. Firefighting officials say they have 10 percent containment on a fire that's threatening about 300 homes in Sanpete County and has burned structures, although they say it's not clear how many structures were burned or what kind they are.

The Wood Hollow wildfire in Utah spread to nearly 39,000 acres Monday, The Deseret News reports:

Firefighters in Sanpete County had hoped to reach 20 percent containment of the Wood Hollow Fire by late Monday. Mandatory evacuation orders remained in place, although officials acknowledged that not all residents left their homes.

More than 200 homes were evacuated Sunday, including the subdivisions of Oaker Hills, Elk Ridge, Indian Ridge, Panorama, Big Hollow and Hideaway Valley — areas that were a mixture of summer cabins, primary residences and horse and livestock properties. Read the full story.

Wildfires leave Colorado tourism high and dry

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Lynn DeBruin / AP

A stream of melted aluminum from a burned-out car is visible on the ground in the Oaker Hills neighborhood on June 25, 2012.

Lynn DeBruin / AP

Cody Emerine surveys some of the destruction after a wildfire swept through the Oaker Hills neighborhood on June 25, 2012. The Wood Hollow Fire has destroyed at least two dozen homes but was only 15 percent contained by late Monday night.

Lynn DeBruin / AP

Tammy Lance comforts one of the rescued kittens on June 25, 2012. Lance's cabin in the Oaker Hills neighborhood was destroyed but she and her husband found the kittens alive under a burned-out truck nearby.

Lynn DeBruin / AP

Chunk Lance comforts neighbor Kellie Sanderson on June 25, 2012, after they viewed an area in central Utah that was devastated by a wildfire. Lance's cabin in the Oaker Hills neighborhood was destroyed but Sanderson's survived.

Mark Humphrey / AP

Ryan Lochte, right, leads Michael Phelps in the men's 400-meter individual medley final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Monday, June 25, 2012, in Omaha, Neb.

nbcolympics.com reports: Phelps was exhausted afterward while speaking to a huge throng of reporters in the mixed zone. “It was a little painful. After watching Ryan swim this morning and I know how Tyler always swims that race, he’s a very strong front-half swimmer,” said Phelps, who confirmed to NBC’s Andrea Kremer he will swim the race in London. “I just tried to put myself in a good position for the first 200.”

Surprisingly, Lochte wasn’t entirely satisfied with his time. In fact, he was not happy. “That time was not good at all, I know I'm capable of going way faster,” he said. “There was definitely a lot of places during that race where I knew I could go as faster, I just didn't.”  Continue reading the full story.

Edward Linsmier / EPA

Residents of the Riviera Bay community in St. Petersburg, Fla., experienced flooding after tropical storm Debby stalled over the Gulf of Mexico and dumped over 10 inches of rain on June 25 2012.

Handout / Reuters

Tropical Storm Debby over southeast US on June, 24, 2012.

The National Hurricane Center expects Debby to make landfall on Thursday in the Florida Panhandle as a tropical storm, but warns that forecasts remain uncertain. Read the full report here.

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Al Bello / Getty Images

Michael Phelps competes in preliminary heat 10 of the Men's 400 m Individual Medley during the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Trials at CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Neb. on June 25, 2012.

David Phillip / AP

Peter Vanderkaay swims in the men's 400-meter freestyle preliminaries.

Mark Humphrey / AP

William Nicely, from left, David Ingraham, Nolan Tesone and Stephen Schmuhl swim in the men's 400-meter individual medley preliminaries.

Read about the trials here

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Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Uggie, the canine star form the film "The Artist" which won an Academy Award for Best Picture, walks the red carpet outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre to cast his paw prints in cement during a ceremony marking his retirement from show business on June 25.

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

Uggie's shows his paws, with the help of his Owner/trainer Omar Von Muller, after they were casted in cement outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Robyn Beck / AFP - Getty Images

Uggie, the dog who starred in the Academy Award-winning film "The Artist," is honored with a hand and paw print ceremony outside Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Calif.

Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier and movie star who upstaged his human costars in "The Artist," planted his paws in wet concrete at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, marking his retirement from the movies on Monday.

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Niranjan Shrestha/AP

Nepalese police detain anti-government protesters near the airport in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday.

The Associated Press reports: Nepalese police detained anti-government protesters who were demanding the resignation of Nepalese Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai near the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Monday. The protesters tried to block Bhattarai's motorcade as he returned home Monday from a U.N. conference in Brazil. Bhattarai has been leading a caretaker government since last month, but opposition parties want him to resign so a new government that includes representatives from all major parties can take over and conduct elections in November.

Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Cadres of the opposition party wave a party flag while looking out of the window of a police van after getting arrested for protesting in front of Tribhuvan International Airport.

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

An exterior view of the world's largest McDonald's restaurant and their flagship outlet in the Olympic Park on June 25 in London.

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

The Olympic Stadium is seen from the balcony of the world's largest McDonald's restaurant in London's Olympic Park.

The newest McDonald's built at Olympic Park in London is the world's largest, and when the Olympics begin in July, it will also be the busiest.

The restaurant, which is one of four McDonald's to be situated within the Olympic Park, will have a staff of 500, seat 1,500 and serve up to 14,000 people a day.

McDonald's is the sole restaurant allowed to sell brand-name food at the London Games, and despite complaints by British doctors, the food choices will largely be the same as McDonald's fare around the world.

After the Olympic and Paralympic Games conclude the restaurant will be dismantled and all fixtures and fittings will be either reused or recycled. 

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

Assistant manager Rachel Lucien walks past the checkouts in the world's largest McDonald's restaurant which is their flagship outlet in the Olympic Park on June 25 in London.

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

An interior view of the world's largest McDonald's restaurant and their flagship outlet in the Olympic Park. The restaurant will seat 1,500 and serve up to 14,000 people a day.

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Keith Bedford / Reuters

Construction workers and guests watch as the final steel beam to be installed on 4 World Trade Center is raised during a ceremony in New York, June 25.

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

Construction workers sign the last steel beam before it is hoisted 977 feet to the top of Four World Trade Center on June 25, in New York City.

Andrew Gombert / EPA

The last steel beam is lifted to the top of 4 World Trade Center, June 25.

The final steel beam, signed by a group of construction workers was lifted by crane 977 feet in the air and placed atop 4 World Trade Center, which will be the first tower completed on the 16-acre World Trade Center site when it opens in the fall of 2013.  Full story.

Mark Lennihan / AP

In a photo made Saturday, June 23, 2012, construction cranes perch on top of One World Trade Center, left, and Four World Trade Center in New York.

Vincent Yu / AP

Members of the media take pictures and videos of the home of Chief Executive-elect Leung Chun-ying in Hong Kong Monday, June 25.

Antony Dickson / AFP - Getty Images

Workers begin dismantling illegal structures at the residence of Hong Kong's leader-elect Leung Chun-ying in Hong Kong on June 25.

Hong Kong's leader-elect Leung Chun-ying apologized for letting down the people of Hong Kong, following the controversy over illegal structures at his home. Leung admitted he was negligent and stated that he did not know the structures were illegal, according to the government radio. The apology was issued for an illegal glass canopy at his home and came months after his election rival admitted to building an unauthorized basement. In a city where people are regularly prosecuted over illegal additions to their homes, Leung Chun-ying said the canopy had been demolished as soon as he realized it had been built without the necessary approvals. 

• Story: Leung `neglectful' at homes, claims aide
• Story: Hong Kong wealth gap widens amid tycoon scandals
• Story: Tough, pro-Beijing Leung Chun-ying to lead wary Hong Kong

Mukhtar Khan / AP

Hindu pilgrims climb a hill to the Amarnath cave, near Baltal, India, June 25.

Fayaz Kabli / Reuters

Soldiers from India's Border Security Force (BSF) keep watch as Hindu pilgrims make their way to the holy cave of Lord Shiva, June 25.

Tauseef Mustafa / AFP - Getty Images

A Hindu devotee is carried by porters during her pilgrimage from Baltal Base Camp to the holy Amarnath Cave Shrine, in Baltal on June 25.

Fayaz Kabli / Reuters

Hindu pilgrims travel by horseback and by foot, beside a glacier-fed stream during their annual pilgrimage to holy cave of Lord Shiva, in Pishutop, 114 km (71 miles) southeast of Srinagar June 25.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims trek through treacherous mountains in Kashmir, along icy streams, glacier-fed lakes and frozen passes, to reach the Amarnath cave, located at an altitude of 3,800 metres (12,467 feet). There, devotees worship an ice an icy stalagmite representing Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction.

Story from the Times of India: 12,000 pilgrims arrive for Amarnath Yatra

More about the cave and shrine.

USA Track & Field via AP

This Saturday, June 23, 2012, photo provided by USA Track & Field shows the third-place finish of the women's 100-meter final from a photo-finish camera, shot at 3,000-frames-per-second, during the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore. Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh, in foreground, finished in a dead heat for the last U.S. spot in the 100 to the London Games, each leaning across the finish line in 11.068 seconds. The first torso to cross the finish line is what establishes a winner.

Mike Blake / Reuters

Allyson Felix puts her arm around Jeneba Tarmoh after the two runners tied for third place in the women's 100m race at the U.S. Olympic athletics trials in Eugene, Oregon, June 23.

 NBC Olympics reports: Nearly 24 hours of confusion over how the dead heat between Allyson Felixand Janeba Tarmoh for the third and final spot on the Olympic team in the women’s 100m will come down to either a coin flip or a run-off.

According to these new procedures, which will be applied to all instances of breaking a tie for the final slot in a running event in which a national team or Olympic team slot is at stake, the tie will be broken by the following protocol:

The athletes involved will be given the option to determine the tie-breaker via coin toss or by run-off.

If the athletes disagree on the tie-breaker, the tie will be broken by a run-off.

If both athletes refuse to declare a preference between the coin toss or the run-off, the tie will be broken by a coin toss.

• Full story.
• Full coverage from NBC Olympics
• Coach wants Felix-Tarmoh tiebreaker delayed