Chinese Cheered by Eclipse

Finally, China had an act of nature it could celebrate. After an Olympic year of freakish natural disasters, crowds of Chinese watched a total solar eclipse along the country's ancient Silk Road on Friday, one week before the start of the Summer Games in Beijing, the AP reports.

It was a welcome respite after a 2008 that began with heavy snowstorms at the Chinese New Year, followed by China's deadliest earthquake in a generation, then river flooding—and even a huge algae bloom at the Olympic sailing site. The eclipse, once a bad omen for China's imperial rulers, was cheered by a country eager for any auspicious sign before the games. (More China stories.)