Up 2 Speed

Too involved in school to know what was going on in the real world last week? Here's an update:

world

TONY BLAIR GIVES NOTICE: Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair announced he'd step down as head of the Labour Party and as leader of the country effective June 27. Mr. Blair, who has served 10 years, will be succeeded by the winner of a previously scheduled election.

nation

L.A. BLAZE: An 817-acre blaze raged in Los Angeles last week, burning one-fifth of the city's Griffith Park, home to the Hollywood sign. The fire, burning since May 8, missed the famed observatory where James Dean's character in Rebel Without a Cause learned about the solar system and the L.A. Zoo, which was closed to the public and put its animals in holding cells.

offbeat

LAST WISH: At the request of a death-row inmate, hundreds of homeless people in Nashville, Tenn., were treated May 9 to vegetarian pizzas.

Philip Workman, 53, requested that his final meal be a vegetarian pizza donated to any homeless person near Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. The prison refused the request. saying it didn't donate to charity, but those who heard of Mr. Workman's plea pitched in and delivered more than $1,2000 worth of pizza to area missions and homeless shelters.

entertainment

AMERICAN IDOL: The hit show is down to three finalists after Lakisha Jones was voted off May 9. Blake Lewis, Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle are left to compete for the title.

sports

JUNIOR LEAVES: NASCAR race star Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he's leaving the company his father started. After negotiations broke down between the younger Mr. Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Inc., (DEI), the decision was made to go separate ways, spokesmen said. Mr. Earnhardt's departure is expected to start a bidding war for his services between companies. He doesn't know what team he would join, he said.

science

KING HEROD'S TOMB: An Israeli archaeologist claimed he has found the tomb of King Herod, the legendary builder of ancient Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Hebrew University archaeologist Ehud Netzer said May 8 that he and a team of researchers discovered the tomb, which included a limestone sarcophagus. Ruins with an inscription on them were needed for full verification.