Blog Posts by Mike Krumboltz, Yahoo! News

NASA's new class of astronauts. Top row (L-R): Josh A. Cassada, Victor J. Glover, Tyler N. Hague, Christina M. Hammock. Bottom Row (L-R): Nicole Aunapu Mann, Anne C. McClain, Jessica U. Meir, Andrew R. Morgan (photos: NASA)

NASA has picked eight new astronauts, half of them women, according to a press release from the space agency.

NASA said this was the "the highest percentage of female astronaut candidates ever selected for a class." The American space agency announced that the eight astronauts were chosen from among 6,100 applicants, the equivalent of a .0013 acceptance rate.

The AP reports there are currently 49 astronauts at NASA. The newly picked group of eight will begin their training in August at Houston's Johnson Space Center.

NASA's new hire announcement comes on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the late Sally Ride's historic mission as the first woman in space. Ride remains the youngest American in space, either male or female.

NASA stressed that it chooses its astronauts based only on skill. Jay Bolden, public affairs officer at NASA, told CNN: "We have great female candidates in the pool this year. The selection is about qualifications. It has nothing to do with their genders."

In a

Letter that accompanied the donation (photo via Facebook)

A trio of caring kids have donated the profits of their lemonade stand business to their local food bank.

The Utah Food Bank posted a photo of the note that accompanied the donation on its Facebook page.

Via Facebook:

Dear Utah Food Bank,

I wanted to contribute the money I made from my lemonade stand to help feed the hungry.

Sincerely,

Aidan (8)
Sofia (8)
Zach (6)

The letter was accompanied by a check for $36.50, according to a report from the Salt Lake Tribune.

Utah Food Bank spokeswoman Heidi Cannella told the Upbeat in an email that "1 in 5 Utah kids are unsure where their next meal will come from." The Utah Food Bank "distributed over 34 million pounds of food (the equivalent of over 28 million meals)" in 2012.

Commenters posted a slew of positive messages on the Utah Food Bank's Facebook page regarding the kids' donation. One person wrote, "That is so awesome! What great kids."

Another referenced Salt Lake City's Primary Children's Medical Center in her post: "So cute. My girls

Miss Iowa Nicole Kelly (MissIowa.com)

Nicole Kelly, the newly crowned Miss Iowa, plans to use her title to help advocate for people with disabilities, reports the DesMoines Register.

Kelly, 23, was born without her left forearm, according to her biography at MissIowa.com (note: site has been intermittently down). Photos can be viewed at the Miss Iowa Facebook page.

After winning the title, Kelly spoke with CBS-4 News. "It was shocking and overwhelming—just like that your life changes," she said.

"As I grew up I learned to counterbalance the initial stares I received from people with an outgoing personality that would not give into 'no,'" Kelly wrote on the pageant site. "This means that I tried everything. From baseball, to dance, to diving—there's nothing I would not try. I found my passion within a world where I was giving people permission to stare: the stage."

According to Kelly's biography, she's currently studying directing and theater management at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She hopes to work on

Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva (yes, that's one name) is one of the wealthiest women in all of Spain. She is worth somewhere between $850 million and $5 billion--but not for long. The Duchess of Alba, 85, is giving it all away so she can marry the man she loves.

This sounds like a plot to the latest Nicholas Sparks novel, but we assure you, this is nonfiction to the core. So, why is she giving her vast fortune away? The duchess's six children were dubious about their mother's plans to marry Alfonso Diez, a civil servant who is 24 years younger.

To help assuage their fears that the love may not be genuine, the duchess is going to give her fortune to her children. According to an article from the BBC, the duchess's six children had been against the wedding. Earlier this year, the duchess remarked, "Alfonso doesn't want anything. All he wants is me."

Duchess of Alba, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart and Alfonso Diez attend ELLE Awards 25th Anniversary at the Matadero cultural center on June 30, 2011 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)