Julio Cortez / AP

Jeannette Gaston lays a rose on top of the casket of her son, Army Spc. Jonathan Batista, during funeral services at Our Lady of the Magnificat, on July 16, in Kinnelon, N.J.

Julio Cortez / AP

Andrew Gaston, center, cries during funeral services for his brother, Army Spc. Jonathan Batista, at Our Lady of the Magnificat, on July 16, in Kinnelon, N.J.

AP reports --  Jonathan Batista, a 22-year-old paratrooper, was on his first deployment to Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire in Kandahar province on July 8. Batista was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 321st Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Julio Cortez / AP

Pallbearers carry the casket containing the body of Army Spc. Jonathan Batista during funeral services at Our Lady of the Magnificat, on July 16, in Kinnelon, N.J.

Related links:

Slideshow - Afghanistan: Nation at a crossroads 2012

Stephane Mahe / Reuters

The pack of riders cycles during the 15th stage of the 99th Tour de France cycling race between Samatan and Pau, on July 16.

Laurent Rebours / AP

Stage winner Pierrick Fedrigo of France celebrates on the podium of the 15th stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 158.5 kilometers (98.5 miles) with start in Samatan and finish in Pau, France, on July 16.

AP reports -- Pierrick Fedrigo of France won Monday's 15th stage of the Tour de France by leading a two-man final breakaway, as Bradley Wiggins kept the overall lead as he kept with his rivals in the main pack far behind.

The 158.5-kilometer (99-mile) route from Samatan to Pau had a mostly flat layout, but teams with strong sprinters didn't try to chase down the breakaway riders.

Continue reading.

Slideshow: 2012 Tour de France

Darren Staples / Reuters

Great Britain's athlete shoes are shown to the media at the Team GB Preparation Camp in Loughborough, central England, July 16.

Darren Staples / Reuters

Great Britain's badminton players Chris Adcock, left, and Imogen Bankier attend a suit fitting at the Team GB Preparation Camp in Loughborough, central England, July 16.

Darren Staples / Reuters

A Great Britain female athlete's handbag is shown to the media at the Team GB Preparation Camp in Loughborough, central England, July 16.

Darren Staples / Reuters

Signatures of Great Britain's athletes are shown to the media at the Team GB Preparation Camp in Loughborough, central England, July 16.

Darren Staples / Reuters

A man walks through the infinity room at the Team GB Preparation Camp in Loughborough, central England, July 16.

Lindsey Parnaby / AFP - Getty Images

The official British Olympic team gentleman's suit in the fitting room at the Team GB training center and preparation camp at Loughborough University in Loughborough, , on July 16.

It is expected that every Team GB Member, 550 athletes, 450 support staff and 300 volunteers, will be kitted out for the Olympics at the preparation camp in Loughborough between June 18 and July 25 ahead of the Games which officially begin on July 27. 

Related content:

• Slideshow: Venues for 2012 London Olympic Games
• London 2012: Hosting the Games
• Video: Controversy over Olympic uniforms

Angila Golik

When Angila Golik of Carson City, Nevada, took a trip to to Washington, D.C. earlier this month she had no idea she'd witness the romantic scene of a couple's proposal.

Golik had just finished her visit of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial and was walking towards the Washington Monument when she spotted two people standing in the middle of the War Memorial. She noticed the couple because they were the only people on the rotunda. She told TODAY.com, "If you've been to Washington, D.C. you know there are usually 200, 300 people at any given memorial at any given time so I thought, 'Wow, they're the only people there, and it's fenced off.'"

An amateur photographer, Golik had her camera at the ready. Standing about a football field away she switched lenses and zoomed in. She said, "My finger just started doing what it automatically does and I pushed the button a couple times as it zoomed in and that's when I got him proposing." As she watched, the man, dressed in an Air Force Uniform, pulled out a ring and offered it to the woman standing in front of him. She said yes and they embraced, kissing. 

Golik let the happy couple have their moment and when it looked like they were about to leave she tried to get their attention by shouting their way, hoping to get an email address so she could send them the photos. Unfortunately they couldn't hear her, and she lost them as they left the rotunda.

When Golik viewed the photos later she decided that they belong to the couple and now, she's trying to track them down. "I'd like to give them their photos. That's my only goal. If it was me — because I was newly engaged at one time in my life — I would've loved if I had pictures of my proposal."

She shared the photos on her Facebook page and and made a YouTube video. Both have gone viral with the message, "Please help me…share these photos so maybe I can find this couple and give them their pictures!"

Golik is also hoping to know the story behind the proposal. She said, "He was doing it at the Washington War Memorial. Why? Is he coming home from war, or did he go into war, is there something significant about that spot? It's just captivating to me. It's a sweet little story."

More: 
Olympic torch-bearer stops mid-relay, proposes 
Video: Spend or splurge on wedding gifts for every couple 
Hoda's playlist: 'Want U Back'

David Gray / Reuters

A room decorated with military maps and old propaganda posters in a cave that was once the headquarters of former Chinese Communist military leader Lin Biao, located in mountains on the outskirts of Beijing July 16.

David Gray / Reuters

A gas mask hangs next to a poster of former Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong in a cave that was once the headquarters of former Chinese Communist military leader Lin Biao, July 16.

David Gray / Reuters

Grenades and a tank mine sit atop ordnance boxes in a cave that was once the headquarters of former Chinese Communist military leader Lin Biao, July 16.

David Gray / Reuters

Old parachutes hang above tables in a cave that was once the headquarters of former Chinese Communist military leader Lin Biao,

David Gray / Reuters

The entrance to a cave, shaped in the form of an aeroplane, can be seen under a mountain that was once the headquarters of former Chinese Communist military leader Lin Biao located on the outskirts of Beijing July 16.

Reuters reports: A cave that was once the headquarters of former Chinese Communist military leader Lin Biao, has been turned into a ‘Military Bar’ using old military ordnance as furniture including sandbags, helmets, artillery shells and land mines. Marshal Lin Biao used the cave as his military headquarters in 1968 shortly before he died in a plane crash in Mongolia, following what appeared to be a failed coup to oust Chairman Mao. Shortly after his death, he was officially condemned as a traitor by the Communist Party of China.  The cave, located in mountains on the outskirts of Beijing, has an entrance in the form of airplane.  If you're one of the few to make the trip to see it, bring a jacket as the cave is cold inside.  

Above, Bruce Campbell relaxes in the Boeing 727-200 that he converted to a home in rural Hillsboro, Oregon. Campbell bought the used airplane from Olympic Airways, and had it flown from Athens, Greece to Portland-Hillsboro Airport. He removed the wings before towing the fuselage to his property and reattaching the wings there. (John Brecher / msnbc.com)

John Brecher / msnbc.com

The rear staircase serves as the main entry to the home, which is sited in a former walnut orchard. 

Slideshow: A plane home

John Brecher / NBCNews.com

Launch slideshow

Bill Briggs reports in the Bottom Line blog that Campbell won't subdivide the interior into rooms, as he thinks planes work well just they way they are:

“Aircraft are flying homes for people,” Campbell said. “They stay in the sky sometimes for 12 to 14 hours at a time and people have to eat and use the toilet and do almost everything else we normally do -- and all of those facilities are in there. They’re built along with lighting and climate control, everything.

“What I’m trying to demonstrate is that the conversion process can be really very simple and straightforward. If people want something different (inside), they can always redecorate.”

See more images inside and out of Cambpell's converted airplane home in this slideshow.  And for even more information, see his project's website at AirplaneHome.com.

John Brecher / msnbc.com

Built in 1969, the airplane made 43,000 flights for Olympic Airways in Greece before Campbell acquired it. This image was stitched from three frames.

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Mukhtar Khan / AP

Indian policemen detain a Kashmiri teacher during a protest in Srinagar on July 16, 2012.

Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir detained dozens of government teachers during a protest on Monday, The Associated Press reports. The teachers had taken to the streets demanding a hike in salary and regularization of their jobs. 

Tauseef Mustafa / AFP - Getty Images

A teacher holds a placard during a protest in Srinagar on July 16, 2012. 50 Rupees equals $0.90 USD.

Fayaz Kabli / Reuters

A Kashmiri government teacher inside a police van after he was detained during a protest in Srinagar on July 16, 2012.

Bobby Yip / Reuters

Pro-democracy lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung throws a defaced mask with a long nose, depicting Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying as a liar, towards Chun-ying as he attends his first question-and-answer session at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong on July 16, 2012.

Kin Cheung / AP

Legislative Council member Lee Cheuk-yan sits next to a picture of Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying with a Pinocchio nose during Leung Chun-ying's question-and-answer session on July 16, 2012.

Reuters reports — Hong Kong's embattled new leader, Leung Chun-ying, announced a series of welfare measures on Monday and pleaded for time to deal with scandals that have rocked the city, including illegal structures in his own home. 

As Leung spoke in the legislature, maverick activist lawmaker "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung hurled an effigy of Pinnochio, the cartoon character prone to telling lies, at the new leader, missing him by a few meters.

The chief executive, the third person to lead Hong Kong since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997, was unfazed, maintaining a stoic expression throughout the 90-minute session. Read the full story.

Kin Cheung / AP

Leung Kwok-hung, also known as Long Hair, second from right, is taken away by security officers after throwing the effigy. A placard near Leung shows a picture of China's late activist Li Wangyang who died June following his release from a two-decade of imprisonment, and reads: "Mourning my warrior."

Johanna Kannasmaa / EPA

Players in action during the Swamp Soccer Championships 2012 in Hyrynsalmi, Finland. All pictures taken on on July 14, 2012 and made available to NBCNews.com on July 16.

Johanna Kannasmaa / EPA

Johanna Kannasmaa / EPA

Johanna Kannasmaa / EPA

A match between Telinekataja (in orange) and last year's winners FC Lerssi (in white).

Johanna Kannasmaa / EPA

The manager of one of the losing teams wallows in the mud.

Over 300 teams and 5,000 players competed in the annual Swamp Soccer Championships in Hyrynsalmi, Finland over the weekend. 

Read more about Finland's impressive collection of bizarre sporting events, which also include wife-carrying and cellphone-throwing contests, and take a look through some more muddy images on PhotoBlog.

Andrew Krueger / The Duluth News-Tribune via AP

The northern lights fill the sky over the south shore of Lake Superior east of Superior, Wis. above Duluth, Minn., pictured above, and are also seen in the sky over Lake Elora in northern Minnesota early, July 15, below. A solar storm sparked the show in the skies over the Upper Midwest and could also be active tonight.

See more PhotoBlog posts of the northern lights.

Brian Peterson / Minneapolis Star via Zuma Press

July 15, 2012 - Cotton, MN, USA - A spectacular display of northern lights filled the sky over Lake Elora in northern Minnesota early Sunday morning on July 15, 2012. A solar storm sparked the show in the skies over the Upper Midwest and could also be active tonight.