Google Doodle Honors Jorge Luis Borges, Virginia Earthquake Rocks East Coast: Daily Scoop

Google Doodle honors Argentine Jorge Luis Borges, a Virginia earthquake rocks the entire East Coast, Hurricane Irene is upgraded to a Category 3 storm as it approached the United States, and more in today's Daily Scoop.

Google Doodle Honors Jorge Luis Borges

Google's Doodle feature is honoring Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges' August 24^th birthday on Wednesday. The author is best known for his books, Ficciones and The Aleph, which focused on complex topics, including dreams, labyrinths, and the nature of time.

Borges was staunchly against Argentine president Juan Domingo Peron and once referred to Peron's beloved wife, Evita, as a common prostitute.

Borges died in 1986 at 86 and would be 112 if he was still living today. Despite being well-known as a Latin American literary great, Borges was never honored with a Nobel Prize for Literature. There has been speculation it could be because of his conservative nature, but Borges always thought it was his background.

Not granting me the Nobel Prize has become a Scandinavian tradition; since I was born they have not been granting it to me, he said.

Today's Borges Google Doodle shows the author looking out to a complex world, no doubt playing up the complex nature of his works.

Virginia Earthquake Rocks East Coast

The East Coast was rocked on Tuesday by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake that originated from Mineral, Va. The earthquake sent shockwaves all up through the East Coast, hitting Washington, D.C. particularly hard.

The nation's capital evacuated many of its most important government buildings, including the White House, U.S. Capitol, and Pentagon, while also suffering damage to some of its most well-known landmarks. The National Cathedral suffered structural damage to its tower and the Washington Monument suffered cracks at its peaks.

After the initial earthquake, the D.C. area experienced aftershocks of various magnitudes, including as high as 4.2.

No serious injuries have been reported from the earthquake; though an Internet meme started after the earthquake showed a few bobble head dolls and chairs were hurt.

Hurricane Irene Upgraded to Category 3

Hurricane Irene has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm as it begins its approach to the United States. Over the last few days it has battered the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico, and now southern American states could feel the storm's wrath.

The first major Atlantic hurricane is expected to graze Florida before hitting the Carolinas dead-on with wind speeds upwards of 111 mph. The storm is expected to hit the Carolinas on Saturday before making its way up the East Coast, possibly rocking the New York and New England areas with rain and winds by Sunday afternoon.

If it hits New York, it could be this week's second big natural occurence for the big city after it experienced some shocks from Tuesday's earthquake.

Pat Summitt Diagnosed with Dementia

Legendary women's basketball coach Pat Summitt announced on Tuesday that she was recently diagnosed with dementia, the Alzheimer's type.

Summitt, known as the fiery Tennessee Vols coach, has won 1,071 games, eight national championships, led the U.S. to a gold medal, and was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000. She had been frustrated by memory lapses and decided to get checked out at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, where she got the diagnosis.

Summitt plans to continue to coach her team, but will cede more power to her long-time assistants.

I feel better just knowing what I'm dealing with, Summitt told reporters And as far as I'm concerned it's not going to keep me from living my life, not going to keep me from coaching.

Gadhafi Compound Captured, but No Gadhafi Found

The search for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi continues after he was nowhere to be found when rebels finally captured his compound.

After the rebels captured his fortress in Tripoli, Gadhafi released a statement that he left his compound in a tactical move and that he is prepared to fight for years.

Before the rebels took over the compound, there was much speculation as to whether Gadhafi was actually still in Libya, or whether he had escaped the country. Early speculation stated that South Africa could provide a plane to help him escape to Cuba, Venezuela, or some other country, though South Africa publicly denied that.

Gadhafi has vowed victory or martyrdom, but it's possible that neither could occur - especially if he isn't in the country.