Roundup: Space shuttle lands in SoCal; World AIDS Day events; 21% off at Park Hyatt hotels

Today, the Monday after the long Thanksgiving weekend, is known as Cyber Monday for its reputation as one of the busiest online shopping days of the year. If you’re getting a jump on holiday gift-buying today, have a browse down the aisles of the L.A. Times shopping blog first, for tips on shopping at stores of both the online and brick-and-mortar varieties.

NASA news | Did you hear a big boom Sunday afternoon? If so, it was probably one of two sonic booms produced by space shuttle Endeavour. The shuttle, with a crew of seven aboard, landed at Edwards Air Force Base at 1:25 p.m. Sunday. It was initially supposed to land in Cape Canaveral in  Florida but, due to unfavorable weather, was rerouted to Edwards AFB, in the Mojave Desert.

World AIDS Day | The California Department of Health has posted a list of World AIDS Day events in the state, organized by city and county. A candelight vigil this evening in Carlsbad is one of the handful of events in the San Diego region. In Long Beach, on Wednesday, Dec. 3, is an information fair at Maxson Plaza. This list does not include Los Angeles-area events, but I did find some L.A. happenings online, including a DJ-driven fundraiser tonight in Hollywood, for nonprofit organization NextAid.

Maritime news | Over the weekend, pirates fired at a cruise ship off the coast of Somalia. In case you missed it, be sure to read L.A. Times staff writer Jane Engle’s blog post about the incident.

Hotel deal | Park Hyatt hotels are offering 21% room discounts starting today, under a sale running through Dec. 12, 2008. You can take advantage of the discounted rates at 350 Park Hyatt, Andaz, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place and Hyatt Summerfield Suites internationally. See the offer page for more details. Use promotion code ‘LTP107′ when booking online or when calling for a reservation, (800) 233-1234.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: Space shuttle Endeavour; Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times]

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 1, 2008 at 8:22 am by Susan Derby and is filed under California, Deals, Good Morning, Hotels, News, Tips & Advice, Space travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.