Ex-astronaut Lisa Nowak forced out of U.S. Navy

In this Aug. 24, 2007 file photo, Lisa Nowak makes a brief statement to the media outside the courtroom after a hearing at the Orange County courthouse in Orlando, Fla. Nowak, banished from NASA after she attacked a romantic rival, will retire from the Navy with an "other than honorable" discharge and her pay grade will be knocked down one rank, Assistant Secretary of Navy Juan Garcia said in a statement

A former astronaut banished from NASA after she confronted a romantic rival in a bizarre episode is being kicked out of the Navy, officials said Thursday.
Capt. Lisa Nowak will retire with an "other than honorable" discharge and her pay grade will be knocked down one rank, Assistant Secretary of Navy Juan Garcia said in a statement.
Nowak's conduct "fell well short" of what is expected of Navy officers and she "demonstrated a complete disregard for the well-being of a fellow service member," Garcia said.
Nowak was accused of confronting Colleen Shipman in the parking lot of the Orlando International Airport in February 2007 after driving from Houston.
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Nowak had diapers in the car, but Nowak disputed she wore the diapers. Shipman, an Air Force captain, had begun dating Nowak's love interest, former space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein.
Police say Nowak sprayed pepper spray into Shipman's car. Nowak's attorney says the pepper spray never reached Shipman.
Nowak was sentenced in 2009 to a year of probation in the altercation after pleading guilty to burglary charges.
Since her dismissal from the astronaut corps, Nowak has been working at the Chief of Naval Air Training station in Corpus Christi, Texas. She will be demoted to commander when her retirement takes effect Sept. 1.
The "other than honorable" discharge may affect veterans' benefits for Nowak, who has been in the Navy for 20 years. A call to her cell phone was not returned.
The decision by the Navy came after a board of inquiry heard testimony last year.
"Our goal is to make the right decision," said Lt. Alana Garas, a Navy spokeswoman. "There was a lot of material associated with this case ... and the material was fully reviewed ... and that takes time."

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Hamilton ready to wave white flag on title hopes

One career Lewis Hamilton will not start from pole at the Canadian Grand Prix, promoting the dejected McLaren driver to all but wave the white flag before Sunday's race.
Twice a winner on Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Hamilton arrived in Montreal hoping to put the brakes on Sebastian Vettel's blitz towards another driver's crown but after qualifying a disappointing fifth on Saturday, the Briton gave himself little chance of catching the Red Bull world champion.

"Vettel is gone, he is on his way," Hamilton told reporters. "They (Red Bull) are very, very hard for us to catch at this rate."

Hamilton, who became the sport's first black world champion in 2008, had an explosive outburst after the Monaco Grand Prix two weeks ago hinting at discrimination by stewards after receiving penalties and he struggled to contain his frustration again on Saturday.

Unable to disguise his bitter disappointment, a prickly Hamilton said he had done everything he could to get his McLaren further up the grid but that the car was just too slow.

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