Brooke Burke waltzed away with the mirror ball trophy on the "Dancing with the Stars" finale. Voters, judges put former footballer Warren Sapp in second place

The 37-year-old TV personality and mother of four dominated the seventh season of the popular ABC dancing competition and bested former NFL player Warren Sapp and former 'NSync member Lance Bass during the Tuesday night finale, in which she reprised an emotional Viennese waltz routine that earned her a perfect score from the show's panel of judges.

"Unbelievable," was all Burke could muster after winning amid a flurry a confetti.

From the outset, the slinky former host of E!'s "Wild On" and CBS' "Rock Star" commanded the ballroom this season, coming in first place eight out of 10 times and receiving a 10 — the judges' top score — 16 times. Burke was crowned the latest "Dancing with the Stars" champion after the judges' scores — 88 out of 90 — were combined with viewers' votes.

"I actually can't believe it," said Derek Hough, Burke's professional partner, who's never won the competition. "I really can't. I honestly can't. The journey's been so long. It's been tough. It's been wonderful. It's been everything I could ever hope for. Wow. I can't believe we actually did it, girl."

Burke maintained an eight point lead over Sapp, the charismatic 35-year-old fan favorite whose technique was consistently criticized by the judges. Sapp still managed to hustle his way into second place with professional partner Kym Johnson, despite receiving one point less from the judges than the third place finisher, 29-year-old singer Bass.

"From the moment you start, you make me smile," head judge Len Goodman told Sapp.

Bass and his professional partner, Lacey Schwimmer, were upbeat about their loss. The pair danced away after their dismissal. And he's not hanging up his dancing shoes just yet. The former boybander will join professional dancers and other former contestants for the 38-city "Dancing with the Stars" tour, which is set to kick off Dec. 17 in San Diego.

"You never took the safe road once," judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Bass during the finale.

Previously dismissed celebrities — actor Cody Linley; sprinter Maurice Greene; actresses Susan Lucci and Cloris Leachman; chef Rocco DiSpirito; reality TV star Kim Kardashian; actor Ted McGinley; and comedian Jeffrey Ross — also returned for a last dance. Injured volleyball player Misty May-Treanor and singer Toni Braxton remained off their feet.

The Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and the Russian pole-vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva won the World Athlete of the Year awards given by the I.A.A.F., track and field’s world governing body. Usain Bolt and Yelena Isinbayeva have been named male and female athletes of the year by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

The Jamaican sprinter and Russian pole-vaulter took the awards as well as 67,000 US Dollars each at a ceremony held in Monaco for their superb display at the Beijing Olympics.

22-year-old Bolt became the first man in history to break world records in all three-sprint events at single Games.

Bolt set world records in the 100 and 200 meters at the Beijing Olympics, and his third gold medal came as part of Jamaica’s 4x100-meter relay team, which also set a world record. He became the first man to win those three Olympic events in a Games since Carl Lewis in 1984.

"I have a motto that anything is possible, but this really is such an honour," said Bolt, who became Jamaica's first Olympic 100m champion.

"Just to be included with every great name in the sport is wonderful. I'll try to do it year after year."

Isinbayeva successfully defended her Olympic title and remained undefeated in outdoor competitions. She cleared 16 feet 6 ¾ inches in Beijing, setting her 24th world record.

The annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show has become a night to remember. And this year’s show, at the fountainbleu Miami Beach Hotel, refurbished to its former Hollywood glory at a cost of a billion US dollars, was no exception.

The show featured Victoria’s Secret’s eight ‘Angels’ – Heidi Klum, Adriana Lima, Karolina Kurkova, Alessandra Ambrosio, Selita Ebanks, Doutzen Kroes, Marisa Miller and Miranda Kerr – together with a supporting cast of 23 models.

The British stylist, Charlotte Stockdale, transformed the brand’s lingerie into a fairytale fantasy wonderland of glamour, accessorising with jewellery, stiletto heels, Swarovski crystals and, of course, the wings – which have become a feature of these shows – made, as ever, by Martin Izquierdo, in everything from neon lights to feathers to lace to vinyl.

The key fashion themes were Glamour Goddess, Dangerous, The Moderns, Pink Planet, Ballet des Fleurs and Black tie Holiday.

Sean (P. Diddy) Combs, Paris Hilton, Debbie Harry, Lenny Kravitz, Molly Simms, Robert Duvall and Kyle MacLachlan were just some of the celebrities who crowded into the front rows, along with the president of the $5.5 billion brand, Ed Razek.

When they could tear their eyes away from the angels and the models, there was also a performance by Usher.

Boston Legal actress Julie Bowen and her husband are expecting their second child this spring, her rep confirms exclusively to PEOPLE.

"She's thrilled," says the rep.

This will be the second child for the actress and her husband, real estate investor Scott Phillips. The couple welcomed son Oliver in April 2007.

Bowen, 38, and Phillips were married in 2004. He proposed the previous Thanksgiving, when Bowen was starring as schoolteacher Carol Vessey on TV's Ed.

Bowen, who plays attorney Denise Bauer on Boston Legal, has also appeared on Weeds and Lost.

Actress Susan Lucci, a star of the US soap 'All My Children', has become the latest contestant to be voted off 'Dancing with the Stars', the US version of 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

Lucci and her professional dance partner Tony Dovolani had received the lowest score from the judges for their Paso Doble.

When combined with viewers' votes, Lucci and Dovolani were still at the bottom of the board.

Commenting, Lucci said: "It was definitely worth it. I just have to say, I have had the most incredible experience here. I leave with a life experience, something I will never forget. I feel so, so much gratitude for the opportunity to have had this particular experience in my lifetime."

Republican presidential candidate John McCain and his wife have cast their votes in Phoenix, Arizona.

After campaigning coast to coast on Monday, Sarah Palin caught a few winks on a red-eye flight to her home state, where fresh snow glistened in the early-morning moonlight as the temperature hovered around 14 degrees.

Palin voted early this morning inside the tiny City Hall building where just six years ago she presided as mayor of this once unknown frontier town outside Anchorage. Proudly donning her “I Voted Today” sticker, the Alaska governor delivered a short statement to reporters and took a few questions before she heads to Phoenix to find out whether she’ll become the first female vice president of the United States.

It’s been a whirlwind couple of months for Palin, who has fallen under perhaps more scrutiny than any vice presidential candidate in the nation’s history. But as usual, she portrayed an almost mystifying sense of calm, considering all that she has been through in such a relatively short time.

“So we have a very optimistic, very confident view of what’s going to happen today, and again, so glad to get to be home in Wasilla to cast this vote,” she said. “Because forever I'm gonna be Sarah from Alaska. And it’s an honor to get to be here with my friends and family.”

Palin refused to divulge whom she voted for in the Alaska U.S. Senate race between Republican incumbent Ted Stevens — who was recently convicted on seven felony corruption charges — and Democrat Mark Begich.

After the early morning vote, Palin stopped by “Mocha Moose,” one of her favorite drive-through espresso shops, which dot the strip malls around Wasilla.

A reporter asked Palin about what her future role in national politics will be, whether she wins or loses this election. The Alaska governor — who has delivered some of the most partisan barbs of this election cycle — gave an answer that was fitting to the setting, where many residents here know her as a non-ideological problem solver, rather than a socially conservative firebrand.

"You know, if there is a role in national politics it won’t be so much partisan,” Palin said. “My efforts have always been here in the state of Alaska to get everybody to unite and work together to progress this state … it certainly would be a uniter type of role.”

Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama has cast his ballot in his home city of Chicago with his young daughter Malia by his side.

In a historic vote that could make him the first black US president, the Hawaii-born Illinois Senator, joined by his wife Michelle Obama and his young daughters Sasha and Malia, was greeted at a Chicago polling station in a school gymnasium by dozens of reporters and photographers.

Obama, who is leading Republican John McCain in national polls, showed his daughter his ballot and smiled as he cast his vote.

U.S. Presidential Election 2008

Long lines and waiting hours outside polling stations across the United States early Tuesday, the official Election Day, and the number of people who have already cast their votes further indicate that voter turnout this year is expected to be fairly high.

"We opened the doors at 6 a.m (EST), but many people were already lining up outside," said Piere Lee at a fire station-turned-polling station in Arlington, Virginia, "It seems that Americans are fairly enthusiastic about voting this year."

Statistics show that voter registration numbers are up 7.3 percent from the last presidential election.

Democrats, in particular, saw their registration numbers increase by 12.2 percent, while Republicans saw their ranks grow by only 1.7 percent, according to a recent analysis by The Associated Press.

Extra ballots and additional touch-screen machines have reportedly been dispatched by voting officials across the country. Still, observers worry that those efforts are not enough.

Many experts had earlier predicted that voter turnout this year will be the highest in decades.

Some political observers predict early and absentee voters will make up about 30 percent of the total voters on Election Day -- which could approach a record 130 million to 140 million.

"We have a system that is traditionally set up for low turnout," Tova Wang of the government watchdog group Common Cause was cited by local media as saying.

Record numbers have already cast ballots in early voting. As of Monday, more than 24 million had cast their votes. Election experts predicted more than a third of the electorate would have voted before the polls opened on Election Day.

Everyone wants exit polls results in the 2008 Presidential election, and the earlier the better. Well, Dixville Notch, NH, is traditionally the first (or one of) the first place to report results in every election and every primary. And the votes are in ...

Exit polls 2008 from Dixville Notch, NH: Obama wins 15 - 6. Yes, Dixville Notch is not exactly a megalopolis, but it continues the tradition, first started in 1960, til this day.

It should be noted that voting results from 2004 were decidedly different: Bush beat Kerry 19 - 7, and Dixville Notch has not voted for a Democrat since 1968!

At the same time, voting results are also in from neighboring Hart's Location, which reported 17 votes for Obama, 10 for McCain and two for write-in Ron Paul.

Yep, in 2008, who cares about exit polls when you have the actual results, right? Don't expect voting to go as smoothly, or without long lines, in the rest of the country.

Dixville Notch has a well organized voting process: all the eligible voters gather at midnight in the ballroom of The Balsams. Voters cast their ballots and the polls officially close one minute later.

Vote fast, or voting results won't include you, it seems.

Hart's Location halted its "competition" for the first vote in the 1964, but again started up early voting in 1996. It actually has an earlier tradition than Dixville Notch, beginning in 1948, but with the 1964 halt, Dixville Notch gets the majority of news nowadays, regarding early voting results.

So, exit polls of 2008 (or rather voting results 2008) from the two earliest "townships" show Obama in the lead. More to come, obviously, as the battleground states weigh in.