Couple kicked off American Airlines flight because of T-shirt depicting breast

By: North County Times - | Sunday, August 1, 2004 9:46 PM PDT ∞

MIAMI (AP) -- A couple returning home from a Costa Rican vacation was ejected from an American Airlines flight because the man was wearing a T-shirt depicting a bare breast.

Oscar Arela and his girlfriend were removed from Flight 952 on Saturday after he refused to change the shirt or turn it inside out at Miami International Airport.

The couple, who were making a connecting flight, said nobody on their earlier flight objected to the shirt and claimed the airline violated their constitutional right to free speech.

"It's a picture of a man and woman, and the woman's breast is showing," said his girlfriend, Tala Tow. "The flight attendant basically walked up to us and yelled, 'You have to take off that shirt right now."'

American spokesman Tim Wagner said Sunday that crew members acted properly, and said the shirt was more graphic than the couple described. The airline gave them a refund, he said.

Wagner noted on American's Web site the policy clearly states that someone who is "clothed in a manner that would cause discomfort or offense to other passengers" can be removed from a flight.

Cincinnati considers lifting 25-year-old ban on festival seating imposed after Who concert deaths

CINCINNATI (AP) ---- City officials are considering whether to lift the 25-year-old ban on concert general admission seating that was imposed after 11 fans were crushed to death during a performance by the rock group The Who.

City Council will vote this week on whether to allow general admission ---- often known as festival seating ---- as long as a concert promoter meets certain conditions and gets a permit from the fire chief.

"We're the only city in the top 50 cities for concert venues that has a ban, and a lot of performers apparently pass us by as a result," said Councilman David Pepper. After committee consideration Tuesday, the full council is expected to make the final decision Wednesday.

Festival seating appeals to promoters because the most enthusiastic fans can get near the stage and help generate excitement for the rest of the crowd. Some performers and bands insist on a festival seating area near the stage.

About 17,200 general admission tickets were sold for the Dec. 3, 1979, concert by The Who at Riverfront Coliseum, now U.S. Bank Arena. The deaths and dozens of injuries occurred when fans rushed at closed doors during a late sound check because they thought the show had started.

A one-time exemption to the ban was granted for a Bruce Springsteen concert in 2002 and no problems resulted.

Police and fire officials said the proposal for permanently lifting the ban resulted from a comprehensive review of city laws. The proposed change would be based on standards created by the National Fire Protection Association, and an inspection would be required to ensure that all conditions were met before each concert.

"Obviously, we want to be very careful here and make sure we're doing it in the right way," Pepper said.

If the ban is lifted, there would be a limit on the number of tickets for the festival seating area. All doors to the festival seating area would have to be opened two hours before a concert, ushers and security personnel would have to be in place before the doors were opened, and a written evacuation plan would be required.

Investigators inspect rubble of collapsed balcony; witnesses report hearing loud crack

POLSON, Mont. (AP) -- Witnesses reported hearing a loud crack before a balcony collapsed at a popular nightspot, dropping dozens of screaming people into broken glass and splintered wood.

Investigators on Sunday inspected the wreckage at the Diamond Horseshoe Casino, where at least 80 people were injured when they fell 14 feet Friday night.

Matt O'Neill, attorney for the Diamond Horseshoe, said a board attaching the balcony to the building's wall gave way.

"If you look at what happened, it has nothing to do with violating any code," he said. "It's about Montana's winter weathering the wood and the weight on the deck."

Fire Chief Tom Maloney said the balcony passed its most recent inspection, conducted as part of a routine fire inspection. He said he hoped to complete his investigation by Tuesday.

Witnesses estimated 100 to 150 people were on the 14-by-56-foot deck when it gave way, but O'Neill said he was told by club personnel that 50 to 60 people were on the deck.

Maloney said Sunday he was waiting for an engineer's report to determine the deck's occupancy load.

Tabetha Brown, 21, said she does not remember falling, but the impact was enough to knock her shoes off. Her left foot had to be fitted with a cast.

"I remember looking up at all the people standing out the door looking down at us," she said. "I remember lying there trying to figure out just what happened."

Mike Cole was standing on an adjoining deck when two of his friends disappeared into the darkness.

"Some people were trapped between boards and under other people," he said. "There were a lot of broken legs and ankles."

Maloney said the bar and casino overlooking Flathead Lake was crowded Friday because of a three-man basketball tournament in town for the weekend.

Chinese publishing pirates give Clinton's "My Life" a whole new spin

SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- The first hint that the Chinese version of Bill Clinton's memoir might not be quite right is that for most of the book, he's not even telling the story.

Alfred A. Knopf, publishers of the former president's best-selling "My Life," say they haven't yet sold the Chinese-language rights to China. So China's copyright thieves have struck again, concocting their own versions.

One 438-page paperback version called "Wode Shenghuo" ("My Life") sells for 10 yuan ($1.20) at a temple book fair and carries Clinton's photo on the cover, just like the 957-page original. But it's not the same photo.

The copyright information incorrectly lists the original publisher as Simon & Schuster.

Oops. Simon & Schuster published Hillary Rodham Clinton's "Living History," not her husband's book.

The book lists "Clinton, HR" as the author, and just about all of it is lifted verbatim from the Chinese-language version of her memoir.

Piracy of books, movies, music and software is rampant in China, despite vows by Beijing to crack down. International trade groups estimate that theft of copyrights and patents costs Western companies $16 billion a year in sales.

"There's sort of a habit developed here that anything ... in the print media, is essentially in the public domain and allowed to be `borrowed,' if you will," said Charles M. Martin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

An explosion in the variety and range of translated books makes it difficult, sometimes, to tell real from fake. Bookstores and kiosks carry numerous versions of many dozens of biographies and memoirs of famous celebrities, from Charlie Chaplin to billionaire Warren Buffett.

But in the case of the many versions of "My Life" circulating in China, it's pretty obvious something's amiss.

In one, the table of contents is lifted straight from "Living History," with a few omissions. In another, the narrator for most of the book appears to be Hillary Clinton.

"My Life" has no table of contents.

"That isn't piracy, it's a completely illegal publication!" exclaimed an editor at Yilin Press, which most of the bogus books list as publisher.

The state-controlled publisher, based in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing, says it complained to the government's copyright bureau, which urged authorities to confiscate the unauthorized versions.

Visits to Shanghai's government-run book wholesale market and several big, government-run bookstores turned up no copies of "My Life." But the book is easily found at smaller bookstores.

Paul Bogaards, spokesman for Random House, which owns Knopf, said his company would "take all appropriate and necessary steps to combate piracy of the author's work."

Shanghai book traders said they expected authorized translations to arrive this month or next. Their expectation was hard to explain, since the rights haven't been sold yet.

Yilin apologized last year after Simon & Schuster discovered that its authorized Chinese translation of "Living History" omitted or rewrote politically sensitive sections, such as a reference to the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests. It said it was rushing its own version to stores to compete with counterfeit versions sold by street peddlers.

Simon & Schuster withdrew publishing rights anyway.

With fourth operation, conjoined boys from Philippines at brink of separate lives

NEW YORK (AP) -- If all goes well during a daylong operation Wednesday, Carl and Clarence Aguirre, 2-year-old twins from the Philippines joined at the top of their heads, will wake up in separate beds.

For the first time, they'll be able to look into each other's faces. And they should soon be able to sit up, stand straight and walk for the first time -- no longer the toddlers who couldn't toddle.

"I can't wait to see how they react," said Dr. David Staffenberg, the plastic surgeon on the team that plans to separate the boys at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. "I can imagine them looking at each other and thinking, 'I know that guy, but how come he's over there?"'

Since last year, Carl and Clarence have been the focus of a determined effort by their mother, Arlene Aguirre, as well as two hospitals and a medical team donating their services. The doctors have taken a surgical approach employed only a few times before on conjoined twins, replacing the typical marathon two-day operation with four shorter procedures over 10 months.

The aim is not only the survival of both boys -- often one twin dies, even if one makes it through such surgery -- but to increase their long-term chances without major complications.

Still, Staffenberg said, success is "very far from a done deal. There's lots that could go wrong."

In previous operations, the boys' skull was opened, their separate-but-touching brains carefully pushed apart and most of their shared blood vessels cut and divided. Magnetic resonance imaging shows that the boys now have nearly equal, thriving circulation systems, said Dr. James Goodrich, the lead surgeon. What had been dormant veins on Carl's side have plumped up and assumed the duties of veins on Clarence's side that had been doing the circulation work for both boys.

Like those operations, the fourth one on Wednesday will be alarmingly delicate.

Goodrich and Staffenberg will cut through skin and bone to open a window on the brains and the surrounding blood vessels. The major vein the boys still share will be cut and divided.

The last area where the brains are touching -- about an inch and a half across, Staffenberg said -- will be teased apart while doctors keep a sharp eye out for any connecting veins.

"If you just say, 'We're done,' and yank them apart, you wind up with a lot of bleeding and all these strokes, which is an issue we've been trying so hard to avoid," Staffenberg said.

It's difficult work, even with the help of magnifiers. The surgeons have described the tiny veins as having "the consistency of wet toilet paper."

The team will check for excessive bleeding or swelling before deciding whether to continue with the separation. "There's always another day," Goodrich said.

Once the decision is made to go ahead, the last of the connecting skull bone, including a large portion that "flares out in the wrong direction," will be removed, Staffenberg said. The boys' head-to-head tables can then be moved apart to give the doctors more room.

Staffenberg will then have to reconstruct the dura mater, a membrane that covers the brain. Though the boys have separate brains they shared the membrane, and extra material will be needed to cover both brains. It could come from the boys' midsections or a commercially available substitute, he said.

"The dura is the layer that keeps the cerebral spinal fluid in around the brain," he said. "You don't want that leaking."

The next step is to "wash everything out and then start closing the skin," Staffenberg said. He will leave the reconstruction of the skulls -- a major project -- for later.

"I had to be sure in designing (the procedure) that their hair was going to be growing in the right direction," Staffenberg said. "I didn't want them to have these big cowlicks."

For a finishing touch, Staffenberg said, "I made the suggestion that we put them both into Yankees caps. This is the Bronx." He wasn't sure the hospital would go for it, he said.

Aguirre, the boys' mother, brought them to New York from the Philippines in September and lives with them at Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla between surgeries at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore. She has chosen not to be in the operating room, Staffenberg said, but will get regular updates during the surgery.

Aguirre declined to be interviewed as the operation approached. "I am worried but I am hoping," she said last month.

Goodrich said that although the boys will have to be watched for months before the surgery can be fully assessed, "We'll know a lot on Day One just by how the procedure goes. If we get through this case without a lot of swelling, without a lot of bleeding, then I can make a very good prognostic outcome. Long-term, there's the danger of infection, meningitis, spinal fluid leaks."

Staffenberg said both boys will need a great deal more of the occupational and developmental therapy they've been getting at Blythedale.

Goodrich said he's learned to "divorce myself from the personalities," but added, "There's no way to avoid getting caught up in Carl and Clarence's case and their mom. It's human nature."

Said Staffenberg: "I want to deliver for these little guys."

Ocean watchdog groups sue NOAA, saying turtles endangered by longline fishing hooks

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- Ocean watchdog groups are challenging new federal hook rules for longline fishermen who pursue tuna and other fish in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, contending the changes do not do enough to protect endangered and threatened species of sea turtles.

Oceana and the Ocean Conservancy have filed a lawsuit to overturn the new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration rules, which let fishermen use hooks that environmentalists say are untested and potentially dangerous for turtles.

This past week, the groups asked a federal judge to close down two "hot spots" -- one about 200 miles south of Louisiana and the other in the northeast Atlantic -- until the legal dispute is settled. In these areas, turtles often cross paths with the fishermen who use baited hooks strung along lines that can run for miles, according to the lawsuit filed last month.

Longlines are usually used to catch swordfish, tuna and shark. According to Oceana, in 2001 and 2002 about 1,500 turtles a year were snagged when they swallowed the baits, often drowning before they can be recovered and released.

The new rules take effect Thursday.

The watchdog groups argue that NOAA is allowing fishermen to use smaller hooks despite its own three-year study that recommended larger hooks that turtles are less likely to try to swallow.

NOAA argues that the new small hooks, which are circular so their barbs do not protrude as much, are an improvement over the J-shaped hooks fishermen were using.

"Our research shows these steps will protect sea turtles while preserving an important, $26.5 million-per-year U.S. industry," NOAA spokeswoman Susan Buchanan said.

The agency also says American fishermen are responsible for only about 6 percent of sea turtle injuries and deaths.

The plaintiffs accuse NOAA of changing its rules under pressure from fishermen. NOAA has acknowledged that industry concerns influenced the decision to require the smaller hooks, which are believed would lose fewer fish than the bigger hooks.

"We cannot allow the fisheries service to repeat its mistakes in the Pacific, where it ignored the decline of leatherback and loggerhead populations until they were on the brink of extinction," said Marydele Donnelly, sea turtle scientist for the Ocean Conservancy.

Longline fishing has been severely restricted in the Pacific because of sea turtle declines.

There are about 150 longline vessels in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico fisheries with yearly revenues of about $26 million.

With fewer kids to pamper, aging Japan becomes pet heaven

TOKYO (AP) -- Camera poised, Tomoaki Kasuga peers eagerly forward as Coco takes her first swimming lesson. When she successfully catches a tennis ball and swims toward him, Kasuga's nervous face melts into a broad smile.

Coco, a 6-month-old golden retriever, is among a surging number of dogs in Japan enjoying a lifestyle many humans could only envy -- weekend spa visits, pasta lunches at open-air cafes, designer clothing.

The boom, experts note, comes as the nation's birthrate keeps plunging and the number of Japanese kids continues to drop. According to pet industry figures, Japanese families now have over 19 million pet dogs or cats, exceeding the number of Japanese children under 15, which just hit a new low of 17.8 million.

Kasuga, 48, a high-tech venture president who lives with his wife and mother, had brought his pet to Dog Petit Resort "Joker," which offers hot tubs, therapy pools and a beauty salon for dogs. "Coco-chan is our princess," he said. "Since she came to our house, our life has been revolving around her."

Enthused by hit TV commercials for a loan company featuring a doe-eyed chihuahua, Japanese last year bought more than 1.5 million dogs by industry count -- mostly chihuahuas, miniature dachshunds and other dogs small enough to into fit Japan's cramped homes.

Catering to the 11.1 million canines is a huge industry, estimated at more than $9 billion.

The fashion-conscious can walk their dogs with a Louis Vuitton leather leash and a neck cuff for a combined $540, or use a $1,730 carrying case. For those leaving their pets behind during business trips, dog hotels and dog-sitters are readily available.

For gourmet dogs, Internet shopping sites offer heat-and-serve creamy pasta with parmesan cheese, corn, green peas and pork, or orange-flavored herb chicken fillet. For dessert, dog bakeries prepare muffins and cookies, or a birthday cake topped with strawberries and cream.

Analysts say the boom reflects a changing attitude toward pets in the world's fastest-aging society where the birthrate is at its lowest-ever-- 1.29 per woman.

In a country where people take off their shoes at the entrance and live in tatami-mat rooms, it was long unthinkable for dogs to be kept inside. But that has changed as traditional Japanese homes have been replaced by Westernized townhouses with wooden floors.

Families have split into smaller units, with aging parents often living alone, and many Japanese have turned to dogs to fill their thinning family bonds, said Katsuo Mochizuki, with the Pet Food Manufacturers Association of Japan.

"As we've gone through more than a decade of economic slump, facing social uncertainty and stressful city life, many Japanese have found dogs an answer to relieve stress and feel warmth at home," he said. "Couples with grown-up children have also found dogs as a substitute."

Recent surveys suggest dogs are most often owned by people over 45.

More apartment blocks tolerate pets, some providing a wall-mounted panel for cats to flex their claws. More city parks have dog runs, and more open-air restaurants and cafes will serve a dog a bowl of water under its owner's table.

But although Japanese have proven good at cleaning up after their dogs in public, most restaurants and public facilities still admit only seeing-eye and other aide dogs.

"We don't allow pet dogs inside our office buildings because we can never be sure how well trained they are," said Kensuke Kimura, a Tokyo Metropolitan Government official in charge of pets. "Even if a keeper considers a pet dog a family member, the general public's tolerance level hasn't gone that high."

The dark side of the pet craze is the nearly 380,000 abandoned dogs and cats destroyed last year, according to Environment Ministry statistics.

"The current pet boom is very dangerous," said Chizuko Yamaguchi, a veterinary inspector at Japan Animal Welfare Society. "To many people, their dogs are the same as their designer-brand bags. Dogs are treated as objects, a fashion, rather than living creatures."

Small temblor rattles San Diego County

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A small earthquake rattled southern Imperial County on Sunday.

The magnitude-3.0 tremor struck at 11:03 a.m. and was centered five miles southwest of Ocotillo at a depth of 3.1 miles, according to a preliminary report from the California Integrated Seismic Network.

The area is about 90 miles east of San Diego, near the Mexican border.

Apple co-founder Jobs undergoes surgery to remove cancerous tumor

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- Steve Jobs, the charismatic chief executive of Apple Computer Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios, said Sunday he had surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his pancreas but added he expects a full recovery.

In an e-mail message to employees released by Apple, he said he will be off to recuperate during August and expects to return to work in September. The message did not specify where Jobs underwent the surgery.

He identified his cancer as an islet cell neuroendocrine tumor, which he described as rare and said could be cured by surgical removal if diagnosed early. He said his was caught early.

A far more deadly -- and common form -- of pancreatic cancer is adenocariconoma, he said.

"I mention this because when one hears 'pancreatic cancer' (or Googles it), one immediately encounters this far more common and deadly form, which, thank God, is not what I had," he said in the message.

During Jobs' absence, Apple will be run by Timothy Cook, the company's executive vice president of worldwide sales and operations. Cook said the current management team has worked with Jobs for many years, and that experience will guide them through the next month.

"Steve is an extremely hands-on CEO," said Cook. "We have some very clear priorities for the company for months to come."

Jobs, 49, and friend Steve Wozniak founded Apple Computer in 1976, five years before IBM Corp. jumped into the personal computer market.

In 1984, the company released the Macintosh, which was the first computer to have a graphical user interface that mimicked a physical desktop. It was eventually copied by makers of IBM-clone computers, which became far more dominant.

A year later, Jobs left Apple following a struggle with the company's board. He cashed in some Apple stock and formed another computer company, NeXT.

But NeXT took too long to release its "mainframe on a desk," and once it was available in 1989, it was criticized for its $4,000 price. Within four years, NeXT abandoned the hardware market and announced it was focusing on operating system software.

By then, Apple was struggling and efforts to upgrade its operating system were going nowhere. In 1996, Apple bought NeXT. In 1997, Jobs was brought back as an interim chief executive. By 1998, "interim" was dropped from the title.

He made a splash with the release of a revamped and stylish iMac, which was later followed by new lines of laptops as well as professional-grade computers and servers. In 2001, Apple jumped into the digital music player business with its iPod, which is now the most popular.

And last year, Apple launched the iTunes Music Store, which allowed legal music downloads after Jobs persuaded music companies that his technology was secure.

It also helped that Jobs also owned an entertainment company.

Before his return, he also had paid $10 million to buy a special effects computer business from filmmaker George Lucas. The company eventually became Pixar and released such classics as "Toy Story," "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters, Inc."

Report: Indicted philanthropist sold fakes to New Jersey Symphony Orchestra

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Five of 30 supposedly rare stringed instruments bought by the New Jersey Symphony for $17 million from a man now under indictment for tax fraud are probably not authentic, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Five experts contacted by The Sunday Star-Ledger of Newark determined that four violins and one cello -- among a collection purchased from pet products tycoon Herbert Axelrod -- were not produced by the master craftsmen named by Axelrod.

The experts made their appraisal after viewing photographs of the instruments, the newspaper said. One of the five, a violin, was wrongly represented as a Domenico Montagnana made in 1740, they said.

The "Golden Age Collection" of 30 violins, violas and cellos includes rare works said to be made by such famed craftsmen as Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu during the 17th and 18th centuries. Axelrod had valued the collection at $49 million -- a figure some say is vastly inflated.

The symphony's official appraisal for the five instruments the experts examined is nearly $2.6 million. The appraisers said the instruments are worth "a fraction" of that, though they did not give a specific amount.

In addition, the experts said one violin appraised at $3.3 million is probably not the work of Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu, but rather his father. If that is true, the instrument would be worth more than $2 million less than appraised, the newspaper reported.

The five experts include Charles Beare, head of a London-based firm that appraises and sells violins, and Robert Bein of Chicago, one of the world's busiest dealers in expensive violins.

Axelrod, 77, was indicted in April and fled to Cuba and then Europe. He arrested in Germany on June 15 and is jailed in Berlin pending extradition.

The FBI and Internal Revenue Service are investigating whether Axelrod inflated the instrument appraisals as part of a plan to take fraudulent tax deductions.

Real estate broker becomes California's second West Nile virus fatality

REDLANDS, Calif. (AP) -- A 75-year-old real estate broker became the second person in California to die from the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, authorities said Sunday.

Morris Sternberg of Grand Terrace died Saturday at Redlands Community Hospital "as a result of complications from the virus," San Bernardino County Deputy Coroner Randy Emon said.

Emon said on the coroner's Web site Sunday that Sternberg was admitted to the hospital July 18 and diagnosed with reduced oxygen in the blood, dehydration and sepsis. Tests later confirmed that he had the virus.

Sternberg, who owned rental homes and duplexes in Grand Terrace, Riverside and Norco, liked to take naps on his home's front porch hammock and may have been bitten there, his wife Phyllis told the Riverside Press-Enterprise newspaper.

"You can't believe that a mosquito could do that," she said. "We need to get the word out to everybody and anybody. Wear a long-sleeved shirt and don't leave any water out."

She said the couple's neighbors last week drained standing water from flower pots and other places where the insects breed. Parts of the county had been fogged with insecticide.

Ken August, a spokesman for the California Department of Health Services, called the death "a very sad reminder of the seriousness of West Nile virus."

West Nile is spread to humans through infected mosquitoes. Many people who contract the virus show no symptoms. Others have flu-like symptoms. Less than 1 percent get very seriously ill with conditions such as meningitis or encephalitis.

The virus, first detected in the state in 2002, has infected more than 50 Californians this year in San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange, Imperial, Fresno and Kern counties.

Officials announced last month that a 57-year-old Orange County man had become the first person in the state to die of the virus. James Damiano, of Fullerton, died June 24.

The disease has sickened more than 260 people across the country so far this year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is no antidote or known vaccine.

Including Damiano, the CDC has reported six deaths from the disease so far this year -- including two in Arizona and one each in Texas, Idaho and Iowa.

California counted three human cases last year, and all three people survived.

State authorities have been surprised by the rapid spread of the virus this year and urged residents to protect themselves against mosquitos that could carry the disease.

San Bernardino, which had reported 28 human cases as of Wednesday, has been an epicenter because it had early hot temperatures that are ideal for mosquito breeding.

The elderly and people with weakened immune systems are most at risk. San Bernardino County said Sternberg's previous medical history was unknown.

There was no answer Sunday at a Colton listing for a Morris Sternberg. Calls by The Associated Press to county public health officials were not immediately returned.

Sternberg's wife told the Press-Enterprise that her husband of 14 years had been in a coma while he was in the hospital.

Born in Norco, Sternberg studied engineering and worked in the aerospace industry in Orange County. He was active in the Grand Terrace Lions Club. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two sons and two stepdaughters.

People

ROME (AP)-- With the Roman Colosseum as a backdrop, Simon & Garfunkel performed a free concert before hundreds of thousands of fans to close out the European leg of their Old Friends tour.

Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni told the crowd that about 600,000 people had turned out for Saturday's performance -- 100,000 more than for a free concert given by Paul McCartney last year in the same setting.

Thousands showed up hours ahead of the performance to get a good spot to see the stage.

The European tour started in Manchester, England, on July 14 and took the pair to 10 other cities before Rome. The tour also featured the Everly Brothers, who joined Simon & Garfunkel in a rolling rendition of "Bye Bye Love."

Simon and Garfunkel, friends since childhood, performed hit songs including "Sound of Silence," "My Little Town," "El Condor Pasa" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water."

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) -- Filmmaker Michael Moore's Bush-basing documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" has apparently upset more than Republicans.

The Pantagraph newspaper in Bloomington said Friday it sent a letter to Moore and the film's distributor, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., asking for an apology for using what it said was a doctored front page in his movie.

The paper is seeking $1 in damages.

A scene early in the movie shows newspaper headlines related to the contested 2000 presidential election. It includes a shot of The Pantagraph's Dec. 19, 2001, front page, with the prominent headline, "Latest Florida recount shows Gore won election."

The newspaper says that headline never appeared on that day.

The paper said the headline appeared in a Dec. 5, 2001, edition but was not used on the front page. Instead, it was found in much smaller type above a letter to the editor, which the paper says reflects "only the opinions of the letter writer."

"If (Moore) wants to 'edit' The Pantagraph, he should apply for a copy-editing job," the paper said.

Neither Lions Gate nor Moore were immediately available for comment Sunday.

McALLEN, Texas (AP) -- Kicking off her final concert tour, Cuban-American singer Gloria Estefan said she can't wait to spend more time with her family when it's all over.

"Although I feel very energetic and I'm really in great shape, it's like boot camp, being on the road, singing live," Estefan said.

Her first stop in her "Live and Re-Wrapped" tour was in McAllen on Friday.

"Being in an area where two countries like the United States and Mexico come together very much represents my life and who I am," she said. "I've always said that my heart is Latino and my head is American, because I've lived here since I was 2."

The tour concludes Sept. 25 in Miami, where the 46-year-old singer lives with her husband, producer Emilio Estefan.

On the Net:

http://ultrastar.com/gloria/tour/

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- The family of reputed mob boss Joseph Bonanno Sr. is selling clothing that once belonged to the deceased gangster.

Bonanno, known as "Joe Bananas," died in Tucson in May 2002 of natural causes at age 97. The family moved from New York City in 1968.

For about the last 20 years of his life, Bonanno lived with his son, Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno, and his son's wife, Rosalie.

The assorted clothing, including designer ties, are being sold on eBay, said Rosalie Bonanno. She said bids are coming in from around the world -- particularly from England and Australia -- and the auctions will continue for several months.

"There are so many admirers, so many fans, collectors. We felt like we owed it to them to share his legacy," she said.

At the height of his power, Bonanno directed one of the five original crime families in New York City.

The Bonanno family's reputed boss, Joseph Massino, 60, was recently convicted of orchestrating a quarter century's worth crimes including murder, racketeering, arson and extortion.

Odds and Ends

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Some grieving families think the Teamsters Local 120 is making a grave mistake.

The union is picketing cemeteries, even when funeral services are in progress, in its strike on the Twin Cities' biggest maker of burial vaults.

Brown-Wilbert Inc. employs about 25 Teamsters, many of whom make burial vaults at a plant in Roseville. But some also deliver and install the vaults at local cemeteries. Since the strike started, Brown-Wilbert managers have been doing that graveside work.

Pickets were at St. Paul's Calvary Cemetery on Wednesday when Cheryl Grudnoske attended the funeral of her husband's uncle. The Teamsters stayed near the cemetery gate and didn't picket near the burial site.

Still, Grudnoske said, she thought the picket line was disrespectful to the deceased -- who was a union member -- and his grieving relatives. She said she called the Local 120 offices.

"I said: 'I'm a union supporter. Do you think you made any points with us? What do you think you achieved? Everybody there was upset with you.' "

Brad Slawson Sr., acting principal officer of Local 120, said the union members had a legal right to strike where they work, which in this case includes cemeteries.

"Well, obviously, we know that (mourners) will be upset with it," he said. "Unfortunately, it's the business we are in. The only alternative is not picketing at all."

CASTRO VALLEY, Calif. (AP) -- Lucky the bunny is living up to her name.

It had seemed like luck had run out: Strapped to a powerful explosive with a lit fuse, Lucky was tossed into a lake.

But the explosive didn't blow up, and the rabbit was pulled out of the water.

Now Lucky's owner and his friend face misdemeanor charges of animal cruelty after photos of the July 13 incident surfaced on the Internet.

Nick Sigmon, 18, and Paul Collins, 20, are accused of taping an illegal M-1000 -- a large firecracker equivalent to a quarter stick of dynamite -- to the rabbit and throwing her into Lake Don Castro.

Sigmon said he fished Lucky out of the water to save her from drowning. But prosecutors charged the two lifeguards on Wednesday. Two other men who were present during the incident may also face charges.

"I think that a lot of people are judging us without knowing us at all," Sigmon said. Asked why he fitted Lucky with the explosive, he said, "Um, that's a real tough question to answer."

Sigmon said he adopted the bunny after almost running over her with his car, but can no longer care for her because he's starting college this fall at University of California, Santa Barbara, where he plans to study biology.

Someone found the photos on the personal Web site of one of the suspects and posted them on Craigslist, the popular Internet bulletin board, where the House Rabbit Society in Richmond saw it.

Lucky is recovering at a foster owner's home, where she's snacking on hay pellets and doing well.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) -- Those in charge of blind justice have been holding their noses at the Tippecanoe County Courthouse.

The source of a foul odor that has been lingering in a Superior Court office for a couple weeks might have been found Wednesday when health department workers discovered a large, dead squirrel stuck in the office's duct work.

Court secretary Sharon Macy and her co-workers had been burning candles and spraying air fresheners to help mask the odor.

"All of these smells get to you by the end of the day," she said.

A search last week discovered a dead bat in a light fixture near the ceiling. But the stench wouldn't go away, and employees said further searches focused on the ceiling, boxes and in the floor.

Attorney Dan Moore said the odor was overpowering.

"It prevents you from taking a deep breath," he said.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- "Girlie men" are wearing their party pride.

San Francisco-based fashion designer Sarah Lefton created baseball style T-shirts that read "Sacramento Girlie Men," and they are selling like mad.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made the now-famous put-down of Democratic lawmakers during a July 17 rally, using the "Saturday Night Live" phrase to chide the legislators for what he considered as caving in to special interests.

Orders for the shirts have come in from as far away as Ireland, Lefton said. They sell for $24, and Lefton promises to donate 20 percent to the state Democratic Party.