ANCHORAGE (AP) - Tessa is a 137-pound infant with big whiskers and a need for constant attention. The baby walrus is getting plenty at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward, where veterinary technicians are feeding and petting her and ridding her of sea lice as she recovers from a weekend stranding.
"Walruses are very social and very needy of tactile stimulation," said Tim Lebling, a rehabilitation coordinator at the center who is caring for Tessa. "She just wants to crawl into your arms."
Arrangements have been made for Tessa to start a new life at SeaWorld in San Diego, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Verena Gill. She's expected to be taken there later this week.
Fishermen in Barrow spotted the week-old calf cavorting alone on the beach Saturday. Her mother was nowhere in sight. For hours, the fishermen searched for the mother while trying to shoo the baby walrus back into the water. Both efforts were unsuccessful.
With her mother gone, the baby preferred to stay on the beach rather than return to the Arctic Ocean. But she started getting tangled in the fishing nets, authorities said Sunday.
The fishermen eventually hoisted the walrus into the back of a pickup and called Teresa Heaston, North Slope Borough animal control officer. Heaston arrived shortly after noon and found the walrus in a makeshift harness tethered to the truck.
"The first thing we did was call the SeaLife Center," which operates a 24-hour hot line to report stranded marine mammals or birds, Heaston said.
Next, the walrus was taken to a clinic in Barrow where Heaston; her husband, Brad; and Doug Reedy, a Barrow veterinarian, lifted her inside and brought snow in to keep her cool.
"She's bright and alert, active, in really good condition," Heaston said.
Back in Anchorage, Gill made plans to have the walrus, later dubbed Tessa, transported to the SeaLife Center, where experts could evaluate and stabilize her. The agency is charged with ensuring the welfare of walruses under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Gill met the walrus late Saturday night at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport after she landed aboard an Alaska Airlines flight from Barrow. The walrus traveled in a large dog crate packed with ice.
Tessa underwent an initial medical exam at the airport and was dubbed fit enough to be driven to Seward in the center's marine mammal transport truck.
"She was in pretty decent shape," Gill said.
For now, rehabilitation technicians are using a feeding tube to get liquid nutrition into Tessa.
"It's a three-person job. Two to restrain her, one to put a stomach tube in," Lebling said.
They hope to bottle-feed formula to Tessa by Monday or Tuesday. She's already showing signs of being ready to accept one of the center's 2-liter bottles designed for nursing walruses, Gill and Lebling said.
"She's started suckling her flipper," Gill said. Not to mention her caretakers' fingers, Lebling added.
Unlike seals and sea lions, walruses are incredibly social animals and crave contact. At the Barrow clinic, Tessa seemed happy as long as she was being touched or at least had someone in the room with her. When she was left alone, she would start shaking, Heaston said.
At the center, someone is with her virtually around the clock, Lebling said. If she isn't trying to crawl into people's arms, she is often putting her head in their lap.
At 137 pounds, that's cute but not exactly comfortable after a while.
"Your legs will fall asleep," Lebling said.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A man who walked through the exit side of the airport security checkpoint, causing 1,800 people to be delayed Sunday, made his flight and took off before the FBI could question him.
The man, who flew to Salt Lake City, was interviewed by the FBI and released Sunday after his arrival in Utah. It was not immediately clear how he managed to enter the Albuquerque International Sunport terminal on the exit side and how he made it onto a flight that then was allowed to take off.
Maggie Santiago, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Albuquerque, said Monday that the FBI decided not to pursue criminal charges against the man but said her agency is still investigating whether to pursue civil penalties.
The FBI declined to be interviewed about the incident, referring comment to the Transportation Security Administration.
Because of the incident, 1,800 travelers were delayed for a matter of hours, including many who had already been cleared through the checkpoint and had to go through it again.
The breach occurred around 10:30 a.m., and a few minutes elapsed before the breach was discovered, allowing the errant traveler to make it to his flight.
"We have lots of layers of security, so fortunately we were able to identify him," Santiago said.
Eighteen departing planes were delayed up to two hours, she said, but the flight the man in question boarded was not among them.
Santiago declined to reveal other information about the man because the investigation is continuing.
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) - A woman accused of killing her brother-in-law by spiking his smoothie with antifreeze pleaded not guilty to murder Monday.
A defense attorney for Maryann Neabor, 53, said she admitted putting chemicals in the drink but intended only to make Jonathan Neabor sick enough so she could take control of his money.
"Maryann Neabor is apparently mentally ill," said Craig Mitnik after the hearing. "She's made a horrendous decision. There's no justification or excuse for it."
Neabor, who said little during the hearing, faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murder. She was being held on a $500,000 bond.
Prosecutors said they planned to present their case to a grand jury within three months.
Neabor allegedly poisoned her brother-in-law on Wednesday at her home in Shamong Township in southern New Jersey so she and her husband would have access to his money to ease their financial troubles. She allegedly concocted a drink that included pineapple juice, maraschino cherries and antifreeze, state police said.
Mitnik said his client acted alone and without the knowledge of her husband and their sons, ages 17 and 22. She turned herself in to protect her family, he said.
Her husband, Michael Neabor, has not been charged.
"She did not want to place her husband and children in any jeopardy because they had no knowledge of this," he said.
Mitnik said a more appropriate charge would be reckless manslaughter.
Mitnik said his client has threatened suicide and has severe depression and diabetes. The judge granted a request for psychiatric and medical evaluations.
Jonathan Neabor was a retired postal worker with no family of his own. He had a postal service pension and a life insurance policy that names his brother as the sole beneficiary, Mitnick said.
Mitnick said Michael and Maryann Neabor have not recovered financially since being granted bankruptcy protection five years ago.
Maryann Neabor taught three continuing education classes for adults this year, including one on Tuesday, April 20, on keeping homes safe.
"With a little care, we can protect our families from the leading causes of death and injury in the home, like falls, fire and poisoning," according to a Web site description of the class.
VIENNA, Austria (AP) - A vast cache of child pornography and photos of young priests having sex has been discovered at a Roman Catholic seminary, officials said Monday, leading politicians and church leaders to demand a criminal probe and the resignation of the bishop in charge.
Bishop Kurt Krenn, who oversees the diocese, refused to step down, however, dismissing the images as a "childish prank."
Leaders of the Catholic diocese of St. Poelten where the seminary is located, about 50 miles west of Vienna, spent much of the day in an emergency meeting.
The seminary's director, the Rev. Ulrich Kuechl, resigned along with his deputy, Wolfgang Rothe, the diocese said after the meeting. It did not elaborate.
As many as 40,000 photos and an undisclosed number of films, including child pornography, were found a year ago on computers at the seminary, the respected news magazine Profil reported.
It published several images purportedly showing young priests and their instructors kissing and fondling each other, and said others showed them engaging in orgies and sex games. The child porn came mostly from Web sites based in Poland, the magazine said.
Hannes Jarolim, a spokesman for the opposition Socialist Party, urged the Interior Ministry on Monday to launch a criminal investigation. Public prosecutor Walter Nemec said police were examining the material, which he said showed seminarians "in perverse situations together with their superiors."
The Austrian Bishops Conference issued a statement pledging a full and swift internal investigation.
"Anything that has to do with the practice of homosexuality or pornography has no place at a seminary for priests," it said.
Krenn, a conservative churchman, told Austrian television he had seen photos of seminary leaders in sexual situations with students, but he described the images as part of an elaborate prank that "had nothing to do with homosexuality."
His nonchalance drew swift and scathing reaction across the overwhelmingly Catholic nation.
"Collecting child pornography cannot be dismissed as a prank," said Thomas Huber, a Green Party politician.
In the mid-1990s, Austria was stung by allegations that Cardinal Hans Hermann Groer, who died last year, had molested students at an all-male Catholic boarding school two decades earlier. The affair had prompted Groer to step down.
A group of St. Poelten Diocese officials planned to ask the Vatican to remove Krenn as bishop, Austrian radio reported Monday. Martin Walchhofer, who supervises the alpine country's seminaries, said Krenn ultimately was responsible and "must answer before the church and before God for all of this."
Asked whether he intended to resign, Krenn said bluntly: "No."
The Vatican said it had no comment.
Krenn, 68, issued a statement calling the accusations groundless while conceding that he "may have made some wrong personnel decisions" at the seminary. Rothe, the former deputy seminary chief, was a legal adviser to the bishop.
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - A teenager who used a slingshot to shatter office building windows that some people said reflected the image of the Virgin Mary was sentenced to 10 days in jail and two years probation.
Kyle Maskell, 18, pleaded guilty Monday to felony criminal mischief. The judge said he would withhold adjudication if the teen meets some conditions of the agreement.
Believers had said they could see an image of the Virgin Mary in the building's windows in this Gulf Coast town near Tampa. It first appeared a week before Christmas 1996 and drew almost 500,000 visitors within weeks.
Glass experts said the image was created by a chemical reaction and corrosion of the metallic elements in the glass coating.
Maskell was also ordered to pay $1,200 in restitution to the Shepherds of Christ Ministries, which owns the building, and $1,100 in additional court costs.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - The Danish government Monday upheld the clerical suspension of a Lutheran minister who proclaimed last year that there was no God or afterlife, and he now could be fired or fined for declaring his beliefs in the pulpit.
The government said it backed the June 10 decision by Helsingoer Bishop Lise-Lotte Rebel who suspended the Rev. Thorkild Grosboell, pastor of Taarbaek, preaching his unconventional beliefs at his church.
Grosboell, who could not immediately be reached for comment, face a disciplinary labor court hearing with two theologians and a presiding judge, who will decide his punishment - dismissal or a fine.
In a statement, Justice Minister Lene Espersen said Monday that Grosboell "had damaged the state (Evangelical Lutheran) Church … and had not shown loyalty to the state Church."
She said the court hearing, which is rare in Denmark, would be held sometime after Sept. 1. No date was set.
If Grosboell is fined or fired, he would be allowed to appeal the decision to a judicial court.
In Denmark, Lutheran ministers are employed by the state. Only the government can fire them or send them before a court hearing and only with a recommendation from their presiding bishop. Rebel oversees the diocese that includes Taarbaek, a small town north of Copenhagen.
Grosboell has been under Rebel's strict supervision since he first was suspended after a May 2003 interview in which he said "there is no heavenly God, there is no eternal life, there is no resurrection."
About 85 percent of Danes belong to the state Evangelical Lutheran Church, though just 5 percent attend church services regularly.
Grosboell eventually retracted his statement and apologized for what Rebel had termed "provocative" remarks. His suspension was lifted.
But in a May 16 sermon, Grosboell said that "God had abdicated in favor of his son, hence in our favor. Therefore there is no longer a heavenly guarantee or an interfering might, there is only the godly kingdom (on earth) that is achieved by us and between us. So if it fails, there is nothing."
In June, Rebel said that sermon was "clearly incompatible with the state church's faith," and added that he had "spoken in a strongly provocative, hurting and confusing way."
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A county judge accused of fondling a 10-year-old girl at a teen pop concert pleaded no contest Monday, the day his trial was to begin.
Mark Pazuhanich was sentenced to 10 years probation and must register as a sex offender. He tearfully said in court that he would resign his Monroe County judgeship. Pazuhanich blamed his problems on alcohol and medication.
The victim testified at a hearing in January that Pazuhanich touched her inappropriately throughout the Hilary Duff concert on Nov. 29, several weeks after he was elected to the bench.
Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to two counts of indecent assault, one count of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of corruption of minors.
Earlier, a judge suspended Pazuhanich's visitation rights with his daughter, who lives with her mother in New Jersey and attended the concert with him. As part of Monday's settlement, Pazuhanich must stay away from his daughter unless the visit is supervised and approved by the court.
QUINCY, Mass. (AP) - There's a great job out there awaiting an accordion player. The catch: Six weeks in boot camp.
The Air Force has been looking to replace the accordion player of its band's Strolling Strings music ensemble since the musician retired two years ago. So far, the search has been fruitless.
"It is very hard to find the right person for this job, but it's a great job for the right person," said Chief Master Sgt. Jane Bockenek, the Strolling Strings' music director who plays the violin in the band.
So, since the accordion players aren't coming to the Air Force, the Air Force is going to the accordion players.
Bockenek is looking to recruit at the 66th annual American Accordionists Association festival, which is happening this week in and around Boston. She interviewed a half-dozen people Sunday and was scheduled to hear auditions on Monday.
She is looking for more than an accomplished musician.
"They have to be under age 35, they have to fit our weight and fitness requirements, and they have to be able to get a security clearance," she said. "We are looking for someone who's not just qualified to do the job, but who fits the parameters of the United States Air Force."
They also will have to endure six weeks of rigorous basic training.
"They'll have to go through boot camp like every other recruit, but they will also be entitled to all the benefits of being in the military," she said.
Those who join the band are unlikely to see combat, she said, but they may be assigned administrative work such as maintaining the band's motor pool or coordinating its performances.
The 22-member ensemble plays state functions at the White House and entertains troops.
"What is so terrific about being in this band is that we are doing something so important from a diplomatic standpoint," Bockenek said. "And keeping up morale for the troops is an important part of our job. Not many musicians can say what they do has the impact that we have."
A case in point is Sgt. Maj. Manuel Bobenrieth, the accordion player in the U.S. Army's band and the military's only official accordion player for now.
"I consider myself lucky that I am the only accordion player out of more than 490,000 active-duty soldiers," said Bobenrieth, who has been the Army's accordionist for 18 years.
The accordionists' festival is expected to draw about 350 musicians, said Frank Busso, the group's comptroller and a member of the governing board.
Merv Griffin gives Nancy Reagan a puppy - named Dutchess2
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Nancy Reagan has a new companion - a 4-month-old Shar-Pei puppy she named Dutchess in honor of late President Ronald Reagan.
"It's keeping her busy," Reagan chief-of-staff Joanne Drake said Monday.
Longtime friend Merv Griffin gave the puppy to Mrs. Reagan for her 83rd birthday on July 6. The former talk show host shares a birthday with the former first lady - Griffin turned 79.
Mrs. Reagan immediately named the puppy Dutchess in honor of the president, whose nickname was Dutch. Former President Reagan was 93 when he died June 5 at the couple;s Bel-Air home.
After a weeklong tribute to Reagan in California and Washington, Reagan was buried at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.
In a Fourth of July letter published in the Los Angeles Times, Mrs. Reagan thanked everyone for the "extraordinary outpouring of sympathy and love from old friends and new across the country and around the world."
"So much has happened to warm the hearts of everyone in my family," she wrote. "It is not easy to find a way to express our appreciation. Ronnie would have said, 'Just tell them.' So, although it has been the saddest and most difficult of times, I want you to know that we are comforted by the prayers, the support and all the love."
Mrs. Reagan said the president "would have been proud of your loyalty and humbled by the tremendous expression of affection."
"From California to Washington, I've seen beautiful flowers, handwritten sentiments on cards and posters, jars of Ronnie's favorite jelly beans, Western boots and cowboy hats and a sea of American flags," Mrs. Reagan wrote, adding, "I realized once again how Ronnie touched so many of us."
Mrs. Reagan is scheduled to participate in a July 23 arrival ceremony for the USS Ronald Reagan, the nation's newest nuclear aircraft carrier, when it arrives at its San Diego home port for the first time. It will be Mrs. Reagan's first public appearance since her husband's burial June 11.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - A Sri Lankan woman was beheaded in the Saudi capital Monday for murdering her employer, the Interior Ministry said.
Bader el-Nisaa Mibari had been convicted of killing Sara bint Mohammed al-Haqeel, a Saudi woman, after trying to rob her with the help a male companion, the ministry said.
The statement did not say what happened to the male accomplice.
Monday's execution brings to seven the number of people executed in the kingdom this year. Last year at least 52 people, mostly drug smugglers, were beheaded.
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of drug trafficking, murder, rape and armed robbery are executed. Beheadings are carried out in public with a sword.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Chipmunks may not be big, but some of them were pretty hardy. New research indicates a group of the minute mammals toughed it out through the last ice age rather than migrating south.
A study of chipmunks living in Illinois and Wisconsin indicates that most of them descended from ancestors who survived the glaciers in isolated pockets of northern forest.
Kevin C. Rowe, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois, said the researchers were surprised at the findings. Their work, based on samples of DNA from 244 chipmunks, is reported Monday in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited from the mother, indicated that the animals came from 95 groups and that 78 of those groups descended from ancestors living in the north and west.
Scientific theory has held that most animals would flee southward to escape the encroaching glaciers, but that appeared to be the case for only a minority of the chipmunks.
During the last glaciation there were pockets of tundra and forest that were bypassed by the ice, Rowe explained, leaving potential homes for animals.
They would have had to survive there for a substantial time, he noted, perhaps 5,000 years. The last glaciation reached its greatest extent about 18,000 years ago.
Those pockets are identified by rock formations that indicate the region was never covered with glaciers. They are in an area called the driftless region, which includes parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Rowe, lead researcher for the paper, said it is also surprising that the chipmunks in Illinois and Wisconsin are closely related to one another, but are only distantly related to chipmunks in Indiana and Michigan.
The research was funded by the American Museum of Natural History, the American Society of Mammologists and the National Science Foundation.
NEW YORK (AP) - Elton John will perform Tuesday at Radio City Music Hall in a benefit concert for The Juilliard School and London's Royal Academy of Music.
The concert will feature John and his band performing with a full symphony orchestra conducted by James Newton Howard and made up of young musicians from both schools.
Proceeds will support scholarship programs and promote their joint artist programs.
The evening will include a special appearance by Renee Fleming.
NEW YORK (AP) - In Will Smith's new sci-fi thriller, "I, Robot," his character drives a motorcycle. But in real life, Smith says he's driven by fear.
"What people believe is my self-confidence is actually my reaction to fear," he tells Parade magazine in its July 11 issue. "All it takes is just one person telling me I can't do it, and I'll use the fear of failure as fuel."
In the article, Smith recounts a day in Jamaica when he was about 20 years old, watching people jump off a high cliff into the ocean.
"I can't swim, and I was terrified," he said. "So for about three minutes, I stood there, thinking, `This is ridiculous.' Then I jumped off the cliff, feet first, and went in the water."
Now 35, Smith has lived through going broke, after making millions, and a failed marriage. He's had success in music, television and film, and has been married to actress-singer Jada Pinkett Smith since 1997.
"I keep going because I doubt myself," he said. "It drives me to be better. I've learned that the mastery of self-doubt is the key to success."
"I, Robot" opens in movie theaters Friday.
NEW YORK (AP) - Roger Bart will jump into "The Frogs."
Bart replaces comedian Chris Kattan in the role of the slave Xanthias in the Lincoln Center Theater production, which is still scheduled to open July 22, Philip Rinaldi, a spokesman for the show, said Monday.
Bart will join the musical, now in preview performances, by midweek, according to Rinaldi. Until then, understudy Timothy Gulan will play Xanthias. Kattan, a star of NBC's "Saturday Night Live," withdrew from the show over the weekend.
"The Frogs," which stars Nathan Lane, has a new book by Lane and a score by Stephen Sondheim. It originally was adapted from the Aristophanes comedy by Burt Shevelove in the 1960s.
Bart and Lane worked together in "The Producers," in which Bart first played Carmen Ghia and later returned to the production to portray Leo Bloom, the role originated by Matthew Broderick.
"The Frogs" is directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, who did the same for "The Producers."
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - A Manila court rejected a lawsuit by former first lady Imelda Marcos to keep a documentary about her flamboyant life off the country's movie screens.
Mrs. Marcos, 75, claimed she approved "Imelda" as a school project and not as a commercial movie. She also said it was full of "malice, inaccuracies and innuendoes."
Judge Maria Cristina Cornejo denied Mrs. Marcos' petition Monday, saying that contrary to her claims, she had signed a permission document to release the film.
Sandra Coronel, a lawyer for producer Ramona Diaz and distributor Unitel Pictures Inc., said the court order means the film can be shown in the Philippines.
In a statement Monday, Mrs. Marcos, widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, said she'd drop the lawsuit if the word "documentary" was removed from the film's title. But with the court ruling already out, it's unlikely to have any effect on the case.
Diaz said that "Imelda" - a portrait of the woman who dazzled the world with her beautification projects and an enormous shoe collection while her country languished in poverty - is balanced.
She said young Filipinos should be able to see the movie about the most recognized Filipino figure abroad, because many of them were born after Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in a 1986 "people power" revolt. He fled with his family into exile in Hawaii, where he died three years later.
NEWAYGO, Mich. (AP) - Espen Allen Blondeel will appear on the cable sports network he was named after.
A crew from ESPN traveled to this western Michigan city last week to film 4-year-old Espen and his parents, Chad and Alisha Blondeel. Espen and other ESPN namesakes are to appear Sept. 6 on a two-hour special celebrating the network's 25th anniversary.
The network says it knows of at least 11 children named for ESPN, including one whose name is just that - ESPN. Variants include Espn, Espen and Espyn (a girl).
"They're coming out of the woodwork now," ESPN spokesman David Nagle told The Grand Rapids Press.
Espen Blondeel, born Jan. 26, 2000, is believed to be the first baby named after the network. The Press reported in April of that year that Chad Blondeel - who acknowledged tuning in to ESPN at least three times a day - suggested the name to his wife before their first child was born but didn't mention ESPN.
Alisha said she liked the name and asked about its origin. When Chad confessed it came from ESPN, she offered a deal.
"I told him if he could find the name in a baby book, we could name him that," Alisha said.
"I must have looked through about a dozen books of baby names, and then I finally found it," said Chad, now 28. The name is Danish and means "god-bear."
NEW YORK (AP) - Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg reportedly are joining forces to bring the World War II battle of Iwo Jima to the big screen.
According to TV Guide, Eastwood will direct an adaptation of the book "Flags of Our Fathers: Heroes of Iwo Jima" for Spielberg's company, DreamWorks.
The book was written by James Bradley - whose father was one of the six soldiers who raised the flag at Iwo Jima - and Ron Powers.
The battle of Iwo Jima in February-March 1945 was crucial for both sides. The Volcano Islands, which include Iwo Jima, were 700 miles south of Tokyo and part of the capital prefecture - thus the first part of Japan proper to be invaded.
The Americans wanted its three airstrips as a way station for long-range bombing raids on Tokyo, and for the invasion of Okinawa.
Mount Suribachi, a 550-foot dead volcano at the tiny, teardrop-shaped island's southern tip, was where five Marines and a Navy corpsman raised the flag on the third day and were captured on film by Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A huge and delicate effort is under way to restore Benjamin Franklin's books and artifacts for an exhibit marking the 300th anniversary of his birth.
The exhibit, with stops in Boston, Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Paris, is scheduled to open in October 2005.
The deadline keeps Shelly Smith, a paper conservator, awake at night wondering how to approach the tricky task of restoring the lone surviving copy of the 1733 first printing of "Poor Richard's Almanack."
Historians say the work established Franklin's folksy wit through proverbs such as: "Fish & visitors stink in three days" and "Men and melons are hard to know" - and the less familiar "Never mind it, she'll be sober after the Holidays."
More than 200 of Franklin's books, papers, paintings and inventions will be included in the show, "B. Franklin 300," which commemorates his birth on Jan. 17, 1706.
Franklin was 27 when he wrote the first almanac, and continued the annual exercise for a quarter century, adopting the pseudonym Poor Richard Saunders. The 1753 edition carried a full report on his kite-and-key experiments with electricity.
CHADRON, Neb. (AP) - A 19-year-old man took top honors at a contest here like no other.
Ed Sydow threw a dried buffalo dropping 108 feet, nine inches Saturday to be named winner of the World Championship Buffalo Chip Toss.
Janalee Cole of Buffalo, Wyo., took the women's title throwing 68 feet.
The event is more than 20 years old and organizers say they have not heard of any other such contest - nor have they been challenged for claiming the event is the world championship.
The top three winners in each age and sex division took home a plaque featuring a gold, silver or bronze-painted buffalo chip.
The event was part of the annual Chadron Fur Trade Days celebration.
UKIAH, Calif. (AP) - Was it freedom of speech or disturbing the peace when Ric Piffero pumped patriotic music through a concert-sized speaker early the morning of the Fourth of July?
The 30 people who complained to 911 and the woman who tried to execute a citizen's arrest have their answer. As do residents of this city about 100 miles north of San Francisco who appreciated the tunes and hope it becomes tradition.
The 15-minute program consisted of Piffero's friend singing "God Bless America," followed by "The Star-Spangled Banner" and Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." Blasted from a hilltop on Piffero's property, the music reached ears several miles away.
The district attorney opted not to file charges. But the ensuing brouhaha fueled debate in this politically divided town.
Piffero has a penchant for showy holiday celebrations. Last December he blasted Christmas carols and, on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, set off red, white and blue fireworks.
When Piffero went even bigger on July 4, Alea Waters got out of bed, found him and issued a citizen's arrest for disturbing the peace.
Piffero said he's about patriotism, not politics.
"I fight those battles at the polls," the registered Republican said.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - A church's plan for an old-fashioned book-burning has been thwarted by city and county fire codes.
Preachers and congregations throughout American history have built bonfires and tossed in books and other materials they believed offended God. The Rev. Scott Breedlove, pastor of The Jesus Church, wanted to rekindle that tradition in a July 28 ceremony where books, CDs, videos and clothing would have been thrown into the flames.
Not so fast, city officials said.
"We don't want a situation where people are burning rubbish as a recreational fire," said Brad Brenneman, the fire department's district chief.
Linn County won't go for a fire outside city limits, either. Officials said the county's air quality division prohibits the transporting of materials from the city to the county for burning.
Breedlove said a city fire inspector suggested shredding the offending material, but Breedlove said that wouldn't seem biblical.
"I joked with the guy that St. Paul never had to worry about fire codes," Breedlove said.
The new plan calls for members of the church to throw materials into garbage cans and then light candles to symbolically "burn" the material.
Posted in Backpage on Tuesday, July 13, 2004 12:00 am Updated: 11:03 pm.
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