That sense of a growing public fan base is reflected - or perhaps generated - by a growing number of column inches in support of Camilla and the behind-the-scenes charity work she does.

So I must admit I was somewhat surprised to see a YouGov poll reflecting a lingering hostility towards the Duchess. A couple of years ago, when a cheeky schoolgirl asked her if she'd be Queen one day, Camilla shot back: "Well, you never know." This week's poll findings suggest otherwise.

Just 17 per cent want her to become Queen when Charles inherits the throne. But 46 per cent want her to be styled "Princess Consort". And it seems men are more forgiving than women, with 22 per cent of men prepared to instal a Queen Camilla, but just 13 per cent of women.

Those figures don't appear to give Clarence House much to celebrate.

They suggest, indeed, that people still haven't quite forgiven her for coming between Charles and the "People's Princess" - ignoring the palpable truth that the Prince is far better-suited to his second wife than his first.

(Incidentally, the columnist and former editor of the Lady, Rachel Johnson, felt the full depth of antipathy towards Camilla when she put the Duchess on the cover of the magazine a few years back, only to receive a sackful of hate mail from Diana loyalists up and down the country.)

But Peter Kellner, president of YouGov, tells me Camilla shouldn't be downcast, because it's clear the public mood is beginning to change.

"I think what's happened is that it's not that people love Camilla, it's that the hostility towards her has gone. People accept her," Mr Kellner says.

In part this is because Prince Charles himself is more popular than he has been in years. In fact, the same YouGov poll revealed that the public is no longer in favour of the succession skipping a generation - a majority (53 per cent) want Charles, not William, to succeed when the Queen dies.

Even Mr Kellner admits, though, that the acceptance of Camilla is somewhat grudging. "It's not that people will wave Union Jacks for joy if Camilla becomes Queen, but they won't object. Time is a great healer."

True enough, but I find it surprising how deep those wounds still run. Yes, there were three in the marriage, and that's hard to forgive and forget. But 17 years after Diana's tragic death, it surely wouldn't be a betrayal of her memory to give the Duchess of Cornwall her own chance to secure a place in the nation's heart.

Summary: Almost two decades after Diana's tragic death, it surely wouldn't be a   betrayal of her memory to give the Duchess of Cornwall her own chance to   secure a place in the nation's heart, writes Cathy Newman


Before you go, we thought you'd like these...

Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas, with his wife Hillary with a very young Chelsea.

Photo Credit: Danny Johnston, AP

Chelsea with her father at the announcement of his candidacy, hair pulled back in a sweet half-up half-down 'do.

Photo Credit: Cynthia Johnson, Getty Images

Chelsea, 12, poses with Arnold Schwarzenegger with a big head of curls!

Chelsea's curls seem to keep growing, and we think her hair is fitting and youthful for her 14 years!

Photo Credit: Dennis Paquin, AP

Chelsea wears her curls pulled back as she is hugged by her adoring father, President Clinton.

Photo Credit: Renaud Giroux, AFP/Getty Images

Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea share a laugh in front of the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Chelsea returns to her classic: curls down and long!

Photo Credit: Ajit Kumar, AP

US First Lady Hillary Clinton and Chelsea attend the State of the Union Address, both wearing their hair down and natural.

Photo Credit: Luke Frazza, AFP/Getty Images

Chelsea, 16, attends a ball with her father to celebrate his second term: proud and poised with her classic curls a little more tamed and grown-up.

Photo Credit: J. Scott Applewhite, AP

Chelsea cut her curls a little bit shorter in 1998, attending a performance at the Kennedy Center.

Photo Credit: William Philpott, AFP/Getty Images

Chelsea goes even shorter in 2000, leaving Air Force One with her father.

Photo Credit: Stephen Jaffe, AFP/Getty Images

The curls are gone! Chelsea keeps her hair short but goes for a straight look as she attends the launch of the Versace Retrospective Exhibition in London.

Photo Credit: Dave Benett, Getty Images

Chelsea gives her newly straightened hair a little body by curling the ends.

Photo Credit: Gregory Pace, FilmMagic/Getty Images

We love this look: Chelsea is embracing her natural curl but making the waves softer and more elegant.

Photo Credit: Alex Wong, Getty Images

Chelsea goes straight again in New York City.

Photo Credit: Jemal Countess, WireImage Getty Images

Chelsea is growing her hair longer, and we are fully supporting this choice!

Photo Credit: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

Between the highlights and the soft waves, Chelsea is perfection with her father at the "Osgar" awards ceremony in Germany.

Photo Credit: Sebastian Willnow, AFP/Getty Images

Two lovely ladies: perfectly coiffed hair must run in the family!

Photo Credit: Bill Clark, Getty Images

Chelsea's blonde locks pop against her black dress at the DKMS 3rd Annual Star-Studded Gala in NYC.

Photo Credit: Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images

Chelsea Clinton looks gorgeous at her wedding, hair pulled back in an updo for the big day.

Chelsea accompanies her father at the 2010 Clinton Global Initiative reception at the Met.

Photo Credit: Gary Gershoff, WireImage/Getty Images

Chelsea rocks natural waves at the Glamour Magazine 2010 Women of the Year Gala.

Photo Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris, Getty Images

Chelsea must know some secrets to getting sleek and shiny hair!

Photo Credit: Jemal Countess, WireImage/Getty Images

Chelsea wears big bouncy curls to an event hosted by her father in Los Angeles, CA.

Photo Credit: Mark Sullivan, WireImage/Getty Images

Perfectly blown out, a girl's hair is the best accessory.

Photo Credit: Taylor Hill, FilmMagic/Getty Images

Chelsea looks lovely as she attends the School of American Ballet Winter Ball.

Photo Credit: Robin Marchant, FilmMagic, Getty Images

In a rare updo, Chelsea attends the Costume Institute Gala at the Met, and she nails the sleek look!

Photo Credit: Larry Busacca, Getty Images

Chelsea attends a concert event to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy, wearing her hair simple and straight.

Photo Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris, Getty Images

Chelsea attends a concert event to benefit victims of Hurricane Sandy, wearing her hair simple and straight.

There's nothing quite like the White House thrusting you into the public eye, but we've seen countless young women make the transition seamlessly. Most recently, we have watched Sasha and Malia Obama growing up in front of the world, but before them came the Bush sisters and Chelsea Clinton.

It can't be easy, but these young women have handled this transition to adulthood with grace, and we've loved watching their styles transform. Chelsea Clinton's 33rd birthday is February 27, and in celebration, we've taken a look back at her hair transformation. From a full head of curls to flowy waves, she's done it all!

Click through the gallery above to see how she's changed her locks over the years.

More From StyleList: 12 Unusual Uses For Your Hair Dryer Coloring Tips and Tricks: For Brunettes, Redheads, and Blondes Rihanna's Best & Worst Hair Moments The Rachel: Jennifer Aniston's Hair Transformation

Summary: There's nothing quite like the White House thrusting you into the public eye, but we've seen countle  young women make the transition


The next-generation drinks dispensers identify consumers by gender and age.

"It is quite difficult to compare these new machines with regular drink vending machines because they are so new, but to date sales have been three times those of the old-style machines," said Youzou Tonaki, a spokesman for JR East Water Business Co.

The machines use 47-inch touchscreen monitors with embedded sensors that help it to determine details of anyone who approaches.

After identifying the customer, the smart machine will show images of "recommended" drinks, which will also alter according to the time of the day and the temperature.

The machine will suggest to a woman in her 20s, for example, a slightly sweeter beverage, based on the results of extensive market research, the company said.

The first machine was introduced at Tokyo's Shinagawa Station in August and the company now operates a total of seven machines. Within the next couple of years, it plans to introduce 500 of the next-generation models across the country.

Japanese advertisers are also making use of analytical software to identify viewers and provide a targeted message.

Electronics giant NEC Corp. recently unveiled PanelDirector, an interactive advertising system that is equipped with a small camera able to capture an image of anyone that looks at it.

That individual's face is then compared to more than 10,000 patterns stored in its database and the device is able to determine the gender and approximate age of the viewer. Armed with that information, PanelDirector can then display an image appropriate to that person.

Summary: A series of vending machines that use facial recognition technology to recommend to customers what they want to drink has been introduced in Japan.


US police have charged a 13-year-old boy with drink driving after he was caught chauffeuring his grandmother, who was apparently too drunk to drive herself.

Sanjuana Mercado-Mendez, 52, was charged with several offences including child abuse over the incident, which happened in Sante Fe, New Mexico at 3am last Thursday (local time).

Police say the 1994 Oldsmobile was weaving through traffic and did not stop immediately when they buzzed it with the blue and red lights.

Sanjuana Mercado-Mendez. (Santa Fe PD)

Deputy Clay Cullison told the Santa Fe New Mexican he found two open beers in the vehicle, and that Mecado-Mendez stunk of booze, was slurring her words, and stumbled on her way towards the police cruiser.

The 13-year-old, who refused a blood test at the station, copped charges of failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, driving without a license, failing to maintain lanes and having an open alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle along with the DUI.

His grandma, who has had trouble with the law before, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and possession of an open container of alcohol in addition to the child abuse wrap.

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016

Summary: A 13-year-old US boy has been charged with drink-driving after being caught chauffeuring his drunk grandmother.


Three months before the November election, voters in New Hampshire, long one of the purple swing states in presidential elections, clearly favor Hillary Clinton over Donald J. Trump, according to a new poll. And another poll shows Mrs. Clinton holding a narrower lead in Florida.

New Hampshire voters who either prefer or lean toward Mrs. Clinton outnumber those who prefer or lean toward Mr. Trump by 47 percent to 32 percent, according to the poll, conducted for WBUR, an NPR station in Boston, by the MassInc Polling Group.

Gary Johnson, a Libertarian, was favored by 8 percent.

Mrs. Clinton’s standing represents a remarkable turnaround for a candidate who lost New Hampshire’s Democratic primary in February. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont clobbered her, 60 percent to 38 percent.

But against Mr. Trump, Mrs. Clinton does much better. While 48 percent say she is fit to be president, only 31 percent say that of Mr. Trump.

Nationally, according to a new Fox News poll, Mrs. Clinton holds a 10-point lead over Mr. Trump.

Still, even in New Hampshire, it is not all smooth sailing for her: 46 percent of voters there say Mrs. Clinton is not fit to be president, and 29 percent think she should be sent to prison for her use of a personal email server while she was secretary of state.

But 56 percent of New Hampshire voters say she came out of her convention a stronger candidate, and only 39 percent said the same of Mr. Trump.

Perhaps most important, 63 percent say Mr. Trump is not fit to be president.

The survey, of 609 likely voters, was conducted from July 29 to Aug. 1 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.

Mrs. Clinton is also leading at this juncture in Florida, a major swing state that would be crucial to any Trump strategy for winning nationwide.

Mrs. Clinton leads Mr. Trump in Florida by six percentage points, 48 percent to 42 percent, according to a poll released Thursday by Suffolk University in Boston.

In a four-way race, her lead narrows to 43 percent over 39 percent for Mr. Trump; Mr. Johnson wins 4 percent of the vote, and Jill Stein, the Green Party nominee, wins 3 percent.

Summary: A new poll gave Mrs. Clinton a 15-point lead among voters in New Hampshire, while she had a smaller advantage in a survey in Florida.


The decision by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block a federal monitor and other changes to New York City's stop-and-frisk policy will have little practical impact if Democrat Bill de Blasio is elected mayor next week, as public polls suggest will happen.

But the ruling has significant political ramifications, especially for Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, whose reputations were tarnished...

Summary: The appeals court decision to block a federal monitor and other changes to New York City's stop-and-frisk policy will have little practical impact if Democrat Bill de Blasio is elected mayor.


Whenever the Seventh Avenue train races between 86th and 96th Streets and offers a fleeting, darkened glimpse of what looks like latter-day catacombs, the question invariably arises: What is it? From the windows of the Broadway Local the ghost of this Stone Age grotto, suddenly illumined by the speeding train, is a place only Dante or Kafka might have imagined. The walls are begrimed with thick 1970's-style graffiti while something resembling a platform, strewn with debris, stands in the ashen dimness of places most cities would rather forget about.

But we stare all the same, until springing into view like painted letters on the hull of a sunken liner are the tell-tale faded mosaics spelling a station's name: 91st Street. The name appears again on a higher panel, framed by terra-cotta molding with golden numerals in relief, a combination typical of the cartouche created by Heins & LaFarge, the firm originally commissioned to design subway ceramics.

I became intrigued by the 91st Street station while riding the Broadway Local during one of its arbitrary halts. The train idled to a halt outside 91st and during my enforced wait I became aware of, then curious about, this abandoned stop. During my first extended view of the place I was most struck by what was absent: no old-fashioned wooden token booths, no wooden benches. These, says Joe Cunningham, a transportation and engineering historian, were removed as fire hazards, while turnstiles, originally installed in the early 20's, were removed and salvaged for parts. There were no print ads along the walls. A sealed bathroom door was slightly discernible behind a loud smear of graffiti.

Of course, there couldn't be an outlet to the street, though a shaft of light seemed to beam along the skeletal treads of a stairway. At the tail end of the station, a barely perceptible, differently styled ceramic tile suggested that however short its life span, even this station had gone through a face lift and bears the traces of its various incarnations.

Similar alterations are hardly unusual to New York's subways or to the city itself, where everything is a patchwork of swatches and layers, of bits and pieces, slapped together until you cannot see the fault lines for the surface, nor the surface for the patchwork. Subway corridors, stairwells and sidewalk entrances are known to have disappeared, and tiled alcoves, designed to accommodate vintage phone booths, have vanished behind newly erected walls that sprout a door to become makeshift tool sheds. Ancient men's restrooms, famed for their shady practices, have mended ways and been converted into candy stands.

Nothing is ever really demolished or dismantled down below, but everything is tentative and amorphous. From the width of platforms to the shape of lamp sockets down to the form of pillars (round, square, steel-beam), everything changes in the space of a few yards and betrays the many ways in which the city has always had to adjust to shifting demographics.

Stations whose token booths are absurdly positioned two blocks away from the far end of the platform -- 79th, 86th and 110th Streets on Broadway, for example -- will have their madness forgiven once you are told that they were designed to accommodate far shorter trains than those today. It was because the 86th and 96th Street platforms were extended to twice their size to receive 10-car trains that the 91st Street Station, caught between the two and nearly touching both, saw the writing on the wall. It became obsolete. Its time, like that of the 18th Street Station on the East Side or of the Worth Street and City Hall Stations, had run out. On Feb. 2, 1959, the 91st Street Station was closed permanently.

When asked, middle-aged New Yorkers seldom recall even missing the station. Like a friend who died and whose name mysteriously disappears from the Manhattan telephone book, the 91st Street Station no longer exists on any of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's maps. It is extinct. Or is it, perhaps, just vestigial?

Indeed, the question I ask when passing the 91st Street Station is not simply, What is it? or What happened here? but something more wistful and unwieldy: What if? What if, instead of having the train dawdle a while between stations, the conductor stopped at 91st Street and on a mad impulse announced the station's name, and then carried by the sound of his own words, forgot himself and suddenly opened the doors and began discharging passengers? Some of them would actually walk out, half startled and dazed, heading for imaginary turnstiles, past the old token booth, clambering up the stairway onto a sidewalk awash in the early evening light as passengers had done for six decades until that fateful day 40 years ago.

What if, for a split second, the mid-50's were suddenly to rush in, the way the thought of them invariably takes hold whenever I think of using not the side entrance to a prewar building on Riverside Drive but the defunct main gate on the drive itself, a gate no one uses any longer but that, being sealed, beckons like a portal to vanished times?


More than a decade after Michael Jordan retired from playing basketball, a picture of him is still striking fear into the hearts of professional athletes.

The latest Internet meme involves an image of Mr. Jordan’s tear-streaked face superimposed on pictures of athletes or coaches who lost an important game. Known as the “crying Jordan,” it has ricocheted around social media, popularized by fans poking fun at sports losers and...

Summary: An image of the tear-streaked face of Michael Jordan, known as the “crying Jordan” is ricocheting around the Internet, superimposed on pictures of athletes or coaches who lost an important game.


Four years passed and in July this year, Karen received a letter from Petlog with a request for a change in ownership from the cat's new 'owners'.

Karen said: "I told them that I didn't want to transfer the ownership because my cat had been missing all that time. I asked them for the name and address of the people that had my cat, but they point blank refused.

"In fact they were very insensitive to my case, and kept referring to the other keepers as Tigger's 'owners', I was furious.

"I called a number of times, but they kept telling me they were bound by the Data Protection Act, so I couldn't force their hand - even though I was in tears."

After numerous attempts to retrieve the information from them, Karen decided to contact Staffordshire Police and report her cat as stolen.

The police are currently in the process of requesting the details of the current keepers from Petlog.

Karen added:"It's cruel to withhold someone else's pet - me and my children are devastated. I hope they do the right thing and give him back. He is my property and rightfully mine.

"Based on my experience I think microchipping is a scam. I paid for a service I'm not receiving. It's a mockery and protects criminals."

In April this year it became compulsory for dog owners to ensure their pet is microchipped. However, it is not a legal requirement for cat owners to do so.

The average cost of implanting a microchip is between £25 and £30.

Summary: A mother has spoken of her outrage after discovering her missing cat was stolen - only to be told she cannot be told where it is due to the Data Protection Act.


Facebook Inc. is joining an increasingly crowded market for local services.

The move pits Facebook against Yelp Inc. and Angie’s List Inc., as well as tech giants Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and LinkedIn Corp., and startups including Thumbtack Inc. and Pro.com.

The social network quietly launched a new site that connects users...

Summary: Facebook is joining an increasingly crowded market for local services.


Honest Co., the baby-products retailer co-founded by movie star Jessica Alba, has raised $100 million in a new round of funding, valuing it at about $1.7 billion, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The funding boosts the e-commerce startup’s value by more than 50% since it last raised funds a year ago.

A company spokeswoman declined to comment. Reuters reported last week that Honest was seeking new funds at a valuation up to $2 billion.

Ms. Alba co-founded the site in 2011 to sell nontoxic products such as diapers and toothpaste to consumers worried about the materials used in everyday household items. The Honest brand has become popular with parents who are willing to pay a premium to allay fears of exposing their infants to unnecessary chemicals.

Honest said earlier this year its sales grew to $170 million in 2014, up from $60 million in 2013. It sells more than 75% of its products through the Web. It is building up its store-distribution business, with items available in more than 2,500 locations, including Target stores.

Most of Honest’s customers subscribe to a monthly service for delivering diapers and other products.

Honest faced a major challenger last year in Amazon.com, AMZN -0.51 % which introduced a diaper brand that promised full transparency about the products’ origins. Amazon, however, this year pulled those diapers after customers complained of the design.

This summer, some customers took to social media to complain that Honest sunscreen lotion wasn’t protecting their skin, uploading photos of their sunburns to Instagram and Twitter as proof. Ms. Alba responded to the concerns in a blog post saying the lotion went through “extensive third-party testing in accordance with government regulations” and passed all tests.

Online retailers have had mixed receptions with public-market debuts over the past year. Wayfair Inc. W -0.45 % has surged 69% since the furniture retailer’s initial public offering in October 2014. But shares of arts-and-craft marketplace Etsy Inc., ETSY -1.68 % which nearly doubled on their first day of trading in April, have since fallen back to the price sold to IPO investors.

The investors participating in Honest’s new funding round couldn’t be determined. Honest had previously raised $122 million from investors including General Catalyst Partners, Institutional Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Wellington Management.

The higher valuation raises the stakes for an eventual IPO. Co-founder and Chief Executive Brian Lee told The Wall Street Journal last year that the company was “starting to think and act like a public company” in preparation for an IPO.

Write to Douglas MacMillan at douglas.macmillan@wsj.com and Rolfe Winkler at rolfe.winkler@wsj.com

Summary: Honest, the baby-products retailer co-founded by movie star Jessica Alba, has raised $100 million in a new round of funding, valuing it at about $1.7 billion.


FORTUNE — A search of Google News the day after Tim Cook’s Senate testimony on Apple’s AAPL taxes turned up two kinds of stories.

Headlines reporting on the fact of the hearing tended to use metaphors of violence (“rip,” “lambaste,” “clash,” “spar,” “fend off”) or of high-temperature torture (“grilled,” “under fire,” “hot seat”).

But the journalists who reported on the atmospherics — and, dare I say, the substance — of the hearing told a very different story. Sample headlines:

My take (with apologies for the pugilistic metaphor): No one laid a glove on him.

Summary: Reporters wrote two kinds of second-day stories, with two very different takes.


US regulators on Tuesday approved the first lower-cost version of Enbrel, a blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug from Amgen that is among the top-selling drugs in the world.

The Food and Drug Administration cleared the near-copy of the drug, dubbed Erelzi, developed by Swiss drug giant Novartis, which would not disclose the planned list price for the drug.

A month’s supply of Enbrel costs roughly $4,000 or more in the United States, according to figures from GoodRx, a drug-pricing website. Enbrel was the fourth best-selling prescription drug in the world for 2015, according to health data firm IMS Health.

The FDA approved Novartis’s drug for the same diseases listed on Enbrel’s label, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and other immune system disorders.

The announcement marks the third FDA approval of a so-called biosimilar drug, the industry term for generic biotech medicines, used to indicate they are not exact copies of the original products. Already available in Europe, the drugs have the potential to generate billions in savings for insurers, doctors, and patients.

The Cambridge firm and its Korean partner, Samsung Group, will be able to market Benepali in 28 countries.

But savings from Enbrel could be delayed for years due to an ongoing legal dispute over the drug, according to analyst reports.

Under a court order dated Aug. 11, Amgen Inc. and Sandoz, a unit of Novartis, agreed to a preliminary injunction blocking the launch of Erelzi. Both companies refused to discuss how long that injunction will last.

Morgan Stanley analyst Matthew Harrison said the agreement indicates that a trial would not begin until April 2018. Under that timeline, a near-term launch of lower-cost Enbrel ‘‘is off the table,’’ he stated in a recent note to investors.

Erelzi is Novartis’s second competitor to an Amgen drug. Last March Novartis won approval for a biosimilar version of Amgen’s drug Neupogen — the first biosimilar approved in the United States. Pfizer won approval to market a second biosimilar in April, a version of Johnson & Johnson’s Remicade.

Enbrel was Amgen’s top-selling drug last year with $5.1 billion in US sales and $5.4 billion worldwide. The injectable medicine was first approved in 1998, part of a class of multibillion dollar drugs that reduce inflammation and help control the immune system.

Biotech drugs are powerful, injected medicines produced in living cells that are typically much more expensive than traditional, chemical-based drugs. In 2015, six of the 10 top-selling medicines globally were biotech drugs, with more than $56 billion in combined sales.


Gabrielle Union, who appears in Nate Parker’s highly anticipated film ‘‘The Birth of a Nation,’’ addressed the rape allegation against Parker in a searing op-ed published Friday in the Los Angeles Times -- describing sexual assault as a ‘‘brutal, permeating stain on our society’’ and stating that she ‘‘cannot take these allegations lightly.’’

Union wrote from the perspective of a rape survivor, and a mother of black sons, and an actor who portrays a rape victim in the soon-to-be-released movie -- a role that she said she took because she wanted to start a conversation about sexual violence.

But she never fathomed that the conversation would start the way it did.

‘‘Twenty-four years ago I was raped at gunpoint in the cold, dark backroom of the Payless shoe store where I was then working,’’ she wrote. ‘‘Two years ago I signed on to a brilliant script called ‘‘The Birth of a Nation,’’ to play a woman who was raped. One month ago I was sent a story about Nate Parker, the very talented writer, director and star of this film. Seventeen years ago Nate Parker was accused and acquitted of sexual assault. Four years ago the woman who accused him committed suicide.’’

Since she learned of the accusations against Parker, Union wrote, ‘‘I have been in a state of stomach-churning confusion.’’

Parker’s film about enslaved Baptist preacher and rebellion-leader Nat Turner has been embroiled in controversy since the 1999 rape case involving Parker and Jean McGianni Celestin, who co-wrote ‘‘The Birth of a Nation,’’ recently resurfaced. The news sparked a viral outcry: Many have vowed to boycott the movie, and the American Film Institute recently cancelled a planned screening that would have featured a Q&A with Parker.

Parker and Celestin were Penn State wrestling teammates and roommates when they were tried for the alleged rape of an 18-year-old freshman, who said that she had passed out from drinking at the time and was unable to give consent. Parker, who had previously had consensual sex with the alleged victim, was acquitted. Celestin was convicted, but his verdict was later overturned on appeal, and he was never retried.

Their accuser -- who later sued Penn State, saying that the school did not protect her from repeated harassment by Parker and Celestin after she accused them of rape -- committed suicide in 2012.

In her essay, Union said she couldn’t know exactly what had or had not happened on a college campus 17 years ago -- but the ambiguity of the episode shows the urgent need for education about consent.

‘‘On that night, 17-odd years ago, did Nate have his date’s consent? It’s very possible he thought he did. Yet by his own admission he did not have verbal affirmation; and even if she never said ‘‘no,’’ silence certainly does not equal ‘yes,’ ‘‘ she wrote. ‘‘The fact that some individuals interpret the absence of a ‘no’ as a ‘yes’ is problematic at least, criminal at worst. That’s why education on this issue is so vital.’’

Parker addressed that point specifically in an Aug. 27 interview with Ebony magazine, in which he spoke at length about consent -- but sidestepped questions about the specific encounter he was involved in 17 years ago.

‘‘At 19, if a woman said no, no meant no. If she didn’t say anything and she was open, and she was down, it was like how far can I go?’’ he said. ‘‘It was simply if a woman said no or pushed you away that was non-consent.’’

It’s that exact mindset that must change, Union wrote. And she still hopes that the discussions surrounding ‘‘The Birth of a Nation’’ will help make that happen.

‘‘I believe this film is an opportunity to inform and educate so that these situations cease to occur,’’ she wrote. ‘‘I know these conversations are uncomfortable and difficult and painful. But they are necessary. Addressing misogyny, toxic masculinity, and rape culture is necessary. Addressing what should and should not be deemed consent is necessary.’’

She also took the opportunity to speak directly to survivors:

‘‘It is for you that I am speaking. This is real. We are real. Sexual violence happens more often than anyone can imagine. And if the stories around this film do not prove and emphasize this, then I don’t know what does.’’

Summary: In a searing op-ed, Union talks about the film, the accused director, and her own rape.


09/08/2016 AT 08:45 PM EDT

It's been 12 years since audiences said goodbye to

, but fans around the globe still seem to identify the actors as their characters from the 10-season comedy.

, who starred as Joey Tribbiani on the series, revealed the unexpected and "far away" place that someone recognized him as his character.

"I was in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, shooting a thing for

. "I mean, we were

away from civilization. And these people were wearing robes, and they live in caves and stuff."

The 49-year-old, who stars in CBS' upcoming

, added of the encounter: "They called me Joey and said, 'How you doin'?' in a really butchered accent. It was like, 'Oh wow. Did not see that one coming.'... The show is everywhere. It still holds up."

In August, LeBlanc reunited with fellow

at the 2016 TCA summer press tour and remarked that the pair will

"I can not see him for five years and then put me in a room with him and it'd be like I saw him yesterday," LeBlanc said. "We still short hand with one another. It's amazing. Ten years in a building with no windows with the door locked, we got to know each other pretty well."

premieres Oct. 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

Summary: Hint: LeBlanc says it's a place where locals 'wear robes'


updated 09/13/2016 AT 03:45 PM EDT

•originally published 09/13/2016 AT 03:20 PM EDT

The stress of living through

is still weighing on pro dancer

"Cheryl is still shaken," a source tells PEOPLE. "She can't believe people can be so hateful and cowardly."

Burke and her celebrity dance partner

had just finished their foxtrot and were being critiqued by judge

in white T-shirts with a big red circle and line through Lochte's last name.

Both men were swiftly escorted out of the ballroom by security after host

announced the ABC reality dance competition would be cutting to an early commercial break.

As many of the other audience members began chanting "Ryan" in support of Lochte, pro dancer

yelling to security to "get them out of here."

In the moments immediately following the protest, Burke wiped away tears and Lochte looked visibly shaken.

The morning after the terrifying incident, Burke took to Instagram where she admitted that she is "still trying to process everything" that took place Monday evening.

"Thank you to everyone for your concern. I'm still trying to process everything that happened last night. My heart is aching for Ryan and his family. No one deserves that sort of behavior directed at them. We all need to love each other and not be bullies or cowards. Let's all just be positive for each other. My heartfelt thanks goes out to the security team at Dancing with the Stars. Love you all, Xoxo Cheryl," the pro dancer posted.

Burke returned to work Tuesday morning for a pro dancer rehearsal and is expected to rehearse with Lochte on Tuesday afternoon.

is a positive place for people to grow," says the source. "Last night didn't respect that."

Summary: Two men rushed onto the ballroom floor during Monday's live taping of DWTS


A man who hurled objects at police from the roof of an Adelaide Motel during a four-hour stand-off has been charged over the incident.

Police were called to the Marion Motel, in suburban Plympton Park, about 2.30am on Thursday following reports of an agitated man on the roof.

Just after 6.30am police negotiated for the man to come down and took him into custody without incident.

The 28-year-old of no fixed address was taken to the Flinders Medical Centre for a mental health assessment but has since been released and arrested.

He has been charged with aggravated assault, assault police and two counts of property damage, involving around $15,000 damage to the motel.

He has been refused bail and is expected to face the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Friday.

Summary: Specialist police have managed to talk a man down from the roof of a motel in Adelaide.


Two hikers have discovered the body of a man in NSW Blue Mountains while trekking.

The gruesome discovery was made in a national park near Glenbrook at around 5.30pm on Sunday.

Emergency services trekked to the location and established a crime scene overnight before the body was airlifted out of the bush on Monday morning.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner and say it is too early to determine whether the death is suspicious.

Summary: The body of a man has been airlifted from a NSW national park after hikers made the gruesome discovery on Sunday afternoon.


A Perth man linked to the Comanchero bikies has been jailed for seven years for possessing drugs with a street value of about $96,000.

Drazan Dion Maric, 40, was found guilty after a trial of possessing 96g of methylamphetamine in a bumbag with intent to sell or sell or supply in Northbridge in May 2014.

The WA District Court heard on Tuesday that Maric was involved in the sale of meth for financial gain and was also addicted to the drug.

Judge Anette Schoombee said it seemed Maric was also involved with the Comancheros because clothing with their colours was found in the hotel flat he was staying in at the time.

"I can understand to some extent that as a result of your background you were looking for supportive associates to belong to, a family so to speak," she said.

"But Mr Maric, this group is not going to bring you any good luck, as you have seen."

Judge Schoombee accepted Maric had since "started on the road of becoming a law abiding and upstanding citizen" but warned if he continued to offend he would spend most of his life in prison.

"If you're serious about changing your life, the time to start is now," she said.

"One takes one step ahead and two back, but as long as you keep on taking a step ahead there might be some light at the end of the tunnel."

Judge Schoombee noted Maric had an "entrenched history" of drug abuse and a long criminal record, including a conviction in October 2014 of possessing meth, for which he was jailed for three years.

That offending breached a suspended sentence for driving without a licence, so he also received six months on top and is still serving time for those crimes.

Judge Schoombee said personal and general deterrence were significant factors in sentencing, and a strong message needed to be sent to the community that this type of offending would not be tolerated.

She added a further three-and-a-half years to Maric's prison term, making a total effective sentence of seven years.

Maric will be eligible for parole after five years and with time already served could be released in May 2019.

Summary: A Perth judge has warned a man involved with bikies to change his life as she sentenced him to seven years in prison for drug offences.


BNSF has benefited from transporting shale oil. Referring to the proposed pipeline, which has been opposed by environmentalists, Buffett said: "It's not that big a competitor. I think probably that the Keystone pipeline is good for the country."

But he acknowledged that rail cars carrying the oil will need to be made safer and promised they will be. "The oil from the Bakken, and from the Eagle Ford as well, turned out to be more volatile than people anticipated. ... We've lowered the speeds. It's [also] going to require another kind of tank car, too."

(Read more: Warren Buffett: Ukraine won't stop my stock buying)

BNSF will be buying 5,000 new tanker cars. "We have found in the last year or so that it's more dangerous to move certain types of crude certainly more than was thought previously."

In late December, a North Dakota town had to be evacuated after a BNSF train carrying Bakken crude derailed and caught fire.

—By CNBC's Matthew J. Belvedere. Follow him on Twitter @Matt_SquawkCNBC.

Summary: Buffett tells CNBC he backs the Keystone Pipeline even though it would take away some business from his Berkshire Hathaway rail subsidiary BNSF.


A former Anglican priest accused of sexually abusing five boys over a 30-year period told one complainant it was tradition for a priest to undress an altar boy, a Perth court has heard.

Raymond Sydney Cheek, 84, is on trial in the West Australian District Court charged with committing an act of gross indecency and two counts each of indecent assault and indecent dealings with a child between 1955 and 1985.

One complainant, 48, testified on Wednesday that he was an altar boy in 1976 when he was eight or nine, and remembered Cheek as a "large, red-faced man" aged in his 30s.

He said on his first day as an altar boy, Cheek stripped him naked, leaving only his shoes on, and placed a robe on him, touching his genitals with his hands and the tassels of the waist rope.

The complainant said it happened every Sunday for a few years and it made him feel uncomfortable, but Cheek referred to the Bible and said it was tradition for a priest to dress an altar boy.

"He seemed to be very convincing as to reasons why he did it," he said.

The man never told anyone about the abuse until Cheek made headlines, the court heard.

Prosecutor Alan Dungey said in his opening address that Cheek was first charged after a complainant came forward claiming he was 15 in 1985 when Cheek undressed him and rubbed his body against him.

Cheek allegedly told the boy he should keep what happened to himself because "God doesn't care for liars".

Mr Dungey said after the case was reported in the media, four more men contacted police, but none of them knew each other.

"Their dealings with Raymond Cheek are decades apart," he said.

Each man alleged Cheek fondled them and Mr Dungey told the jury they could conclude Cheek had a sexual interest in boys, noting the complainants had "remarkably similar" accounts.

The alleged abuse occurred in Perth, Albany and two small country towns in WA's south.

Defence counsel Michael Perrella asked the jury to keep an open mind and assess the credibility of witnesses.

"To say that the passage of time looms large in this trial is an understatement," he said.

"An honest witness can be mistaken."

The trial before Judge Ronald Birmingham and a jury continues.

Summary: A former Anglican priest has gone on trial in Perth charged with five child sex offences, including one dating back to 1955.


A black teenage girl had her Twitter account suspended after posting a tutorial on how to do “white face”.

Jane Oranika, 19, from Montgomery, Alabama posted the video to the social media platform as a joke in the lead up to Donald Trump’s victory in the US election.

Oranika said she got the idea for the skit after being inspired by YouTube personality Joanne the Scammer.

During election night the 19-year-old posted a video where she painted her face white with a concealer to go along with a running joke she had with her friends that if would be okay if Trump won because “we are Caucasian”.

However, her viral video was quickly removed from social media and her Twitter page suspended for violating the sites terms and conditions.

“When I tried to tweet it wouldn’t let me but I wasn’t offended by (the suspension). It was pretty responsible for a media platform to take whatever down as they investigate it," she told Buzzfeed.

Oranika’s ban was eventually lifted after appealing the suspension twice.

"It just goes to show that people don’t have a problem (with) bigotry towards minorities… but the minute the majority feel a way about something it’s a big deal."

© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016


Mining groups have criticised the South Australian opposition's call for a 10-year moratorium on fracking in the state's southeast, saying it send a dangerous message to the oil and gas industry.

Opposition Leader Steven Marshall has promised the Liberals will introduce the moratorium if the party wins the next state election in 2018.

But South Australian Chamber of Miners and Energy chief executive Rebecca Knol says the ban is inconsistent with the strong safety record and scientific facts of gas exploration and development.

"Political decisions such as this send a worrying precedent to the wider resources sector that regions can be ring-fenced based on little consideration for the factual evidence, and by default pose a sovereign risk," she said.

Ms Knol said gas was a crucial part of the energy mix and to block access a known resource would lead to higher energy prices in South Australia.

Mr Marshall said the 10-year moratorium in the southeast would protect jobs in the world famous agricultural region.

"It makes no sense to put this highly productive region and South Australia's enviable clean and green reputation at risk by opening up some of our best farming land to fracking," he said.

Fracking involves injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks to open cracks and allow oil and gas to be extracted.

On Tuesday, a state parliamentary committee found that to be used in the southeast the process would need community consent to proceed.

Summary: Mining groups have criticised the South Australian Liberal opposition's proposed 10-year moratorium on fracking in the state's southeast.


A 63-year-old woman from Adelaide's affluent inner-eastern suburbs has pleaded guilty to trafficking heroin.

However, Gian Hue Hu, from leafy Toorak Gardens, denied a separate charge of trafficking methamphetamine when she appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Police allege they found the drugs along with $1000 in cash in Hu's car at a shopping centre in Norwood when she was arrested in December 2015.

She remains on bail and will return to court in January.

Summary: A middle-aged woman from Adelaide's affluent inner-east has admitted to dealing heroin but she denies trafficking methamphetamine.


It’s 6.38am on Sunday morning and a crowd is gathered at the water’s edge. “Seek sunrise in all that we are,” incants a gentle voice. “Seek dawn in all that we do. Wake up. Wake up.”

What sounds like a yoga lesson on the beaches of Ibiza or Goa is far from it. Today we are at Tilbury international cruise terminal, 25km east along the Thames estuary from London Bridge. The same Tilbury where Elizabeth I addressed her fleet before they faced the Spanish Armada, and where the Empire Windrush passenger liner delivered 642 West Indian immigrants to a new life in Britain in 1948.

This morning there is no queen, no Windrush, just the flat, autumnal waters of the Thames, a big grey duvet of September sky, and two voices – one spoken, one sung – occasionally interrupted by birds overhead or a passing tug.

Caroline Bergvall’s sunrise performance Raga Dawn (6.38am was the exact hour the sun rose, albeit behind cloud cover, in Tilbury that day) is part of Estuary, a 16-day festival celebrating the distinct character of the Essex “edgelands” between Tilbury and Southend. “I thought, ‘What about an early morning call to wake you up?’” said Bergvall when she got the joint commission from Estuary and La Batie, a festival held on the edge of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. “That idea of dawn really stayed with me.”

And dawn chorus this certainly is. Not only is Bergvall duetting her poetry with classical singer Peyee Chen, to a score by Gavin Bryars, the pair are accompanied by the recorded voices of the Punjabi-speaking community of Southend and a group of Romansh speakers from Switzerland. Translating some of Bergvall’s key lines into their own languages – “We are passengers” is one of the central refrains – results in a hypnotic hour of spoken word and stereo sound and, for the audience at least, a headspace somewhere between waking and sleeping.

"Am I aware that I am asleep when I'm awake" @Cbergvall spins web of morning musing around wrapt audience #ragadawn pic.twitter.com/4zacZ5UuDi

Blame the polyphony of Raga Dawn on Bergvall’s “bilingual brain” – her description, incidentally, though “multilingual” might be more accurate. Born in Germany to French and Norwegian parents, she moved to London in 1989, drawn by art and love (namely, her then girlfriend), and became energised by the queer arts scene of the Vauxhall underground.

Bergvall calls herself a writer and artist, not a poet, even if her performances and publications most closely resemble that form. Fittingly, Raga Dawn is part of two festivals within Estuary festival: the literary programme, Shorelines, and Points of Departure, which is filling the faded beauty of Tilbury’s Grade II listed terminal building with art. While about 50 cruise liners still dock at Tilbury each year, it feels more like a stage set than a working terminal. Opposite the old shuttered-up ticket office plays John Akomfrah’s video Mnemosyne, an epic video cycle about the experiences of postwar immigrants to Britain. High in the vaulted roof hangs Adam Chodzko’s Ghost, a specially crafted kayak, in which the artist transported volunteers across the Thames and back. And on the wall in the arrivals lounge hangs one of Jeremy Deller’s Five Memorials: a banner paying tribute to the Windrush itself. This last piece is a permanent fixture.

Festival director Colette Bailey didn’t want to make any explicit political message in this, Estuary’s inaugural programme. She didn’t need to. The theme of new arrivals and borders emerges strongly throughout. For Bergvall, who often focuses on language politics, these themes have only taken on greater relevance since the Brexit vote. She is scared by what she has seen: “An outpouring of xenophobic language and isolationist pride, things that I haven’t witnessed in England for quite a long time. Not in a weird generalised way, but real insults thrown around in the local cafe or dry cleaners. The mentality that’s coming out of it is very scary and disappointing.”

Bergvall’s thoughts on these issues are set out in a thought-provoking 2010 essay, Middling English, in which she attempts to break down the development of modern English into four elements: midden, middle, middling and meddle. As she puts it, the “midden” is the soils of the English language, originated in multiple cultures. The “middle” is the historical Middle English period where the language settled into the one we recognise today. “Middling” is any attempt to standardise English, too often in prejudicial ways. This is something we see playing out in current political and social debate. Should new immigrants learn English as standard? And if so, what English do we mean? As Bergvall says, every new generation brings their own words to the mix: “Pop music and rap and even slam poetry all disturb the language.”

So what about the “meddle”? “The meddle is the artist or writer who messes things up and shows up the language’s complexity and richness,” says Bergvall. “The meddle is wanting to tackle issues, to bring other areas of awareness to the work you make.” Audiences can meddle, too, she adds. “We’re simply jumping in and activating it.”

Which is why Tilbury is just the beginning for Raga Dawn. Next year, Bergvall and her team of academics and artistic collaborators plan to follow the old troubadour route from Morocco up through Europe, interviewing 12 minority-language groups and incorporating their words into the performance until the work is a huge patchwork, like any contemporary language. “We can think about other historical issues and geographical differences to do with sunrise greeting, especially in summer, from the very short dawn in southern Spain to the longer ones in Scandinavia and even in the Isle of Skye. I’m talking to arts organisations there who are saying, ‘Can you come in August please? If you come in July, it will be 3am and you won’t get anyone along!’”

She’s not done badly in Tilbury, where more than 100 people have made today’s early start. By 7.38, after an hour of physical and social awakening, we shuffle back bleary-eyed into the terminal to eat a breakfast of chapatis and bombay potatoes cooked by the Sikh community in nearby Grays. This too is part of the work, says Bergvall. “It’s not about learning so much as belonging.”

• Estuary festival continues until 2 October at venues across Essex.

Summary: Caroline Bergvall’s Raga Dawn is a mash-up of English, Punjabi and Romansh, poetry, music and performance art. She explains why she’s opposing ‘isolationist pride’ on the spot where the Empire Windrush docked in 1948


Alphonse Mucha’s poster for Job cigarette papers is one of the most famous works in design history. Taking its cue from a new kind of female beauty, its modern girl has hair with a life of its own. The tendrils look more like the floating tentacles of a jellyfish.

Mucha saw a spiritual, even moral, dimension to beautiful art, though that clearly didn’t exclude commercial gigs: his designs advertised railways, beer and bicycles.

Mucha’s reputation soared on the Paris art scene, yet his big break was total chance. The story goes that Mucha was the only hand available at a printers’ one day close to Christmas in 1894 so was asked to create a poster for theatre star Sarah Bernhardt. Pitching her as a goddess-cum-saintly icon in muted hues, his design was a runaway sensation.

For most people, though, the Job poster is less likely to be associated with belle époque Paris, than the swinging 1960s. Its blissed-out smoker and trippy swirls made it an obvious choice for the bedroom walls of a later generation of freedom-seekers

A 1900 reproduction is part of Alphonse Mucha: In Quest Of Beauty, Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow, to 19 Feb

Summary: The Czech painter’s 1896 work transcends advertising with its use of neo-classical imagery


Wednesday, May 5th 2004, 1:04AM

If you own a TV, you've seen the Coca-Cola ad in which Sharlene Hector from the band Basement Jaxx stands on a crowded street singing "I Wish I Knew" and handing Cokes to smiling passersby.

In 1971, Coke ads sang, "I'd like to buy the world a Coke." Now, apparently, that's what Coke is doing.

This new campaign, like the earlier one, is happy. It's catchy.

It's also cynical and appalling.

"I Wish I Knew," for those who just tuned in, is a truncated version of "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free," which was written in 1954 by Dr. Billy Taylor.

It was most famously recorded by Nina Simone and widely sung as an anthem of the civil rights movement.

Dressing it up to sell a soft drink is like using "Peace in the Valley" to sell resort condos in the Poconos.

A Coke spokeswoman told Adweek the company chose the song because "the theme of optimism and connecting with people seems pretty universal."

Okay. But this ad makes "I Wish I Knew" sound like it's a song about not being afraid to greet people on the street, when the real song is far richer, darker and more complex.

The ad, for instance, does not use this couplet from the original song:

I wish you could know what it means to be me

Then you'd see and agree that every man should be free

Those are the words of people who defied death threats to march through Montgomery, Ala., not the words of someone giving out complimentary soda.

Turning "I Wish I Knew" into an ad

jingle strip-mines the song. It plays the song cheap.

Now, I realize we're supposed to have gotten past being upset over commercialized songs.

Yes, Bob Dylan's "Love Sick" in a Victoria's Secret ad is hilarious, and Bob Seger's "Like a Rock" was long ago signed over to Chevy. But John Lennon's "Imagine" still wasn't meant to sell shoes, and "I Wish I Knew" isn't a vehicle for selling Coke.

The antidote is simple enough: Go back and listen to Nina Simone sing the song.

Her version is rhythmic and quite pretty, intriguingly understated with a hint of calypso. The iron fist in the velvet glove.

Simone, who died last spring at the age of 70, said she always remembered that when she was 10 years old in Tryon, N.C., giving her first public piano recital, her parents were ordered out of their front-row seats because white folks wanted them.

So songs about corrosive injustice meant something to her.

After she became successful, critics often called her songs jazz. She called them "black classical music."

No one called them Coke ads.

Summary: COKE AD THE UNREAL THING If you own a TV, you've seen the Coca-Cola ad in which Sharlene Hector from the band Basement Jaxx stands on a crowded street singing "I Wish I Knew"and handing Cokes to smiling passersby. In 1971, Coke ads sang, "I'd like to buy the world a Coke."Now, apparently, that's what Coke is doing. This new campaign, like the earlier one, is happy. It's catchy. It's also cynical and


Thursday, September 28th 2006, 1:05AM

Sitting in his bright red office at Macy's Herald Square, director of windows Paul Olszewski is caught in a crisis. It's Friday morning, and he's on track to finish a major exhibit in the Broadway and 34th St. displays - until he makes a discovery.

"Somebody stripped a window, and we have nothing to go in it," Olszewski explains. "That's the fire we're trying to put out right now. Somebody misunderstood us on the staff and completely emptied it and destroyed everything that was in there, so we're trying to scramble to get something."

Olszewski's swamped schedule is typical of life at the "world's largest department store." And you can get a glimpse into it with a new reality show set at this flagship location and others across the country.

"Unwrapping Macy's" (premiering Saturday at 10 p.m. on Women's Entertainment TV) follows employees around as they prepare for the Thanksgiving Day Parade, Santaland setup, and events like a fragrance launch by Diddy.

Olszewski and his staff appear in three episodes as the window-dressing process goes from conceiving a theme to lifting the curtain.

About 3,500 passersby per hour see these windows - and 7,000 during the Christmas season. "It's pretty amazing," Olszewski says. "I think more people see the windows here than any gallery in the city. We're always onstage."

Temporarily tossing the empty-window dilemma aside , he turns his attention to completing the "Art Under Glass" exhibit, occupying all 10 major display windows and three smaller ones. A curator helped Olszewski to select works by 11 contemporary artists to be fused with clothes from Calvin Klein, DKNY and more.

Now that the showcases have been decorated with paintings, sculptures and video projects, it's time to set up the mannequins. Clarence Black and Faith Pongracz, both 26-year-old window stylists, usually transport them to the main floor.

"The funniest part is having like 14 mannequins on a rod and then shlepping them from the seventh floor all the way to Broadway - it's like the length of a football field," Black says. "Then you have customers that are looking, and you're saying 'excuse me' a million times and nobody gets it. If they don't know English, they don't know what you're saying. So now we say 'beep beep,' and they move out of the way."

Window workers slip through hidden doors on the floor level into dusty passageways, where they don purple booties before stepping into the display area. Olszewski and Pongracz kneel to "strike" the mannequins, which are balanced with wire tied to two nails hammered into the floor.

"It gives the illusion that they're actually standing," Pongracz says, as opposed to mannequins in some stores that are mounted on stands.

By night, the crew has all the fiberglass figures in gorgeous gowns and has opened the exhibit on schedule, while solving the stripped-window problem.

Expect a lot of gawking. "Macy's in Herald Square is really the No. 3 attraction in the city," boasts Nicole Fischelis, Macy's East fashion director. "You have the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and Macy's. There are 30,000 people going through the main floor every day."

Summary: ATTENTION, SHOPPERS! With a new TV show, Macy's gives a window into the world's largest department store BY GINA SALAMONE Sitting in his bright red office at Macy's Herald Square, director of windows Paul Olszewski is caught in a crisis. It's Friday morning, and he's on track to finish a major exhibit in the Broadway and 34th St. displays - until he makes a discovery. "Somebody stripped a window, and we have nothing to go in


BY ROSEMARY BLACK DAILY NEWS FOOD EDITOR

Wednesday, January 8th 2003, 9:48AM

Choosing the right pepper can be a real, um, grind. Colors range from green to pink to black. It comes from many parts of the world and is most aromatic when freshly cracked.

"It's not just the heat that you want to capture, but the aroma," says Steve Davis, marketing director at Gourmet Garage. "So it's worth investing in a pepper mill."

What you put in that gadget depends on individual taste buds. Davis recommends Tellicherry peppercorns, from the Malabar Coast of India. (Gourmet Garage sells these in 2.1-ounce jars for $5.99.)

Also highly prized is the very aromatic black pepper from Madagascar, an island off the coast of Africa. It's sold for $1 per ounce or $12.50 per pound at Old Stone Market in East Hampton, or you can order by calling (631) 267-6244.

Black pepper has been in use for more than 400 years, says Karen Vaucher, owner of Old Stone Market and a pepper connoisseur. "The Chinese used it to treat malaria, cholera and dysentery," she explains. "In Greece, it was used to treat fever and stomach disorders."

While pepper may not be considered a medicine today, it does stimulate gastric juices and is good for the digestive system. Some swear that it reduces stress, helps muscle aches and migraines, and clears clogged sinuses.

Most peppercorns come from one plant, Piper nigrum, which is indigenous to India and Indonesia. The more common form is the black peppercorn, which is picked when the berry is slightly underripe and then dried until it shrivels and turns dark brown or black.

White peppercorns, from the same plant, have been allowed to ripen after which the skin is removed and the berry is dried, resulting in a mildly flavored, light-tan berry. Often it is used in lightly colored sauces and dishes in which dark specks of black pepper would be too obvious.

Green peppercorns are soft, underripe berries that typically are preserved in brine. With a fresh, less pungent flavor, green peppercorns are sold in jars and cans, as well as freeze-dried.

Pink peppercorns aren't really peppercorns at all, Davis explains, but are derived from a distant relative of the rose. "Pink peppercorns are slightly peppery in flavor and used predominantly for color," he says. "They first came into vogue about 1980."

Used to flavor sauces, meats and fish, they're found in gourmet stores.

Another pepper variation: Szechuan peppers, or Chinese peppers. They resemble black peppercorns, but have a tiny seed as well as a distinctive flavor. Found in Asian markets and gourmet shops, they typically are heated before being ground to bring out their flavor.

As for which brands to buy, Davis particularly likes Morton & Bassett, a San Francisco company that carries fresh, high- quality peppercorns. The Spice Hunter is another reputable brand of peppercorn.

Although it's got a distinctive bite, pepper is used to flavor both sweet and savory dishes. Here are some dishes from chefs and a couple of personal favorites.

By the way, if you are a pepper fan, it's essential that you invest in a pepper mill. Look for one that can be adjusted to produce fine and coarse grinds, and if you have a small kitchen with limited storage space, resist the temptation to buy a huge grinder!

Coconut and Black Pepper Creme Brulee

From Alain Benounna, chef/owner at Zitoune.

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup sugar, plus more for the tops

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients. Pour the mixture into ramekins. Bake for about 20 minutes or until just set. Allow the custards to cool at room temperature, then refrigerate.

Just before you plan to serve, remove the ramekins from the refrigerator. Sprinkle generously with sugar until the tops are completely covered. Use a small blow torch to caramelize the tops of the creme brulee.

Green Beans With Green Peppercorns

2 tablespoons green peppercorns, drained

1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

1 pound Chinese yard-long beans

3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1 small red chili pepper, seeded and chopped fine

In a small bowl, crush the peppercorns into a coarse pulp. Stir in the cilantro. Heat oil in a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in beans, garlic, brown sugar, chili pepper, peppercorns and cilantro. Stir-fry for 45 seconds. Pour in the water and cover to steam for about 2 minutes. Serve immediately.

From Michael Tulipan, chef at Torino.

4 (8-ounce) Atlantic salmon fillets

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

4 to 6 tablespoons heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat the salmon with crushed fresh black peppercorns to form a layer on both sides. In a heavy, ovenproof saute pan, pan-sear the salmon until the outer layer is golden brown and the inside is rare. Turn the salmon over. Bake for about 7 minutes or until medium rare.

Meanwhile, prepare the Dijon sauce. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and cook for a couple of minutes on low heat. To serve, pour the sauce around the plate. Arrange the salmon next to the spinach. Garnish with the chopped fresh rosemary.

Deep Fried Black Pepper Chicken Wings

A spicy sweet dish that makes a fine appetizer, this takes just 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.

2 red onions, peeled and minced

10 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped, divided usage

2 slices fresh ginger root, minced, divided usage

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 slice fresh ginger root, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

10 black peppercorns, coarsely ground

4 cups oil for deep frying

In a glass bowl, place the wings. In a blender, process the onions, 6 cloves garlic and 1 slice ginger. Add water as needed to dilute and form a paste; rub this mixture into the chicken pieces.

In a small bowl, combine the sesame seeds, sesame oil, soy sauce, wine, oyster sauce, lemon juice, honey and salt. Mix well, then stir in 1 slice ginger, 4 cloves garlic and ground peppercorns. Add mixture to chicken and turn to coat; cover dish and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Heat oil in a deep skillet or deep fryer; fry chicken in hot oil for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until cooked through and juices run clear.

Summary: BY rosemary black DAILY NEWS FOOD EDITOR hoosing the right pepper can be a real, um, grind. Colors range from green to pink to black. It comes from many parts of the world and is most aromatic when freshly cracked. "It's not just the heat that you want to capture, but the aroma,"says Steve Davis, marketing director at Gourmet Garage. "So it's worth investing in a pepper mill."What you put in that gadget


Our latest information from Nashville this morning comes through Richmond. Col. LEE, of Massachusetts, a returned prisoner, who reached Fortress Monroe on Sunday, reports that a rebel officer of distinction at Richmond told him on Saturday afternoon, as he was about to leave for home, that official information had been received of the surrender of the city of Nashville to the National forces. We see no reason to discredit this report, certainly none in the high character of our Fortress Monroe informant. And, independent of his news, we have had for a day information of the movements of the National divisions of BUELL and HALLECK, and of the state of popular sentiment at Clarksville and Nashville, confirmatory of the extreme probability of the peaceable occupation of the city, on the arrival of either or part of both divisions. Gen. MITCHELL's column passed rapidly on from Bowling Green, and was within thirty miles of Nashville as early as Tuesday last. Several of FOOTE's gunboats were at Clarksville on Friday, when the Cumberland was rising fast, and there would be no difficulty in making Nashville in a few hours, the distance by water being but sixty miles. A special dispatch to the Cincinnati Gazette, dated from Cairo on Thursday, states that white flags were flying at Nashville as well as Clarksville, and that Gen. GRANT had been invited to occupy both places. Another account represents that the citizens had protested warmly against the destruction of the railroad, on the north side of the river, or the valuable bridges at Nashville.

But a still later dispatch dated from St. Louis, as late as yesterday, settles, beyond reasonable doubt, the whole question. It is to the effect that Gen. BUELL's forces occupy Nashville; that Gov. HARRIS has called in all the Tennessee troops, and that a strong reaction has occurred among the people.

Thus ends this wicked rebellion in Tennessee. The State Legislature has only to repeal its own act of separation from the General Government of June last, and with this repeal the whole mass of unconstitutional legislation since will fall to the ground. The troops of the State already called back to their homes will resume their accustomed occupations, and as loyal citizens of a Union from which they were unwillingly alienated by Gov. HARRIS and other unprincipled tools of the Richmond conspirators, last Summer.

TENNESSEE is the first of the eleven Confederate States to be reclaimed from this mad conspiracy. It is eminently proper and fortunate that she should take this lead. From her old political traditions, we most heartily rejoice in this redemption; and if anything could heighten the pleasure with which the whole country, North and West, will welcome her people back to kindly fellowship, it would be the circumstance recorded this morning, that her beautiful capital has been spared the horrors of battle and destruction, by peaceful occupation.

Summary: Our latest information from Nashville this morning comes through Richmond. Col. LEE, of Massachusetts, a returned prisoner, who reached Fortress Monroe on Sunday, reports that a rebel officer of distinction at Richmond told him on Saturday afternoon, as he was about to leave for home, that official...


BY GEORGE RUSH AND JOANNA MOLLOY With Lola Ogunnaike and Shazia Ahmad

Friday, August 18th 2000, 2:13AM

The gun lobby may have bushwhacked actor Martin Sheen. Worse still, Sheen's own brother is the hired gun.

Joe Estevez - youngest sibling of the "West Wing" star - is doing the voiceover on a slick pro-gun commercial that has been running during the Republican and Democratic conventions. If you've heard it, you might have thought it was Sheen himself, since Estevez sounds more like Sheen than Sheen does.

"We wanted a recognized voice that would catch people's attention," admits Lawrence Keane of the Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation, the Connecticut-based organization that sponsored the ad. He tells The News' Lewis Beale: "We picked the voice on purpose."

The commercial shows a man draping an American flag over a large table, then ripping off the stars and stripes. Then Estevez shoots off his mouth: "We were with the patriots who fought for this flag at Gettysburg. We were with the soldiers who bled for these stripes at Normandy.... We are the makers of America's firearms."

It's safe to say that you wouldn't catch Sheen shilling for gun makers. The left-leaning antiwar activist has been arrested many times in nonviolent protests.

We can't tell you how close the brothers are. We can tell you that Sheen's 144 TV and movie credits include "Badlands," "Catch-22," "Gandhi" and "Apocalypse Now." Estevez' 63 credits include "Slaves of the Vampire Werewolf" and "Bimbo Movie Bash."

Estevez' manager, Kurt Swansick, said, "Obviously, he did it for the money." Sheen's manager would say only that the Emmy-nominated star knew of his brother's involvement.

She was just blowing smoke

Melanie Griffith is backing away from her offer to smoke pot with her kids.

The "Cecil B. Demented" star called us to "clarify" some comments she made to Paper magazine. We told you on Tuesday how Griffith had said she hoped her children would "ask me if they could experiment with pot" rather than have them "go out and buy some s--- that has weird psychedelic chemicals in it."

Griffith, a detox-clinic grad, says she has since been deluged with calls, apparently from concerned friends.

"I was being honest," a tearful Griffith told us. "I'm not advocating that my children do drugs. Because of my history with drugs, my children don't want to try anything. Knock on wood, my son [Alexander] is going to be 15, and he has never tried anything in his life.

"I have never been a pot-smoker. When I did drugs, I was into cocaine and alcohol, which I don't do anymore.Â I have said to my children, 'If anyone comes up to you with pot or any drugs, please tell me first. If you feel like you have to do it, I would rather you do it with me than with somebody else.' I would rather they not even try it."

After taking a few lashes for the way the media "twist everything around," we had to ask Melanie how she would find some "safe" grass, assuming her kids still wanted to experiment. And would she light up with them, or just watch?

"You know what?" said Griffith, who was sitting with her son. "After this whole thing, I'm not going to do it at all! I'm not going to try it with them. So forget it! The whole thing is absolutely gone now."

No word on Alexander's reaction.

Lock up yer daughters, Mick!

Playboy is wooing daughters of rock stars for a nude layout, we hear. Word is, Rod Stewart's frisky lass, Ashley, has defied her dad's wishes and agreed. The mag is also said to be courting Mick Jagger's daughters, Jade and Elizabeth, even though papa doesn't even like their modeling. Meanwhile, Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood arrived too late to see Jerry Hall's nude scene in the London stage production of "The Graduate" this week. But Wood, now out of rehab and drinking nonalcoholic beer, didn't mind, saying he had seen Hall in the altogether many times. "That's life on the road for you," the rocker quipped to the London Sun.

Hit the road, Naomi Judd tells hubby

Naomi Judd is going solo. The 54-year-old country music singer has filed for divorce, accusing her husband of 11 years, Larry Strickland, of adultery.

In a petition filed Monday in Nashville's Williamson County Court, Judd charges that Strickland "is guilty of adultery during the marriage and is guilty of such inappropriate marital conduct as renders further cohabitation unsafe and improper."

Strickland, a one-time backup singer for Elvis Presley and manager of Naomi's singing daughter, Wynonna, had no immediate comment.

DON'T BET on Susan Hawk as the winner of CBS' "Survivor." The tough-talking Wisconsin trucker didn't look like a million bucks last week when she was spotted dropping off a load of cement at Milwaukee's City Hall. The bandanna-wearing Hawk even helped smooth it onto the building steps. Â

HAS IAN Schrager found love again? We hear that the celeb hotelier, who this week announced he was splitting with wife Rita, has a new girlfriend. A spokesman for Schrager denies it, noting that while Schrager has moved out of their Manhattan home, he and Rita are still close enough to be spending a two-week vacation in the Hamptons. Â

DAN MARINO will lead an expected 60,000 revelers on Oct. 9 as grand marshal of the Columbus Day Parade. Columbus Foundation prez Charles Gargano also announced yesterday that Marino will join opera star Andrea Bocelli at the foundation's dinner on Oct. 7. Â

JULIA ROBERTS has a new producing partner. Deb Schindler, whose credits include "Waiting to Exhale" and "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," is signing on to help the Pretty Woman expand her Shoelace Productions. Â

LOYAL CLINTON fund-raiser Bill Rollnick bit his tongue at last week's Possible Dreams auction on Martha's Vineyard. Rollnick came to take bids on a tie worn by the President. Considering this was the same island where Clinton once purchased gifts for Monica Lewinsky, someone in the crowd asked Rollnick whether the tie had been dry-cleaned. "No," chuckled Rollnick, adding, "You don't know how I'm restraining myself." The cravat went for $5,500. Rollnick, a Mattel honcho, has donated $456,000 to the Dems. Â

THAT FIRESTONE tire recall could be making for some tense family dinner-

table conversation. Turns out the current chairman of Ford Motor Co., Bill Ford 2nd, is the son of William Clay Ford and Martha Firestone, heiress to the tire company. ...

ANNE HEARST is the chairwoman of tonight's auction at Francesco Galesi's "castle" in Southampton to preserve the treasures of the Hearst family's old San Simeon castle. On the block: a ski lesson with Yasmin Aga Khan, falconry with Bobby Kennedy Jr. and dinner with Dan Aykroyd. Goody bags at the Robbins Wolfe-catered event include products from Dr. Sobel's Skin and Spa.

Summary: The gun lobby may have bushwhacked actor Martin Sheen. Worse still, Sheen's own brother is the hired gun. Joe Estevez - youngest sibling of the "West Wing"star - is doing the voiceover on a slick pro-gun commercial that has been running during the Republican and Democratic conventions. If you've heard it, you might have thought it was Sheen himself, since Estevez sounds more like Sheen than Sheen does.


Lindsay Lohan's people believe the person who has been harassing Lindsay through text messages and voicemail messages is none other than Sam Lutfi, the guy who loomed large when Britney Spears was melting down.

As TMZ first reported, Lindsay has been receiving ominous messages from someone who claims to be watching her. The concern is so great that honchos from the Betty Ford Clinic are moving Lindsay to a more secure location.

Lutfi was Britney's sole confidant just before she was placed on a 5150 psychiatric hold.

Britney's family believed Lutfi was plying Brit with drugs and taking her down a path of destruction. Britney's conservators eventually obtained a restraining order against Lutfi in 2008.

Lutfi has been in close contact recently with none other than Michael Lohan, sources tell TMZ.

In at least one text Lutfi sent to Lindsay, he falsely identifies himself as "Mike from TMZ" and warns her to distance herself from Dina Lohan.

The phone number on the text goes right back to Lutfi.

TMZ spoke with Lutfi, who claims he didn't send the messages. He claims the people who rep Lindsay also repped Britney and they're out to get him.

Lutfi claims Lindsay has called him in the past, though sources connected with Lindsay say she doesn't know Lutfi at all.

Sources tell TMZ Lindsay's people have been in touch with Sam, warning him to stay away from her.

Summary: Is Britney Spears' Ex Harassing Lindsay Lohan?


It's been nearly four months since Amanda Knox

after spending four years in an Italian jail, but now she may be going back to the country.

Why would she return to a place where she was jailed for so long? She may testify on behalf of her parents, who face up to three years in prison for charges of slander.

One of Knox's lawyers said she "loves Italy" and would consider returning even as a tourist, but may be impelled to do so sooner for legal reasons, reports

Knox's parents, Curt Knox and Edda Mellas, who are divorced, are charged with slandering the Perugia police based on statements they made in an interview with London's

in 2009. In the interview, they repeated Amanda's claims that she had been physically abused and verbally threatened by police during an interrogation, according to ABC.

Knox, 24, is expected to be called as a defense witness at their trial, which is set to begin on March 30.

last October, also faces her own slander charges for statements regarding police conduct she made during her trial.

Those charges are in addition to a previous conviction against Knox for slandering

, Patrick Lumumba, based on statements she made implicating him in the

The Italian court that reversed the murder convictions against Knox and her former boyfriend,

, upheld the slander conviction, which carried with it a three-year prison sentence, a fine and restitution.

Summary: Knox's lawyer says she might go back to the country to be a defense witness in her parents' slander trial


ABC News’ Michael Falcone and Russell Goldman report:

LINCOLN PARK, Mich. — In a 55-minute speech in this blue-collar Detroit suburb, Rick Santorum mostly steered clear of the harsh anti-Mitt Romney talking points his campaign was circulating earlier on Friday.

Instead, Santorum methodically worked his way through a 10-point plan for restoring the country to fiscal health, including the reforms he plans to enact in the areas of housing, energy and taxation in his first 100 days in office.

Santorum mentioned Romney by name only a handful of times.

He criticized his rival’s tax plan, which would limit deductions for charitable giving from those in the top tax bracket. The former Pennsylvania senator called it an example of “torpedoing the very civic institutions that make America work.”

Earlier on Friday, the Santorum campaign circulated what amounted to a tirade against Romney, which aides said, their candidate would be using to contrast himself with his opponent between now and the Feb. 28 primary in Michigan.

But few of those lines made their way into Santorum’s speech, which he delivered to a crowd of roughly 200 people, including about a dozen nuns, at a local Knights of Columbus hall.

Without naming names, Santorum lambasted his rivals for throwing “mud and dirt” on the campaign trail.

“This campaign, as we’ve seen, can get off the ideas, off the vision,” Santorum said, promising to finish his own campaign “on a high note.”

Santorum, who is locked in a close race with Romney in this state with just three full days of campaigning left before voters head to the polls, focused his sharpest barbs at President Obama.

He accused the president of intentionally driving up the cost of gasoline in order to serve the administration’s anti-global warming agenda. “I don’t know how stupid he thinks America is,” Santorum said.

He also assailed President Obama for neglecting the country’s manufacturing industry, which Santorum pledged to help revive by eliminating the corporate tax on manufacturing companies.

“Guess what’s happening to small town America?” Santorum said. “It’s still dying on the vine.”

He cast himself as a fiscal hawk whose experience in government was a plus not a minus, as Romney has said.

“I proposed a balanced budget before it was really cool to balance a budget,” Santorum noted, touting his proposal to reduce government spending by $5 trillion over five years.

“No one else has come close to that number,” Santorum said, “not even Ron Paul.”

As he has before, Santorum offered up an I-feel-your-pain line to his audience: “The housing value of my house is a fraction of when we bought it,” he told the crowd.

He called his plan “inclusive” and said that “Americans are looking for someone who can paint a vision, who can draw a contrast.”

Before he wrapped up, Santorum took an opportunity to hammer Romney on the issue of government bailouts. His campaign is running an ad in Michigan attacking the former Massachusetts governor for opposing the bailout of the automobile industry, a position that Santorum, himself, also took.

“I don’t know what principles you can say you’re consistent, if you say I’m going to bail out one group of folks and not bail out another industry,” Santorum said, referring to Romney’s support of the Wall Street bailout. “My feeling was, you’re either for them or you’re against them, but don’t you start picking winners and losers and that’s what Governor Romney and others in this campaign have done, and I haven’t. ”

“You may not like my position on bailouts, but I’ve been consistent and principled,” Santorum said, “unlike other people in this race.”

Summary: ABC News’ Michael Falcone and  Russell Goldman report: LINCOLN PARK, Mich. — In a 55-minute speech in this blue-collar Detroit suburb, Rick Santorum mostly steered clear of the harsh anti-Mitt Romney talking points his campaign was circulating earlier on Friday. Instead, Santorum methodically worked his way through a 10-point plan for restoring the country to fiscal health, including the reforms he plans to enact in the areas of housing, energy and taxation in his first 100 days in office. Santorum mentioned Romney by name only a handful of times. He criticized his rival’s tax plan, which would limit deductions for…


Richard Dawson Dead at 79

, the legendary host of "

," has died from complications due to esophageal cancer ... this according to his son.

Gary Dawson posted a Facebook message early this morning that read:

"It is with a very heavy heart that I inform you that my father passed away this evening from complications due to esophageal cancer. He was surrounded by his family. He was an amazing talent, a loving husband, a great dad, and a doting grandfather. He will be missed but always remembered..."

Dawson hosted "Feud" from 1976-1985, and then from 1994-1995. He was also famous for being a regular on "The Match Game" and for appearing in the classic Arnold Schwarzenegger action film "The Running Man." One of his biggest roles -- Dawson played Capt. Peter Newkirk on "Hogan's Heros," a wildly popular show in the 60's.

Dawson was married to Gretchen Johnson ... interesting fact -- he met her when she was part of a contestant family on The Feud and got hitched in 1991. Dawson was famous during the first run of the show for kissing all the female contestants -- he was known as "The Kissing Bandit." But in the second run, he kissed no one -- a promise he made to Gretchen.

Prior to Gretchen, Dawson was married to Diana Dors, a sex symbol back in the day. They had 2 sons.

Summary: Richard Dawson, the legendary host of "Family Feud," has died from complications due to esophageal cancer ... this according to his…


Octomom CHECKS INTO REHAB Kids Left with Nannies

has checked herself into rehab for a prescription drug problem ... leaving her 14 kids without a mother for 30 straight days ... TMZ has learned.

A rep for Octomom tells us ... Nadya admitted herself into the Chapman House Drug Rehabilitation Center in Southern California over the weekend after acknowledging she's become dependent on Xanax ... an anti-anxiety drug ... which she began taking to "deal with stress."

Suleman's rep tells us, "Nadya wanted to get off the Xanax she was prescribed by her doctor and learn to deal with her stress, exhaustion and anxiety with professional help with a team of doctors. Nadya wanted to deal with her issues and make sure she is the best mother she can be.”

TMZ has obtained photos of Nadya on her way to the treatment center (

As for the kids ... we're told Nadya is using 3 nannies and 2 friends to divvy up the child care duties. She also has a driver to take the kids to and from school.

Neither Nadya's mother nor father have been tapped to care for the kids.

We're told Nadya can afford to pay for treatment by herself -- because she's been making a ton of money from her porn career -- but the rehab facility offered to pick up the tab anyway.

Summary: Nadya Suleman has checked herself into rehab for a prescription drug problem ... leaving her 14 kids without a mother for 30 straight days ... TMZ has…


A jury should get to decide whether a TV producer's dealings with David Letterman were attempted blackmail or just hard-nosed business, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Charles Solomon refused a defense request to throw out an attempted grand larceny charge against the producer, Robert "Joe" Halderman. The ruling puts the case on a path toward trial, which could bring testimony from the "Late Show" host about events in his private life that have been pushed into public view.

The case spurred Letterman to tell viewers in October that he had slept with women on his staff.

Prosecutors say Halderman demanded $2 million to keep quiet about the talk-show host's affairs. Halderman says he was just offering Letterman a chance to buy -- and keep private -- a thinly veiled screenplay about Letterman's life.

Whether Halderman's conduct amounted to commerce or crime "is a classic example of an issue that is best left for a trial jury to decide," Solomon wrote in rejecting the defense request.

The 52-year-old Halderman, a producer for CBS' "48 Hours Mystery," could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted. A trial date could be set at his next court appearance March 9. A Letterman lawyer has said the comedian would willingly testify.

Prosecutors say the financially strapped Halderman threatened to ruin Letterman's reputation with information he had gleaned from his then-girlfriend's diary. It described her relationship with Letterman, her boss, authorities said.

Prosecutors said that in a secretly taped conversation with Letterman's attorney, Halderman said: "The issue is your client does not want this information public." He added that, "I have said, for a price, I will sign a confidentiality agreement and I will not make this information public."

Letterman's lawyer ultimately gave Halderman a phony $2 million check. The producer was arrested after depositing it.

Halderman denies the transaction was a shakedown. Defense lawyer Gerald Shargel wrote that information about celebrity misdeeds is "routinely suppressed through private business arrangement." The defense also argued that the criminal charge violated Halderman's free-speech rights, but the judge rejected that notion.

Letterman married longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko last March. They began dating in 1986 and have a 6-year-old son.

Summary: The case spurred the late-night icon to tell viewers in October that he had slept with women who worked for him.


BURROWING in and devoting days to D & D dishes, as glamorous New York friends used to describe their ''difficult and demanding'' cook-offs, has rarely seemed so appealing, so necessary. Of course, this year's cookbooks were planned and written long before sticking close to home and hearth was mandated, but they provide plenty of pleasant ways to do just that -- and, as usual, plenty of ways to roam the globe by reading, marketing and then hunkering down at the stove. And not necessarily to produce a dauntingly D & D menu.

For primeval comfort, it's either chocolate or mashed potatoes. There's not much chocolate in ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO (Houghton Mifflin, $35), but there are plenty of mashed potatoes -- and baked-potato skins and hash and fries of all kinds and potato pancakes and even the French forebear of Tater Tots. Everything you could want from a potato, really, with a startling lack of contrivance, given that the book features 300 recipes for potato dishes. There's nothing fancy or pioneering here, even if one of the authors, Roy Finamore, has edited many of the country's most stylish and accomplished cooks (including Martha Stewart and Diana Kennedy) and his co-author, Molly Stevens, has classic French training. Just terrific recipes and tips. It's hard to think of anything more comforting or satisfying than the potato-leek soup with bacon and chunky potatoes, borrowed from Gramercy Tavern's Tom Colicchio, or a fat sausage surrounded by warm potato salad. (If you must have chocolate, there's a dense and moist farmhouse chocolate cake, made with mashed potatoes, and a recipe for chocolate coconut macaroons that's a deliciously shameless variation on Almond Joy candy bars -- with a secret ingredient you'll guess.)

A NEW WAY TO COOK (Artisan, $40) isn't billed as a one-book cooking course for the new decade, even though it can serve as one. If it had been, readers might not be daunted by its four pounds of information -- four pounds of, as it happens, very good and cleanly presented information. Sally Schneider has a vivid sense of flavor, perhaps resulting from her long experience as both a chef and a food stylist. In recipes that emphasize the realizable over the echt, she combines components of popular cuisines of the past decade (Thai green curry paste, Mexican ancho chile essence) and fashionable cooking techniques, and gives them her own innovative twist (slow roasting duck for five hours, tenderizing lamb roast with a paste of crushed olives, garlic, lemon peel and herbs). Her overall goal is to take out fat while keeping in flavor.

Schneider's patient but unlabored explanations of essential techniques make this the ideal book for, say, my newly single brother, who is as experienced a restaurantgoer as he is inexperienced in the kitchen.+This is the ''Silver Palate'' for the new generation of sophisticated eaters but unconfident cooks. The only thing that might prevent it from reaching that audience is its sprawling range: despite the author and publisher's keen sense of design, this is a case where less might have been more.

At a time when even the most devoutly unobservant are thinking about religion, SACRED FOOD (Chicago Review Press, $35) comes as a reminder of the spiritual dimension in the everyday -- specifically, the cross-cultural communion through foods we all share. Elisabeth Luard, an English writer (and friend) who travels to remote cookstoves with an anthropologist's zeal, offers a lovely hodgepodge of holiday food rituals from around the globe, connecting them first to the agricultural calendar and then to mythology and religion.

Some of the titbits, as the author would call them, might be open to factual scrutiny: were the Jesuits, for instance, really responsible for the fact that turkey ''has elbowed out more traditional meats on the Christmas table'' because for centuries they ''held a monopoly on turkey husbandry''? And Luard relies heavily on other writers for descriptions of the exotic places she hasn't visited, like the Bay of Bengal. But she has directly observed many far-flung rituals, and these accounts are the best: the Day of the Dead in a mountain village near Mexico City in the early 1960's, traveling in Andalusia with her children via mule cart on a rollicking post-Easter pilgrimage to the shrine of the Virgin of the Dew.

Predictably, eggs figure in many of the ceremonies and also in the somewhat incidental recipes, like tocino de cielo (''celestial fatback''), a yolk-rich caramel-glazed flan from a nunnery in Portugal, and, in a show of prescient multiculturalism, an Afghan betrothal rice pudding made with rosewater and saffron. The book ends with a description of Russian Orthodox Easter in a village in the High Tatras of central Slovakia. The feast begins with the presiding grandmother cutting open a fresh-laid egg, stirring its contents, taking a small sip and passing it along so that everyone can share in the symbol of seasonal rebirth.

I've long wondered why Vietnamese food hasn't caught on the way Thai has, with its similar use of lemongrass, lime, ginger, chili, peanuts and sugar. Even those who set off in search of Vietnamese food seldom get far beyond pho (that extravagantly nourishing, build-your-own broth with soft rice noodles) or discover the subtle French overlays in this grandmother of fusion cuisines. Mai Pham, a teacher and restaurateur in Sacramento, offers a way for