Hawaii musician pleads no contest in molestation

01/27/12 HONOLULU (AP) ' A popular Hawaii entertainer has pleaded no contest to molesting two girls in the 1990s and has been sentenced to a year in jail.

A Los Angeles judge also sentenced Cecilio Rodriguez on Friday to 52 weeks of sexual-offender counseling and five years' probation.

The 67-year-old Rodriguez is part of the longtime musical duo Cecilio &..... ...Read More »

BC-World Briefly

01/27/12 Free-speech champion Twitter provokes global outcry with plans for country-specific censorship

NEW YORK (AP) ' Twitter, a tool of choice for dissidents and activists around the world, found itself the target of global outrage Friday after unveiling plans to allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws.

It was a stunning role..... ...Read More »

Business Highlights

01/27/12 ___

Economy grew 2.8 percent in Q4, but outlook is hazy

WASHINGTON (AP) ' The economy grew late last year at a pace that in normal times would suggest it's healthy.

But the 2.8 percent annualized growth rate in the October-December quarter ' the fastest pace since the spring of 2010 ' isn't being cheered by most eco..... ...Read More »

After 45 years, Paul Plishka says goodbye to Met

01/27/12 NEW YORK (AP) ' Paul Plishka thought back to Sept. 21, 1967, when he made his Metropolitan Opera debut as the Monk in Ponchielli's "La Gioconda" alongside Renata Tebaldi, Sherrill Milnes and Rosalind Elias.

"These were idols. They were all gods for me," said Plishka, who grew up paying $2 for a standing room ticket to watch performances at the old Met. "The thing I r..... ...Read More »

TV show choreographer gets 10 years for rape

01/27/12 LOS ANGELES (AP) ' A salsa dance instructor who worked on the TV show "So You Think You Can Dance" has been sentenced in Los Angeles to 10 years in prison for raping one woman and assaulting another.

Prosecutors say Alex Da Silva gave dance lessons at salsa clubs where he met aspiring dancers he assaulted. The assaults were not related to the TV show.

...Read More »

US appeals court upholds military impostor law

01/27/12 DENVER (AP) ' A federal appeals court in Denver has ruled that a federal law making it illegal to lie about being a war hero is constitutional and making such false statements is not protected free speech.

The 10th Circuit's ruling reverses a federal judge's decision that the Stolen Valor Act violates the First Amendment. But Friday's ruling goes against a de..... ...Read More »

Actress' claim to be gay by choice riles activists

01/27/12 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ' Cynthia Nixon learned the hard way this week that when it comes to gay civil rights, the personal is always political.

The actress best known for portraying fiery lawyer Miranda Hobbes on "Sex and the City" waded into a controversy when The New York Times Magazine quoted her as saying that for her, being gay was a conscious choice.

<..... ...Read More »

Peter, Paul and Mary bassist Dick Kniss dies at 74

01/27/12 SAUGERTIES, N.Y. (AP) ' Dick Kniss, a bassist who performed for five decades with the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary and co-wrote the John Denver hit "Sunshine on My Shoulders," has died. He was 74.

Kniss died Wednesday of pulmonary disease at a hospital near their home in the Hudson Valley town of Saugerties, said his wife, Diane Kniss.

Kniss was bor..... ...Read More »

Ala. attorney questions death penalty in new book

01/27/12 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) ' An Alabama defense attorney who has worked on more than 60 capital murder cases has written a new book questioning what he calls flaws in the death penalty.

Among his past clients was Eric Rudolph, who bombed an abortion clinic in Birmingham in 1998 and an Atlanta park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Richard Jaffe details many..... ...Read More »

Report: Facebook IPO filing could come next week

01/27/12 LOS ANGELES (AP) ' The Wall Street Journal says Facebook could file regulatory papers for its initial public offering of stock as early as next week.

The newspaper cites unnamed people familiar with the matter in saying that the social networking company could raise as much as $10 billion. Facebook's expected launch as a publicly traded company is the most hotly anti..... ...Read More »