] Last month, the Senate convened a hearing on the presumed
] problem of %u201Cpayola%u201D in the radio industry. The
] hearing followed the re-introduction of a bill by Sen.
] Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) to rein in the industry%u2019s
] %u201Cnew pay-for-play system.%u201D The legislation, in
] turn, follows a spate of media attention%u2014from the
] New York Times, ABC%u2019s 20/20, and PBS%u2019s
] Frontline%u2014on payola.

Washington City Paper Cover Story: Same Old Song and Dance

] RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - While Americans prepare for
] possible war in the Persian Gulf, Brazilians are
] celebrating Carnival, five days of elaborate parades,
] exorbitant alcohol consumption and 95 percent-naked
] bodies gyrating to dizzying samba rhythms.
]
] Events began Friday when Rio's mayor handed over keys to
] the city to the Rei Momo (Carnival King).
]
] Rio's 14 premier samba schools - nonprofit community
] organizations - were to compete today with fanciful
] costumes, orchestrated dance steps and enormous,
] colorfully decorated theme cars in the highlight of the
] globe's most fabulous pre-Lenten festival.
]
] This year a serious theme has made its way into the giddy
] event. While other samba schools pay homage to soccer
] legend Ronaldo and tout Brazilian theatre, Mocidade, one
] of Rio's top samba schools, will roll out eight elaborate
] theme cars that recount the history of organ transplants.

Jubilant carnival has serious theme: transplants

] SALVADOR, Brazil -- The costumes are glitzy and the flesh
] amply exposed. Samba and other native rhythms thunder
] from marching bands and rock groups alike, whipping
] millions of onlookers into frenzy.
]
] The festivities have reached a fevered pitch in Brazil,
] where an entire nation is caught in the midst of Carnaval
] -- a multi-day celebration of dance, music and ample
] amounts of booze.
]
] While it may not have invented the holiday leading up to
] Lent's Ash Wednesday, South America's largest nation is
] by far the king of Carnaval countries. Millions of
] tourists from all corners of the globe converge to join
] the nation's 175 million in their revelry.
]
] And most everyone to some extent participates in the
] celebration. Whether you just lean out a window to catch
] a glimpse of the "desfiles" (parades) or march in one
] yourself, Carnaval's grasp is inescapable.

Have a blast at Carnaval

] Fred Rogers, better known as television's "Mister
] Rogers," a cultural icon and kindly neighbor to
] generations of American children, died Thursday at the
] age of 74.
]
] Rogers died at his home in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
] after a brief battle with stomach cancer, according to a
] spokeswoman for his production company.
]
] David Newell, a Rogers family spokesman, told The
] Associated Press that Rogers was exactly as he appeared
] on TV.

CNN.com - 'Mister Rogers' dies at age 74 - Feb. 27, 2003

] Flavia Carvalho recalls unlocking the door to her
] computer software store here Tuesday when she noticed how
] utterly alone she was on a commercial block that is
] usually bustling by 10 a.m. Everything was closed: the
] shoe boutique, the art gallery, the colossal supermarket
] on the corner.
]
] Then, with a tap on the shoulder, a young man appeared,
] seemingly from nowhere, with a message all the more
] chilling for its casual delivery: Shut down your shop for
] the day, or else.
]
] "I thought: Oh, no, not again," Carvalho said. "Another
] day without business. But what could I do? He told me
] that anyone who opened would be shot or burned."

As Carnaval Opens, Violence Rocks Rio

] The financial rewards will more than cushion any
] perceived blow to Martin Bashir's journalistic
] credibility following his controversial interview with
] Michael Jackson
]
]
] Lisa O'Carroll
]
] Friday February 28, 2003
]
]
]
] Living With Michael Jackson: Bashir's cut could top
] £400,000.
]
]
] He has been pilloried for using oily charms in pursuit of
] his interview with Michael Jackson but privately Martin
] Bashir knows the financial rewards will be more than
] enough to cushion any perceived blow to his journalistic
] credibility.

MediaGuardian.co.uk | Broadcast | Jackson gives Bashir bonanza

] NEW YORK (Reuters) - Veteran rocker Bruce Springsteen's
] Sept. 11-influenced album "The Rising" and the mellow,
] jazzy singing of Norah Jones on her debut album "Come
] Away With Me" were early Grammy Award winners on Sunday.

Yahoo! News - Springsteen, Jones Each Win 3 Grammy Awards

] Millions of people worldwide marched in demonstrations
] against a possible US-led war against Iraq, over the
] weekend.
] We've had hundreds of your pictures sent in already.
] Click on the links below to view a selection from anti
] war demos.

BBC NEWS | Talking Point | Your pictures of the anti-war demonstrations

] An outraged Michael Jackson has signed a deal with
] Fox television to air his rebuttal to a controversial
] documentary that put his eccentric life under a critical
] microscope.
]
] AP Photo
] Slideshow: Michael Jackson
]
]
]
] Fox said on Wednesday it would air a two-hour special on
] Feb. 20 featuring Jackson's own footage of British
] interviewer Martin Bashir, who is seen telling him; "Your
] relationship with your children is spectacular."
] Jackson's attempt to turn the tables on Bashir, who he
] accused of betrayal, follows a new furor over the
] self-styled King of Pop's relationship with his own three
] young children, and his defense of sharing his bed with
] other kids.

Yahoo! News - Fox to Air Michael Jackson Rebuttal Show Next Week

French Police in Rouen found two lethal mobile phones, capable of shooting four bullets with digital touch pads as triggers February 7, 2003. Police seized the phones which featured a four-chamber secret compartment for 22 caliber bullets, along with 1,000 ecstasy pills, heroin, cannabis and 23,000 euros in cash at the home of a man suspected of armed robberies and drug trafficking. REUTERS/Robert Chalaux

Yahoo! News - World Photos - Reuters