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In the news
Compiled from Times wires Jury acquits BuckR.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck sighed and wiped his brow Friday after a jury acquitted him of charges of going on a drunken rampage on a Seattle-to-London flight. Buck, 45, was found innocent in London of assault, being drunk on an aircraft and damaging British Airways crockery last April. His wife, Stephanie, sobbed as the verdict was read. R.E.M.'s lead singer, Michael Stipe, took off his glasses and wiped his eyes before hugging bassist Mike Mills. Lawyer Neill Blundell read a statement on Buck's behalf outside the courthouse that said, in part, "I am grateful to the court, the jury and my lawyers, to my family, friends and supporters who have stood by me throughout this experience." Buck declined to speak, although he replied "yes" when asked whether he'd fly home on British Airways. The airline said it accepted the verdict and Buck is welcome to fly with it again. Prosecutors said Buck acted like a "drunken lout" after consuming 15 glasses of wine on the flight. Among other things, they said, he covered crew members with yogurt. Buck testified he suffered a bad reaction after taking a sleeping pill and red wine and doesn't remember his alleged actions. Character witnesses including Stipe, Mills and U2's Bono testified that Buck is a gentle family man who does not abuse alcohol or drugs. Jay to Dave: Let's play niceJay Leno says he doesn't understand why things are so "nasty" between him and David Letterman. The host of The Tonight Show complained in a TV Guide interview that he's had nice things to say about the Late Show, but he never hears anything similar in return. "I don't know why it gets so nasty," said Leno, whom NBC chose over Letterman for Tonight when Johnny Carson retired in 1992. "I mean, I am very grateful to Dave," Leno said. "He did a lot for me when I first started out. . . . You'd think after all this time it would be, 'Oh, well, he's successful, I'm successful, everybody is rich beyond their wildest dreams.' I don't know why there has to be such animosity." Letterman has derisively mimicked Leno on the air, and he joked about NBC's selection last month when he decided not to move to ABC. But in the interview, Leno was referring to comments he's heard through the entertainment community, the Associated Press reported, citing an NBC executive close to Leno who spoke on condition of anonymity. Rob Burnett, Letterman's executive producer, said the Late Show camp would be more inclined to praise Leno "if we didn't hear from people that privately he bad-mouths us at every turn." Letterman hasn't given press interviews in years. Leno had no further comment Friday. In TV Guide, he denied saying anything derogatory. TV notesOprah Winfrey is cutting back on her bestseller-making book club recommendations. She said she's been struggling to find suitable works. "I will continue featuring books on the Oprah Winfrey Show when I feel they merit my heartfelt recommendation," she said in a statement. . . . HBO officials say they will suspend production of their hit comedy Sex and the City on Wednesday for several weeks following the news that star Sarah Jessica Parker is pregnant. The pay cable network said Friday the series, which won an Emmy last year for best comedy, is tentatively scheduled to debut in July instead of June. No word on whether Parker, who also won a Golden Globe as best actress in a musical or comedy, will play lead character Carrie Bradshaw as pregnant. . . . CBS is reuniting the cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show for a one-hour special to air next month. . . . A&E has worked out an agreement with the BBC to air the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, on tape delay 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday. . . . ABC has pulled its midseason comedy Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central) after two episodes. It will bring back The Job, which will get a chance to finish its 13-episode season. Cruise-Cruz still togetherThat's what Tom Cruise's spokesman told Entertainment Tonight on Friday in response to a National Enquirer story that the couple has split up and he asked her to move out of his Los Angeles home. "It is totally not true. They are very much together," the unidentified spokesman said. Police investigate R. KellyTwo-time Grammy winner R. Kelly is facing scrutiny over allegations that he appears with a minor in a sexually explicit videotape police say is being sold illegally across the country and on the Internet. Lawyers for Kelly, 33, whose first name is Robert, have denied the platinum-selling R&B artist is the man on the tape. They did not return phone calls Friday from the Associated Press. The Chicago Sun-Times reported in February that it had received the tape anonymously and passed it along to Chicago police. "The police department is investigating a tape that was given to us by the Sun-Times that involves explicit sexual activity with what appears to be a 14-year-old girl," police spokesman Pat Camden said. Police would not say whether the man on the tape is Kelly, known for his inspirational hits I Believe I Can Fly and The Greatest as well as raunchy songs Feelin' On Yo Booty, Bump 'n' Grind and Your Body's Callin'. The sex crimes unit of the Cook County State's Attorney's office also is investigating, spokeswoman Marcy O'Boyle said. Sex with someone under 17, the age of consent, is a crime in Illinois.
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