Haley Joel Osment is lending his voice to a new Disney movie. Haley will create the sounds of Beary, a 10-year-old bear who has been raised by a human family, in the live-action feature The Country Bears. The eight bears in the movie will be portrayed by people wearing radio-controlled bear costumes.

'N Sync does a good deed

In addition to the Super Bowl halftime performance, 'N Sync will be featured in a commercial to prevent underage drinking. The 30-second Anheuser-Busch spot will air during the Super Bowl. It features the group going door to door, thanking parents for talking to their kids about drinking responsibly.

Contest subject: African-American scientists

The Science Center of Pinellas County is sponsoring an essay contest for Pinellas fifth-graders. The essay must describe an African-American scientist or inventor and his or her contribution to society. It must be one or two pages long, written or typed on 81/2- by 11-inch paper. On a separate sheet attached to the essay, list the following: your name, school, teacher's name, home phone, T-shirt size, total number of students in your class and your school's phone number. Essays must reach the Science Center by Feb. 2 via the school system's PONY #4 or by mail to the Science Center at 7701 22nd Ave. N, St. Petersburg FL 33710. Prizes are awarded for first, second and third place. For more information, call the center at (727) 384-0027.

A musical clan

The Carter family keeps cranking out the singers. First there was Backstreet Boy Nick, and then there was solo act Aaron, whom you can see in concert next month at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. Now, sister Leslie has gotten in on the act, too. Leslie, 13, will release her debut CD, Like Wow, in March.

'2gether' actor dies

Michael Cuccione, who played Jason "Q.T." McKnight on MTV's boy-band spoof 2gether, died of natural causes Jan. 13, according MTV. Cuccione, 16, previously suffered from Hodgkin's disease but beat it after chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant. He recently fought respiratory problems and did not appear in the series' last few episodes. The new season of 2gether is scheduled to start Feb. 19.

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