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Mockingbird author wings it at award ceremony

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harper Lee (pictured) is a woman of few words and generally avoids media interviews and public appearances.

But the author of To Kill a Mockingbird broke her silence briefly Monday at a ceremony inducting four new members, including former home-run king Hank Aaron, into the Alabama Academy of Honor. Lee, who lives in Monroeville, is a member of the academy, which honors living Alabamians, and was in the audience for Monday's ceremony.

At the end of the ceremony, Academy of Honor chairman Tom Carruthers joked with Lee, saying he knew she had something she wanted to say to the crowd.

"Well it's better to be silent than to be a fool," Lee says.

The audience burst into laughter and gave Lee a standing ovation.

Golden idea to help needy kids

Launching its China panda welfare gold bars, the Wide Sky Collection donated 600,000 yuan ($78,843) to the China Youth Development Foundation to help build schools for under-privileged children.

The company, which specializes in stamp and coin collection, will also donate part of its revenue from selling the gold bars to the Hope Project, which funds education for children in poverty-stricken areas. The Shicichun Elementary School in Guangdong Province is currently being transformed into the first Wide Sky Collection Hope School.

Elvis's gun stolen, no TVs shot

A handgun once owned by Elvis Presley was stolen from a museum as fans converged on Memphis to mark the 30th anniversary of the singer's death, authorities said.

The black, 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol was taken Tuesday from a display case in the Elvis After Dark museum, across the street from Graceland, Presley's mansion, police said.

A video camera caught a man removing the pistol from the display case around midnight.

The theft was discovered Friday when a visitor noticed that a glass panel on the case was unfastened and Graceland officials reviewed the video. Graceland operates the museum.

Presley, a gun enthusiast who allegedly used to shoot television sets, died at Graceland on August 16, 1977, and is buried in a small garden beside the house.

High School Musical 2 climbs American cable record

High School Musical 2 (pictured) proved the Disney Channel can boast of more than a one-hit TV wonder. Friday's premiere drew an audience of 17.2 million, making it the most-watched basic cable program ever, according to Nielsen Media Research. It more than doubled the viewership of the first movie, High School Musical, which drew 7.7 million in 2006.

The basic-cable record had been held by CNN's airing of a 1993 debate on the North American Free Trade Agreement that drew 16.8 million viewers.

Parents knew where their kids were on Friday: Among children 6 to 11 and youngsters 9 to 14, two out of three children in those age groups watching TV were tuned in to High School Musical 2, Disney Channel said Monday. Among girl viewers age 6 to 11, it was four out of five.

The High School Musical brand has become a cultural phenomenon with hit records, concerts and newly minted young stars including Ashley Tisdale and Zac Efron. The sequel followed the summer adventures of students Sharpay and Troy and their fellow Wildcats of East High.

China Daily-Agencies

(China Daily 08/22/2007 page18)