Real Housewives stars plead not guilty to fraud

The Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa Giudice and her husband Giuseppe. "Joe" Giudice entered pleas of not guilty on Wednesday in a federal fraud case that could land them in prison for decades and see him deported to his native Italy. The couple is accused of submitting fraudulent applications to obtain mortgages and other loans, concealing income from the reality show and failing to pay taxes.

Surgeon arrested for taking heroin from patient's stomach

A Russian surgeon has been arrested for taking a 5-gram bag of heroin he found in a patient's stomach. "The doctor was intoxicated at the time of detention," police for the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk said in a statement on Tuesday, adding he faced up to 15 years in prison for theft and possession.

Topless activist on hunger strike in New Jersey jail

An activist for the right of women to go topless who is serving a 16-day sentence related to an arrest for topless sunbathing, is set to be released by the end of the week. She is currently in a New Jersey jail, where she is on a hunger strike, officials said. Phoenix Feeley, a New York resident, is serving the sentence in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution for refusing to pay $816 in fines in connection with her 2008 arrest at a beach in Spring Lake where she was sunbathing topless in violation of a town ordinance in an act of civil disobedience.

Utah beauty queen stands down after throwing bombs

A US beauty pageant winner charged with tossing homemade bombs from a vehicle has relinquished her crown. Kendra McKenzie Gill tells KSL-TV that she and her friends feel terrible about the incident, but she insists they were just playing a practical joke and never threw the explosives at people. Gill and three friends were charged last week with four felony counts of possession of an explosive device. Prosecutors say the 18-year-olds drove around town on Aug 2 and tossed plastic bottles of toilet bowl cleaner and shrapnel at people and property. Nobody was injured. Gill had been Miss Riverton, Utah. She said she knew she'd probably have the title revoked and wanted to step down before it was taken from her.

Not the Messiah, just a boy called Martin

A Tennessee judge's decision to change a baby's first name from Messiah to Martin is drawing strong reactions from people who believe the judge overstepped her powers and those who think parents' creativity should have some limits. The controversy started when the boy's mother sought an order to establish paternity. It included a request for the judge to determine the child's last name. When Child Support Magistrate Lu Ann Ballew heard Messiah's first name, she decided it should be changed, too, saying the child could face problems with the name Messiah. The name on his birth certificate was Messiah DeShawn Martin. The judge changed it to Martin DeShawn McCullough, giving the boy his father's last name while replacing Messiah with his mother's surname.

Jackson's ex-wife describes singer's fear of pain

Michael Jackson's doctors competed for his business and over-prescribed medications to help overcome his "incredible" fear of pain, the late pop singer's ex-wife testified on Wednesday in a wrongful death trial. "His fear of pain was incredible. I think the doctors took advantage of him that way," Debbie Rowe said in Los Angeles Superior Court, which is hearing a lawsuit brought by the late singer's family against concert promoter AEG Live.

Reuters - Associated Press - Agence France-Presse

(China Daily 08/18/2013 page4)