NYC Columbus Day parade marches on

NEW YORK -- Did the mayor ruin the celebration by skipping New York's Columbus Day parade? Fuhgeddaboudit.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg bowed out Monday after parade organizers said two actors from "The Sopranos" were not welcome because the HBO hit negatively portrays Italian-American life.

Not that the controversy stopped the annual parade up Fifth Avenue.

"These are fictional characters. People have to remember that it's telling a story," said "Sopranos" fan Sal Ciniglio, 29, as he snapped a photo of his girlfriend. "It's a show. Get a life."

The Columbus Citizens Foundation had sought a federal court order to bar Dominic Chianese and Lorraine Bracco from marching in the parade. Chianese plays mob boss Junior Soprano; Bracco plays psychiatrist Dr. Melfi.

Utah woman charged with abetting polygamy

SALT LAKE CITY -- For apparently the first time in more than 100 years, Utah prosecutors are going after a woman on polygamy-related charges.

The woman, Suzie Stubbs Holm, 36, is part of a polygamous household in rural Utah. But she is not directly charged with polygamy. Instead, she is accused of getting her 16-year-old sister to marry into the household.

Holm was charged by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff last week with abetting bigamy and illegal sex and could get up to 10 years in prison. Holm's husband, Hildale police officer Rodney H. Holm, 36, was charged with illegally marrying the little sister.

Utah men are rarely prosecuted for polygamy; there is only one other known case over the past 50 years or so.

Opera star Domingo knighted in Washington

WASHINGTON -- Opera singer Placido Domingo received an honorary knighthood at the British embassy in Washington on Monday for his contributions to music and his charity work in England and around the world.

The Spanish tenor, who has sung more operatic roles than any tenor in history, told a gathering of dignitaries -- including Secretary of State Colin Powell -- he was "very happy, very honored and very proud" to receive the honor.

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, in Washington to meet with Powell on Tuesday, conferred the honor after the British ambassador to the United States, Sir Christopher Meyer, lauded Domingo's unique talents.

"Placido's own motto is, 'If I rest I rust.' I, for one, have yet to see any signs of metal fatigue," Meyer said.

Nine injured in interstate accident in N. Carolina

ENFIELD, N.C. -- A truck slammed into a slow-moving line of cars in a construction zone Monday, injuring nine people and killing two, authorities said.

Sheriff's Lt. Joe Williams said seven other vehicles were involved in the wreck, with the worst injuries occurring in two vehicles at the end of the line of traffic.

Investigators said the truck was going 70 mph when it plowed into a line of vehicles that had slowed to 5 mph to 10 mph. One car became wedged under the truck; the roof of another vehicle was ripped off, Williams said.

The accident happened about noon near Enfield, about 30 miles south of the Virginia line. I-95 was closed, backing up traffic for miles.

-- From wire reports