People talk 07/01/03

Rap music mogul reportedly arrested

Rap impresario Marion "Suge" Knight reportedly has been arrested a second time this year for allegedly violating parole.

Police arrested the 37-year-old founder of Death Row Records Friday evening, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Calls to the police and the district attorney weren't immediately returned Monday.

The Times reported that Knight was jailed without bail, but the county jail inmate information Web site didn't show a booking. Knight's lawyer, Robin Yanes, said Sunday he wasn't notified that his client had been arrested.

Knight completed 61 days in jail earlier this year after a state prison board found that he'd associated with a known gang member in violation of his probation.

At the height of its success in the mid-1990s, Death Row Records, now called Tha Row, had rap superstars such as Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on its roster. But it lost its luster in the late '90s when Shakur was gunned down on a Las Vegas street, and Knight was sent to prison on a probation violation for brawling in the hours before Shakur's death. He was released from prison in 2001.

Witherspoon:Movie's about rights, not style

NEW YORK -- Reese Witherspoon says her new movie, "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde," is about more than just stylish clothes and cute puppy dogs.

"It's bigger in theme than that," the 27-year-old actress tells Teen People magazine for its August issue. "It's about the rights of all people, the rights of anyone living in a democracy to stand up and be heard, whether it be at your school or in your community or government."

In the sequel to the summer 2001 hit "Legally Blonde," Witherspoon is back as the blonde, Bel Air, Calif.-bred Elle Woods. This time, she's using her Harvard Law School education to fight for animal rights in Washington.

The actress acknowledges, however, that she shares her character's love of fashionable footwear.

"I collect shoes. I have them organized by color," she says. "I just like looking at them -- I don't even wear them that much."

"Legally Blonde 2," co-starring Luke Wilson, Sally Field and Bob Newhart, opens Wednesday.

TV viewers miss crowning of Junior Miss

MOBILE, Ala. -- California's Andrea Finch won the 46th America's Junior Miss competition and a $50,000 scholarship -- but many television viewers missed the crowning moment.

The program was broadcast live Saturday night on PAX TV, but a thunderstorm at the cable channel's West Palm Beach, Fla., master control disrupted the satellite feeds just before the second runner-up was announced, Junior Miss officials said.

People watching the show live in the Eastern and Central time zones missed the big announcements. PAX and Junior Miss officials repackaged the final segment for viewers in the Mountain and Pacific time zones watching on tape delay.

A Junior Miss spokesman said phone calls came flooding in, particularly from New York viewers who were anxious to see whether their representative, Kelly Bit, had won.

Bit was the first runner-up behind Finch, 18, of Indio, Calif., and won a $15,000 college scholarship. Indiana's Cortney Wolfson got a $10,000 scholarship as second runner-up.

Alabama's Elizabeth Crockett and Connecticut's Lisa Warner each received $2,500 in scholarships as the other two finalists.

Springer says his fame could help Democrats

DAYTON, Ohio -- Jerry Springer says his fame could help revitalize the Democratic Party if he's elected to the U.S. Senate next year.

"I could be an incredible voice in the Senate," Springer said Saturday at a meeting of the Ohio Young Democrats. "Why? Because the media will cover me every single day."

The former Cincinnati mayor, best known for his television talk show in which guests frequently throw chairs and spew obscenities, acknowledged his fame isn't always an asset.

The program's outrageous reputation would make the race difficult to win, he said.

Springer said his supporters are trying to help him take the focus off the "clutter" of the show, and his choice to run will be influenced by the success of those efforts.

He said he'd make a decision by the end of July.

State Sen. Eric Fingerhut of Cleveland, who also spoke at the event, has declared himself a candidate in the Democratic primary next spring.

The winner would face incumbent Republican Sen. George Voinovich.

A February Ohio Poll, conducted by the University of Cincinnati, found 71 percent of those surveyed -- the highest such number in the poll's history -- had an unfavorable opinion of Springer.

Saying the nation's "elite" are making no sacrifices for the country, Springer criticized his own party for not offering people "anything to get excited about."-- From wire reports