Lawrence.com

Authorities fire tear gas at reality TV protesters in France

Scores of people protesting France's hit reality TV show "Loft Story" led a raid on Saturday to "liberate" the 10 contestants, but were pushed back by riot police and security guards lobbing tear gas.

As seen in the photo at right, 50 protesters dumped garbage and hurled eggs at headquarters of M6, the private television station that launched "Loft Story" two weeks ago.

The show, featuring 10 young men and women living on-camera in a loft in La Plaine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, has broken viewer records. Detractors denounce the show, which features titillating conversation and intimate moments between contestants, as pure voyeurism.

McCain touts gun safety

Moviegoers will get a little John McCain to go along with their popcorn and candy this spring. The Republican senator from Arizona will appear in public service announcements on 2,500 movie screens in 210 cities beginning Friday, the Americans for Gun Safety Foundation announced.

In the spot, McCain says more than 40,000 kids bring guns to school every year, and he urges parents to keep their guns locked up. The group said it was spending $250,000 on the campaign.

Steely Dan goes back to school

So much for "never going back to my old school."

Grammy winners and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Steely Dan � namely Walter Becker and Donald Fagen � received honorary doctorates from Berklee College of Music in Boston on Saturday. Fagen studied at Berklee in 1966. Berklee students performed songs including "My Old School."

Spacey wins 'Net challenge

Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has prevailed over an alleged "cybersquatter" in a challenge over an Internet domain name. The dispute, settled by the National Arbitration Forum, pitted Spacey against John Zuccarini, of Andalusia, Pa. The decision was announced Friday.

The challenged domain name � kevinspacy.com � reflects a common misspelling of the actor's name.

Helms to Earth: It's much harder being a mom than an astronaut

Space station resident Susan Helms sent down a Mother's Day greeting to someone who has a tougher job than she does.

"It's hard to be an astronaut," Helms said Friday in a televised broadcast to Dori Helms of Albuquerque, N.M. "It takes a lot of work and dedication. But I've only been an astronaut about 10 or 11 years, and she's been a mom over 45 years and I think that that's probably a lot harder job."