A look at a few stories that might have fallen through the cracks over the weekend.

Arkansas Man Files Suit Over Library Book

A Bentonville, Arkansas man is seeking $20,000 from the city after his two teenage sons found a book on lesbian sex on a library bookshelf.

Earl Adams says his sons were “greatly disturbed” after finding the book, titled “The Whole Lesbian Sex Book.”

Adams says the book caused, “many sleepless nights in our house.”

Adams wants the city to pay $10,000 to each of his sons under Arkansas’ obscenity laws. However, the city’s attorney dismisses Adams’ claim as baseless.

The library’s advisory board voted earlier this month to remove the book from circulation. Board member George Spence says he found the book crude, but say it could be replaced with one taking a, “more sensitive, more clinical approach.”

British Woman Jailed for Sex With 14-Year-Old Boy

A woman is starting a 15 month jail sentence for having sex with a 14-year-old boy.

34-year-old Linda Jane Jones, a mother-of-two from Mold, became pregnant by the teenager, who the judge said had been left “considerably traumatised.”

Mold Crown Court heard that shortly after she was interviewed by the police, she lost the baby.

She admitted three counts of sexual touching involving intercourse and must register as a sex offender.

Another charge was allowed to lie on file.

She must now register as a sex offender for 10 years and is banned from working with children for life.

The court heard that Jones and the boy had sex three times.

Judge Merfyn Hughes QC said that while it was unusual for a woman to abuse a young boy, there as no distinction between such an offence being committed by a man or a woman.

He said the least sentence he could impose was one of 15 months imprisonment.

“You gained the trust of his family and you abused that trust when you engaged in sexual contact with him,” said Judge Hughes.

“He was only 14 years of age, a young boy who had no previous sexual experience of any kind at all.

“I cannot ignore the difference in your ages - you were 34 and twice his age.”

Driver Swerves While Blowing His Nose, Cops Find 20 lbs. of Pot

NEAR ISSAQUAH, Wash. - A Washington state trooper pulled over a driver who swerved as he blew his nose and discovered 20 pounds of marijuana in his car, Trooper Jeff Merrill said.

The driver was traveling west on Interstate-90 near Issaquah in a 1994 Dodge van on Tuesday when a trooper pulled him over.

While talking to the driver, the trooper noticed the a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and took him into custody.

A Washington State Patrol narcotics dog searched the van and found two large plastic bags in the back of the van. Inside the two bags were smaller plastic bags which held 20 pounds of marijuana, Merrill said. Troopers also found an assortment of pharmaceutical drugs, including the prescription painkillers oxycodone, morphine and hydrocodone, as well as cash inside the van.

The driver was identified as 26-year-old Allen D. Lint of Yakima. Troopers said he has a criminal record and is now facing additional drug charges.

I’ll bet the next time, he takes his Claritin!

25 Handguns Missing From Oregon Sheriff’s Department

MACHIAS, OREGON - The state attorney general is sending an investigator to the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, which says about 25 handguns are missing from its evidence room.

Sheriff Donnie Smith, who notified county commissioners last week, said two guns in the evidence room can be traced to one person, but he didn’t elaborate. Also, $450 in cash is missing from the department’s administrative office, he said.

An investigator from the attorney general’s office is expected to be in Machias in two weeks to look into the thefts. The sheriff said that if the investigation reveals that someone in his department was involved, the person will be fired.

The department discovered the loss after a lawyer sent a letter to Smith, saying his client wanted his weapon back. When officials looked for it, it was missing. That’s when the investigation turned up other missing weapons.

Guns are placed in the evidence room for a variety of reasons. Some are taken from crime scenes or seized from individuals.

Seized guns are returned to owners at their request if they not charged with an offense, or if they are found not guilty of an offense.

Smith said he has instituted stricter standards for handling evidence. The only people in the department with keys are the sheriff, chief deputy and full-time deputies.

Transgender Student Runs For Prom King

FRESNO, Calif. - When school officials announce the name of the Fresno High School prom king on Saturday, Cinthia Covarrubias will be wearing a tuxedo just like the six boys vying for the honor. Administrators agreed to reverse a district protocol this week that limited males to compete for the title after Covarrubias was nominated by her classmates.

“I would never have run for anything if I had to wear a dress,” said Covarrubias, who considers herself transgender, an umbrella term that covers all people whose outward appearance and internal identity don’t match their gender at birth.

Gay youth advocates called it a landmark victory for campus gender expression and said they believe it’s the first time in the U.S. that an openly transgender student has run for prom royalty.

“We are growing as a society to accept much more diversity in gender expression, and that’s a positive thing,” said Carolyn Laub, director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

Covarrubias, who wears black-and-white Vans, baggy shorts and close-cropped brown hair, sometimes identifies herself as Tony. Her date, a close female friend, plans to wear a black dress and red corsage to the prom at an outdoor reception hall surrounded by man-made waterfalls.

On Wednesday, officials at the school of 2,700 students shifted course, saying the district’s lawyers had recommended adding Covarrubias’ name to the ballot to comply with a 2000 state law protecting students’ ability to express their gender identity on campus.

Rove and Crow Have Lively Debate

WASHINGTON (AP) - Karl Rove’s debate with singer Sheryl Crow and producer Laurie David about global warming heated the atmosphere at a black-tie Washington dinner.

On the eve of Earth Day, Crow and “Inconvenient Truth” producer David walked over to the presidential adviser’s table at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night at the Washington Hilton.

Their differences on global warming quickly bubbled over, the Washington Post reported Sunday.

“I am floored by what I just experienced with Karl Rove,” David said later. “I went over to him and said, I urge you to take a new look at global warming. He went zero to 100 with me. … I’ve never had anyone be so rude.”

Rove said: “She came over to insult me, and she succeeded.”

As the debate intensified, Crow tried to calm things down but was drawn into the debate with Rove instead.

“You work for me,” she told Rove, according to the Post column “The Reliable Source.”

“No,” was his response. “I work for the American people.”

Crow is a successful singer and songwriter whose hits include “All I Wanna Do” and “Every Day is a Winding Road.” David, in addition to her activism, is the wife of TV’s
Larry David, co-creator of “Seinfeld” and the star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Movie Theater Ticket Sales

The face of Hannibal Lecter was no match for Shia LaBeouf in a box-office battle of murder thrillers. DreamWorks and Paramount’s “Disturbia,” starring LaBeouf as a teen who suspects a neighbor of murder, took in $13.5 million to hold the top weekend movie spot for a second straight weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

New Line Cinema’s “Fracture” starring Anthony Hopkins - who played serial killer Lecter in three films - debuted at No. 2 with $11.2 million. Hopkins plays a sly defendant accused of killing his unfaithful wife, with Ryan Gosling co’starring as the prosecutor.

DreamWorks and Paramount’s figure’skating comedy “Blades of Glory,” starring Will Ferrell and
Jon Heder, was No. 3 with $7.8 million in its fourth weekend to cross the $100 million mark.

Sony Screen Gems’ horror flick “Vacancy,” starringKate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson as a couple marked for grisly death at a sleazy motel, led a rush of other new wide releases, opening at No. 4 with $7.6 million.

The buddy-cop comedy “Hot Fuzz,” released by Focus Features’ Rogue Pictures unit, had a strong start in narrower release, premiering at No. 6 with $5.8 million in 825 theaters, about a third the number of cinemas where “Fracture” and “Vacancy” played.

“Hot Fuzz” comes from the “Shaun of the Dead” team of director Edgar Wright and his co-writer and star Simon Pegg, who plays a London super-cop exiled to a sleepy British town, where he encounters a series of grisly deaths.

Have a great week!

Jim