Chinese police drag grieving parents from protest

DUJIANGYAN, China (AP) — Chinese police dragged away more than 100 parents Tuesday while they were protesting the deaths of their children in poorly constructed schools that collapsed in last month’s earthquake.

The parents, many holding pictures of their dead children, were pulled down the street away from a courthouse in Dujiangyan, a resort city northeast of the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu.

“Why?” some of them yelled. “Tell us something,” they said as black-suited police wearing riot helmets yanked at them.

The parents had been kneeling in front of the courthouse yelling, “We want to sue.”

Police dragged an Associated Press reporter and two photographers who were covering the protest up the steps into the courthouse, trying to prevent them from seeing the demonstration.

‘Rescue Me’ cries Tatum O’Neal after arrest

“Rescue Me” hard-drinking sis Tatum O’Neal appeared haggard and said nothing as she was arraigned yesterday in Manhattan Criminal Court on a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance.

O’Neal, 44, the youngest Academy Award winner of all time, entered no plea and was released without bail until a July 28 court date. Prosecutors are recommending drug treatment for the actress, who detailed her dependency on heroin and cocaine in her 2004 best-selling memoir, “A Paper Life.”

Actor Ryan O’Neal’s only daughter was arrested Sunday for allegedly buying cocaine near her home in the Lower East Side, making the illegal purchase at about 7:30 p.m. near Clinton Street, according to New York City police spokesman Detective Martin Speechley. Police found two bags of cocaine in O’Neal’s right front pants pocket.

Rock and roll pioneer Bo Diddley dead at 79

MIAMI (AFP) — Guitarist and songwriter Bo Diddley, who died of heart failure Monday at age 79, was an innovative R&B pioneer who forged rock and roll’s signature beat but rarely got the credit — or the riches — heaped on his fellow musical icons.

He died at his home in Archer, Florida where he had been convalescing since last year after suffering a stroke and later heart attack.

A contemporary of early rock icons Chuck Berry and Little Richard, Diddley earned a reputation as a legendary performer and “The Originator” of rock and roll after he created a raw and grinding rhumba-style beat that became known as “Shave and a haircut, two bits.”

The syncopated groove turned early rock music on its head and spawned countless immitators, including a young Elvis Presley.

Bell sued for throttling internet speeds

Bell Canada Inc. is facing another challenge to its internet throttling practices as Quebec’s consumer watchdog, L’Union des consommateurs, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the company.

The suit, filed Thursday in Quebec Superior Court on behalf of Montreal resident Myrna Raphael, seeks certification for all subscribers in the province. The lawsuit alleges that by deliberately slowing internet speeds, Bell has misrepresented its service and raised concerns over privacy.

The consumer watchdog is seeking the return of 80 per cent of the internet subscription price, which it says is equal to the reduction in speed, as well as $600 per subscriber to compensate for false advertising and $1,500 for privacy rights violation.