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The Beatles' remain synonymous with Liverpool in most minds, the patron saints of Merseybeat. But out by the John Lennon airport, a civic hedge stands as a potent symbol of how scousers have fallen out of love with one of their own. A topiary sculpture of the fab four has been mischievously vandalised, with a crucial appendage having been chopped off under cover of darkness. Visitors arriving in the European Capital of Culture are now greeted by the sight of John, Paul, George and the headless drummer.

Sculpture Starr, who released his most recent album Liverpool 8 in January, recently completed a tour of the US and Canada. The musician currently divides his time between Los Angeles, the South of France and his UK home in Surrey. In April, a foliage sculpture of Starr outside a railway station in Liverpool was beheaded by vandals. The performer had reportedly angered some locals when he told the BBC's Jonathan Ross he missed nothing about the city.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has told fans to stop sending letters and requests for autographs, saying mail will be thrown away after October 20 because he has too much to do.

It’s been 37 years since Ringo Starr was a Beatle but he apparently hasn’t forgotten how to be a diva. Starr walked off the set of “Live with Regis and Kelly” yesterday rather than cut short one of his songs. Still, [Ringo's fellow rocker Dave] Stewart blasted the show for trying to force “Ringo’s musical legacy (to) take a back seat to additional banter about the size of Ms. Ripa’s derriere.”

Famed attorney Kenneth Starr filed a petition for the Juneau School District on Monday in the country's highest court to hear the "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case. Starr, of the Los Angeles-based firm Kirkland & Ellis, filed the petition in the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge the March 10 decision by the 9th Circuit Court, which ruled that former Juneau-Douglas High School principal Deborah Morse violated former student Joseph Frederick's free speech rights. Starr, the former independent counsel whose investigation led to the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton, has taken on the case pro bono for Morse and the...

Aaaahhh... Lovely Rita hurricane Lovely Rita hurricane Lovely Rita hurricane Look at the Gulf between us Come to my aid and kindly fade away Listen to the frightened shrimpers Making little frightened whimpers Looking for a harbor where they can be saved Your whitecaps are running higher See the fear that you inspire You were once a warm little tropical storm Lovely Rita hurricane May I inquire discreetly (Lovely Rita) Would you refrain from dumping rain on me? (Lovely Rita, storm, ah) Rita! Finally got my windows boarded Gasoline and water hoarded Thought I maybe could be crazy and stay...

Was it the leader of the PLO who died... or the drummer for the Beatles?

Thanks, I'm sure, to yesterday's threads as well as to Matt Drudge, Paul O'Neill's book is #2 on the amazon.com sales rank list. The book isn't due to come out until September 25th and it's the second most popular book for amazon.com shoppers, after the 9/11 Commission Report. This is a testament to the influence of FR and Drudge devotees. Way to go!!

Feds enlist beetles to control salt cedar Staff Report The Associated Press 03/12/2004 The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation wants to use a leaf-eating beetle from Greece as an alternative to chemical control of salt cedar. The bureau's plan calls for the beetle to be released on Bureau of Reclamation land in the Carlsbad area. Researchers hope the beetle will help control the spread of salt cedar -- an evasive nonnative plant that soaks up as much as 200 gallons of water a day. Officials say killing off salt cedar would allow more water to stay in the river, which could...

Some people no doubt raise an eyebrow that North American Air Defense Command, or NORAD, for the 49th consecutive year is undertaking the annual task of tracking the global progress of Santa Claus starting Dec. 24 and continuing through the early hours of Christmas Day. Rest assured that Santa certainly knows who you are and has duly placed you upon the infamous "naughty" list. And so close to his yearly visit. Tsk. Tsk. "Our tax dollars at work," various of you have been heard to comment. "Shouldn't they be keeping an eye on North Korea?" others have asked with dripping...

Ringo Starr's Double Life Since 1989, when he decided to give up various forms of substance abuse and rekindle his performing career, Ringo Starr has lived a double life, musically. In one, he is the principal attraction of the All-Starrs, a nostalgia band in which members of defunct groups from the 1960's and 1970's (this year's model will stretch into the 1980's) join Mr. Starr to take turns singing their hits. In the other, he pops into the studio every few years to record an album of new material. The two lives rarely meet: very few of Mr. Starr's post-1989...