News In Brief

WHADDYA MEAN, CHANGE IT?

Cartier v. Cartier: Sounds like an intra-family lawsuit, right? Not in this case. The party of the first part is the 142-year-old, internationally famous seller of fine jewelry. The other: a Duluth, Minn., insurance agency that's in a tough fight because the plaintiff wants to keep its trademark "pure." The Cartier that sells baubles made of precious metals and stones isn't even impressed that the writer of policies uses the pronunciation Car-TEER rather than Car-tee-AY. But, protests agency founder/owner Tom Cartier: "It's my name; I didn't make it up. How can you take that away?"

HERE; I DON'T USE IT ANYMORE

In Chihuahua, Mexico, an Army unit conducting an amnesty for people who turn in illegal firearms was nonplussed when a local man surrendered an antitank rocket launcher. His payment: $100, the same as if he'd brought in an ordinary handgun. So how and where did he acquire the bazooka? That remains a mystery; the program was strictly no-questions-asked. But at least it removed one more dangerous weapon from the streets. World's No. 1 celebrity is actor Cruise, Forbes decides

A messy public breakup with his wife, Nicole Kidman, has done nothing to diminish the star power of movie actor Tom Cruise, who rocketed to the top of Forbes magazine's list of the 100 most powerful celebrities. Cruise, who ranked 20th last year, won through a combination of earnings, stories about him in major newspapers and magazines as well as on TV and radio, and Web hits. The top 10, from the magazine's March 19 issue:

1. Tom Cruise, actor

2. Tiger Woods, pro golfer

3. The Beatles

4. Britney Spears, pop singer

5. Bruce Willis, actor

6. Michael Jordan, pro-basketball legend

7. Backstreet Boys, rock group

8. 'N Sync, rock group

9. Oprah Winfrey, TV star

10. Mel Gibson, actor

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor