Etc...

'Kate' would have been safer

You'd think that if any city in the US paid tribute to the great actress Katharine Hepburn, who died this week, it would be Hollywood. And, sure enough, a showy wreath quickly appeared next to her star on the Walk of Fame near the intersection of Hollywood and Vine. Alas, on a purple sash across the flowers, her first name was misspelled ... Katherine.

In Germany, painters have been busy working on the airplanes of the government's top two leaders. They're replacing the name "Luftwaffe," which means "air force" but evokes bitter memories of the Nazi era in much of the world. Instead, the jets that fly Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and President Johannes Rau on official visits to other countries now will carry the designation "Bundesrepublik Deutschland," or Federal Republic of Germany.

As millions of Americans prepare to head for the beach this Independence Day, five Florida cities have been singled out as having the best in the US. Cleanliness was the most important beach attraction for 56 percent of the more than 2,200 adults surveyed in an online poll by Yahoo! and National Geographic Traveler, followed by scenery and climate. The best beaches on which to plunk down a blanket in the US and its territories, according to the poll results:

1. Miami
2. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
3. Panama City, Fla.
4. Waikiki, Hawaii
5. Tampa Bay, Fla.
6. St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
7. Key West, Fla.
8. Kaanapali, Hawaii
9. St. John, US Virgin Islands
10. Naples, Fla.