POWAY, Calif. ? Thousands of teachers, classmates and neighbors filled a high school stadium Saturday to honor a 17-year-old girl whose body was discovered in a shallow, lakeside grave as her parents vowed to dedicate themselves to protecting children from sex predators.

Dozens of doves were let go at the end of the nearly two-hour service for Chelsea King as many in the bleachers raised sunflowers with pale blue ribbons tied around the stems.

POWAY, Calif. - Thousands of teachers, classmates and neighbors filled a high school football stadium Saturday to honor a 17-year-old girl whose body was discovered in a shallow, lakeside grave, allegedly killed by a registered sex offender.

Family and friends told the crowd of Chelsea's big dreams, terrific sense of humor, sense of style, athleticism and thirst for knowledge and adventure.

They were profusely thankful for the massive search for her after she went missing Feb. 25 on a run at a San Diego Park and for the outpouring of sympathy after her body was found five days later.

The oldest person to ever live - that can be verified at least - is Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived to be 122 years old.

Mary Josephine Ray, the oldest person living in the United States, died today at 114 years, 229 days, prompting some to be curious of the world record.

Records clearly show that Calment was born in Arles, France, on Feb. 21, 1875, and she died in Arles on Aug. 4, 1997.

Calment apparently had a brother who lived to 97, her father lived to 93 and her mother to 86.

Whereas, the city of Topeka, Kan., has renamed itself Google, Kan.; and whereas, the move is a shameless stunt to become one of the test sites for the Mountain View company's superfast broadband project; and whereas, I really can't believe I'm saying this, but you do have to hand it to them.

Now therefore, let's proclaim that Google (the company) should just build a broadband project in Google (the city). Any place so eager and earnest really deserves it.

Senior Intel exec Sean Maloney has had a stroke which will put him on medical leave for some time.

Maloney used to run the chip giant's sales and marketing arm but was shifted to joint head of architecture late last year.

According to a statement he is expected to make a full recovery but it is likely to take some months.

Paul Otellini, president and chief executive of Intel, said: "I visited with Sean and his sense of humor and determination to return to work fill the room. We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to his return."

The problem with "The Crazies"? Not crazy enough.

Breck Eisner's remake of a 1973 George A. Romero creepfest — about the accidental release of a bioengineered virus (it causes insanity) near a small town — has the imprimatur of the master: Mr. Romero is executive producer of the new film. Unfortunately, it doesn't have his style or sense of humor.

The filmmakers (the tepid screenplay is by Scott Kosar and Ray Wright) seem so determined to make a serious, respectable horror movie that they have only the bare minimum of fun.

Sarah Palin needs to lighten up? According to Andrea Fay Friedman, the woman who portrayed a character with Down syndrome on the animated comedy "Family Guy," she does. Palin lashed out at the Fox show on her Facebook page, calling last Sunday's episode a disappointment and like "another kick in the gut." Palin's youngest son, Trig, has Down syndrome.

But so does Friedman, who said "I guess former governor Palin does not have a sense of humor." She added that in her house, laughing is considered a good thing, and that the joke was aimed at the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, not Palin's son.

Sarah Palin raised a ruckus this week over a 'Family Guy' episode that seemed to poke fun at her son with Down syndrome. "My mom is the former governor of Alaska," said a character named Emily with the disorder. Palin called it a "kick in the gut." Her daughter, Bristol, said the show was filled with "heartless jerks."

What they didn't anticipate was the full-throated response from the woman who actually voiced Emily, an actress with Down syndrome named Andrea Fay Friedman, who sent a letter to the New York Times where she scolds the former vice presidential candidate for lacking a "sense of humor."

Up until this year, when an "American Idol" hopeful made it to Hollywood and beyond, he or she had to maintain a strict radio silence or risk being booted from the show for blabbing. But on Wednesday night, as season nine's top 24 were announced, "Idol" brass also revealed that this year's semifinalists would be allowed to post to "Idol"-approved MySpace, Facebook and Twitter pages, a potentially monumental thaw in the "Idol" universe.

yourself," the message read. the 25-year-old campbell responded: "never." then he added, with a sense of humor: "wow, u guys text too. u get kudos." minutes later, he was dead, shot in the back by a police officer with a rifle after campbell

PORTLAND, Ore. - Aaron Campbell had been drinking at his apartment and was upset about the death of his brother after a long illness when he found himself exchanging a text message with a Portland police officer.

"Aaron, we need to know if you intend on hurting yourself," the message read.

The 25-year-old Campbell responded: "Never." Then he added, with a sense of humor: "wow, u guys text too. u get kudos."

"American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi thinks fans underestimated Ellen DeGeneres' music knowledge leading up to her debut on the show's panel.

DeGeneres made her first appearance among the singing competition's judges Tuesday, during the Hollywood Week auditions, and did more than just tell a couple of jokes.

"Ellen brings a sense of humor, of course, but also I think she knows more about music than you think she does," DioGuardi told reporters yesterday. "She gave good feedback that was constructive. ... I was very pleased with her, and it was an honor to sit next to her."

Capt. Phil Harris, one of the signature personalities that made the reality series "The Deadliest Catch" such a gigantic breakout hit for the Discovery Channel, died Tuesday (February 9) at the age of 53. Harris died of complications from a stroke he suffered on January 29.

"Discovery mourns the loss of dear friend and colleague Captain Phil Harris," a statement from the channel said. "He was more than someone on our television screen. Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him.

(CNN0 -- Capt. Phil Harris of the Discovery Channel show "The Deadliest Catch" died Tuesday of complications from a stroke suffered late last month. He was 53.

Harris, the tattooed and gruff captain of the Cornelia Marie, was a fan favorite in the reality show about crab fishing off Alaska.

"Discovery mourns the loss of dear friend and colleague Captain Phil Harris. He was more than someone on our television screen. Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him," a statement from the network said. "We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart."

John Thain has just been named CEO of CIT and to celebrate we're helping him do a bit of shopping.

As you may recall, back at Merrill Lynch Thain got into a bit of trouble before for his lavish office decorating, which cost Merrill Lynch $1.22 million.

Back in September, Thain admitted that this was a terrible mistake. "If I had that to do over again, I’d furnish it in Ikea,” Thain said.

We doubt John Thain has ever tried to shop at Ikea. So now that he has the chance to do it all over again at CIT, we decided to help him downscale his furnishings.

Sandra Bullock's sense of humor seems to be never-ending. The actress joked about the possible designers of her Oscar dress:

"JCPenney called me and I said, ‘Give me some sketches and I'll see what I can do,'" she said jokingly "K-Mart, bring it on. I want Wal-Mart, K-Mart, JCPenney."

"I'm trying to enjoy it and not get caught up in the panic," Sandra explained of how she feels about having "Academy Award Nominee" added to her name.

Someone at Macmillan has a sense of humor. When I landed on the site Saturday night to check on e-book pricing and availability following Amazon's one-week banishment, the book being promoted at the top of the front page was Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It) -a Farrar, Straus and Giroux title by William Poundstone about pricing as a 'collective hallucination.' More than fitting as Macmillan and other publishers challenge Amazon's mission to sell most e-books for $9.99.

Late last week, I wrote a post about how netbooks running Chrome OS and the iPad were on a collision course. Some people took exception to that, noting the iPad was only a touchscreen device while Chrome OS was created to be used with more traditional computing form factors, like netbooks and laptops. But there's a new concept video that has surfaced on a Chromium Project page that very much shows how the two could and should compete head-on in the touch tablet space.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson won yet another posthumous honor on Saturday, joining six other musicians including Leonard Cohen and Loretta Lynn who received Grammy awards for lifetime achievement.

But Jackson's family, whose members rarely turn down an opportunity to share his spotlight, did not attend the ceremony at the Wilshire Ebell Theater, despite speculation that some of his children might accept the statuette on his behalf.

BOSTON (Reuters) - Historian and activist Howard Zinn, whose 1980 book "A People's History of the United States" was a rallying cry for the American left in a conservative era, has died aged 87.

Family members said Zinn, who for decades was a fixture in the U.S. civil rights and anti-war movements and lived in Auburndale, Massachusetts, died of a heart attack on Wednesday while traveling in California.