Phil Spector's lawyers seek rehearing of appeal

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawyers for music producer Phil Spector have asked an appeals court to take a second look at his arguments for a new trial, contending the court ignored a defense argument that the trial judge had violated his neutrality in the case.

In a petition to the California 2nd District Court of Appeal, attorneys said the court's rejection of Spector's murder conviction appeal has left the legal community incredulous.

They suggested the court failed to consider that Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler violated his neutrality by allowing the prosecution to show photographs of him among prosecution witnesses. They said this was coupled with a videotape of the judge …

Forty Under 40: Andrea Hill-Cataldo

Andrea Hill-Cataldo

Age 39: President, Johnson & Hill Staffing Services

One career was beginning while another was ending. And a local success story was born.

Andrea Hill-Cataldo was pursuing her graduate degree at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst at the same time Kelly Services, a chain of employment agencies, was taking back its privately managed franchises; one of those had been run by her aunt, who had been with Kelly for 35 years.

"So my aunt's daughter and I started a company," said Hill-Cataldo. "I was the sweat equity, and my cousin was the financial backing." They hired two key employees of the former Kelly franchise, and Johnson …

Ask AP: Passport Files, Picking Nominees

It's one of the few things that John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton have in common, besides hoping to set up shop in the Oval Office: They all recently found out that workers have snooped around in their passport files.

What exactly do these files usually contain? And does everyone with a passport have one, or are they strictly for the rich and famous?

That's one of the four questions being answered in this installment of "Ask AP," a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers' questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you'd like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, …

'Forget it! No diet column.' Will chubs write again?

'There you are!" I froze. I had been successfully ducking theSunday editor for days when, distracted by all this war business, Iturned a corner without first peering cautiously around it and ransmack into him.

"It's the first of the month," he said, hustling over to me,rubbing his hands together, grinning broadly. "Time for your dietcolumn."

Something came over me. "No!" I said, hurrying away, my handsraised defensively over my face. "Forget it! No diet column. Leave mealone!"

Another reporter--a guy who I've known for 15 years and whodoesn't have enough fat on his body to make a butter pat--happened tobe walking by.

"You're not doing it anymore?" he …

THE TOP PAID

The top five salaries for each major sport: BASEBALL (1992) 1. Bobby Bonilla, New York Mets $5,800,000 2. Jack Morris, Toronto Blue Jays 5,420,000 3. Roger Clemens, Boston Red Sox 5,380,000 4. Dwight Gooden, New York Mets 5,150,000 5. Barry Larkin, Cincinnati Reds 5,120,000 NBA (1991-92) 1. Larry Bird, Boston Celtics $7,070,000 2. John Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers 4,000,000 3. Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets 3,500,000 4. Patrick Ewing, New York Knicks 3,300,000 5. Michael Jordan, BULLS 3,250,000 NFL …

Amir apologizes for breaking ban, says official

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani cricket official says Mohammad Amir has apologized to him for breaking his ICC-imposed ban by bowling five overs in a club match Monday.

Rawalpindi chief Naeem Akhtar said Wednesday that Amir "was not aware he could not compete even at club level."

Amir is one of three Pakistan internationals charged by the International Cricket Council under its …

Oil falls below $83 as month-long rally stalls

Oil prices fell below $83 a barrel Thursday as the dollar strengthened and investors worried a 20 percent rally in the last few weeks isn't justified amid sluggish U.S. crude demand.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was down 56 cents to $82.62 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract rose $1.41 to settle at $83.18, a 15-month high.

Investors have brushed off signs of weak U.S. oil demand while bidding up crude prices from $69 a barrel in mid-December. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude supplies rose last week.

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