By LIZ POTOCSNAK 


     NASHVILLE (CN) - MCS Music America and a slew of song owners have accused Microsoft, RealNetworks and Yahoo! of allowing Internet users to stream and temporarily download copyrighted tunes without paying royalties.  

By JONATHAN PERLOW 


     MANHATTAN (CN) - Fox News fired a movie critic for reviewing a movie that had been downloaded illegally from the Internet, the critic says. Roger Friedman claims in New York County Court that he watched an unfinished version of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," but that he didn't download it illegally.  

By SUZANNE ASHE 

     SALT LAKE CITY (CN) - An outdoor therapy group has been accused of igniting the 2003 Woodenshoe Fire that burned more than 2,700 acres of federal land in San Juan County. The fire was sparked when Wilderness Quest employees failed to put out a campfire, the U.S. government claims.  

By ROBERT KAHN 

     The premature death of Michael Jackson - a man as odd and apparently as unhappy as he was talented - raises an old question: Are great artists condemned forever to be odd, self-tortured and unhappy?
     Or in the alternative: Are normal, well-adjusted and happy people excluded, as a rule, from the possibility of becoming great artists?
     The answer to both questions is yes, and the reasons are obvious.
     (We are not concerned here with whether Michael Jackson was a great artist. He was a world-class entertainer and an enormously talented man. He was odd and unhappy. That's sufficient for now. Let us turn to the more interesting questions, and to their obvious answers.)
     First off, if a man is content, well-adjusted and in synch with the norms of his society, why would he be driven to the long and intense work necessary to create great art?
     And if a woman is wholly in tune with the way her contemporaries think, with the way they view the world, why would the art she produces be of any interest?
     Such a man would be a dabbler, and such a woman would write, if she wrote at all, for television or for Cosmo.
     It goes without saying that this was not always the case.
     From the cave painters at Lascaux through the artists of the Renaissance and J.S. Bach, humanity's great artists' visions of the cosmos did express the highest insights and yearnings of their societies. The universe was full of mysteries; the mysteries were attributed to God; great art expressed a yearning for God, and praise of his creations - or praise of the patron who paid for the art.
     Then artists became specialists. The musicologist H.R. Robbins-Landon wrote that Franz Josef Haydn's London symphonies of 1791 were probably the last moment in Western civilization at which the most advanced music of the day responded perfectly to the taste of its audience.
     Mozart, dying or dead, was already out of fashion in Vienna. In the next generation, by the time that Beethoven was creating the music that today we consider the pinnacle of the art, his music often was considered difficult and ugly, and Beethoven himself as insane.
     Look at today's most "advanced" visual arts, poetry, and even architecture. They all scream, "Me, me, me!" But what, if anything, do they express about the common yearnings of mankind?
     If you pay any attention at all to Washington and New York, you must be aware that today's "leaders" insist we do not have common yearnings, that we are a society at war with itself, not to mention with the rest of the world.
     The unity of the pre-Haydn West was wrought in great part by ignorance and tyranny, but it was a sort of unity of thought and spirit which is unlikely to ever come again. There is no reason to expect that art of any kind - or anything else - will be able to recapture a unity that no longer exists.
     Humans need art - all of us except the most profoundly disabled create art at some time in our life - but it's difficult to make the case that we need great art.
     "Art demands of us that we not stand still," Beethoven wrote, and because a great artist must constantly invent new things, there is no reason to expect that there will be a demand for them. In fact, there is not. The world cannot demand what it never has seen, or heard, or thought.
     It is no disrespect to writers such as Stephen King, Nora Roberts or John Grisham, or to any rock band, to say that we know their next creation will be similar to the ones before it. That's what their fans want; that's what they expect, and none of us has the right to demand that a creator ply his trade by taking the bread out of his own mouth.
     But a great artist does not do one thing over and over for his entire life. Not even Haydn did that.
     Anyone who constantly tests the bounds of his trade, or art - or even of his business - is bound to upset people, to alienate some, and if he stubbornly refuses to repeat himself, he is bound eventually to inhabit a land where few people, if any, will accompany him.
     (Beethoven presents a vision of such a "moonwalk" - the strange beauty of an ultimate alienation - in the Andante from his String Quartet Opus 59, No. 3.)
     A creative artist is bound to end up at odds with his society, and the only reason he will drive himself to that point is that he is frustrated and unhappy with what he already has created.
     Only a few years after he had written his first big "hit" - the Septet - Beethoven said he could not bear to hear it anymore, that hearing it made him almost physically ill, and Beethoven is not the only artist who expressed such feelings about his own work.
     Great artists are unusual by definition. The best analysis I have seen of this entire phenomenon is Kay Redfield Jamison's 1993 book, "Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament." In noting the extraordinary occurrence of depression and near-manic periods endured by great artists - the unbearable confrontations with death-in-life and the godlike exaltation of creation - Jamison concluded that the necessity to reconcile these extremes - a savage roller-coaster to which an artist's brain is unwillingly subjected - may be a significant, though not sufficient, spur toward creation of great art.
     Who knows?
     What's certain is that great achievement in art - any art - is no guarantee of personal happiness. And it may be the case - it probably is the case - that a well-adjusted, satisfied happiness, a contentment with one's life - a state of being to which all of us are entitled to aspire - may make creation of great art impossible.
By TIM HULL 

     LOUISVILLE (CN) - On the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court limited the use of strip searches in the public schools, two young women filed an action in Jefferson County Court against a local middle school and several of its employees for using "grossly intrusive" methods to discover an alleged cache of marijuana. They were allegedly forced to unzip their pants, "lift up their bras ... and jump up and down."  

By ADAM KLASFELD 

      MANHATTAN (CN) - Omega hedge fund investor Eric Vincent was one of the last witnesses called by the defense in the trial against Frederic Bourke, the Connecticut businessman accused of being part of a conspiracy to bribe Azeri officials to privatize the petroleum-rich former Soviet nation's oil company.

By NICK WILSON 

     WASHINGTON (CN) - President Barack Obama answered questions at a virtual town hall meeting on health-care reform Wednesday in an apparent effort to bolster support for some of his key pillars in legislation now before the House. "Don't let people scare you out of reforming a system that we know is not working," he said, at the same time batting back proposals to implement drastic changes.

By JUNE WILLIAMS 

     SEATTLE (CN) - After a McDonald's customer returned a squashed hamburger, an "unhappy" employee retaliated by dousing the new hamburger with cleaning solution, the customer claims in King County Court.

By DAN MCCUE 

     COLUMBIA, S.C. (CN) - An investigation by South Carolina's State Law Enforcement Division has uncovered no evidence that Gov. Mark Sanford improperly used taxpayer funds to see his Argentine mistress, Maria Belen Chapur.

By LIZ POTOCSNAK 

     MEMPHIS (CN) - A FedEx pilot claims his unreliable ex-wife gave Redbook magazine a load of false information that led to an article called "Invisible Violence" that falsely portrays him as an "emotionally abusive spouse" and mangles the facts.  

By MARIMER MATOS 

     MIAMI (CN) - Hedge fund managers staged a hostile takeover of Smart SMS Corp. and "guided Smart toward financial ruin through a series of nefarious and foolish acts that could lead to only one result: the insolvency of Smart and destruction of any shareholder value," shareholders claim in a class action in Federal Court.  

By CAMERON LANGFORD 

     HOUSTON (CN) - K-9 officers say Houston violates the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying them overtime for their work caring for the cop dogs at home. More than 30 officers sued the city in Federal Court, claiming they are not properly compensated for housing, feeding and grooming the dogs after they leave the office.  

By DAVID LEE 

     DALLAS (CN) - SSR General Partners lost more than $24 million in a $3 billion Ponzi scheme run by Tom Petters, the fund manager claims in a lawsuit against several hedge funds and their auditors. 

     (CN) - The SEC on Thursday suspended trading in the securities of Florida-based GenX Corp. until it could sort out questions about the accuracy of the music production company's promotional materials.  

By ELIZABETH BANICKI 

     (CN) - The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced a plan to crack down on the scammers who prey on consumers during economic hardship. "Operation Short Change" includes 15 FTC cases, 44 law enforcement actions by the Department of Justice, and actions by at least 13 states and the District of Columbia.  

By BRIDGET FREELAND 

     CHICAGO (CN) - A Russian scientist says the sapphire-growing company he founded has fabricated SEC filings about its "proprietary" growing methods and company history, ultimately tainting his reputation and life's work. In a federal lawsuit, he says the false circulations have stripped him of his accomplishments and caused him "great embarrassment." 

By KARINA BROWN 

     LOS ANGELES (CN) - A Los Angeles Superior Court interpreter filed a class action claiming the court subjects her and other interpreters to racial discrimination, saying their foreign national origins are "highlighted by the nature of their work."  

By NICK DIVITO 

     LAS VEGAS (CN) - The Clark County Court was flooded with 655 lawsuits on Tuesday as attorneys rushed to beat significant filing fee increases. One clerk commented, "We consider 150 to be a busy day."

By ADAM KLASFELD 

     QUEENS, N.Y. (CN) - An inmate at Riker's Island claims staff members at the prison's George Motchen Detention Center ripped his ears off his head.  

By BRIDGET FREELAND 

     ROCKFORD, Ill. (CN) - Police officers in Loves Park, Ill., beat a man to death in front of his home and then conspired with a county coroner to cover up the cause of death by deeming it a cocaine overdose, the man's mother claims in Federal Court. 

By ELIZABETH BANICKI 

     ATLANTA (CN) - The former chief accounting officer of home builder Beazer Homes USA understated the company's income by millions to maximize employee bonuses in a multi-year fraudulent earnings scheme, the SEC claims. Michael T. Rand, 47, of Sandy Springs, Ga., fraudulently reduced Beazer's reported net income by recording improper accounting reserves between 2000 and 2005, according to a lawsuit filed in Federal Court. 

By NICK MCCANN 

     TACOMA, Wash. (CN) - Youth offenders in Pierce County Jail are denied access to any form of education, according to a class action in Pierce County Court. The guardians of a jailed juvenile say the state Constitution grants all minors the right to a free public education. 

By CAMERON LANGFORD 

     HOUSTON (CN) - Stream Gas & Electric used an illegal pyramid scheme to generate more than $800 million in revenue in 2008, a racketeering class action claims in Federal Court.  

By JOE HARRIS 

     CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (CN) - A 23-year-old illegal alien faces charges and deportation after he allegedly threatened to blow up a police station and a federal courthouse. Pedro Quino-Teodoro is charged with two counts of making a terrorist threat and one count of attempted obstruction of a governmental function.

By JOE HARRIS 

     CLAYTON, Mo. (CN) - Matrixx Initiatives and Zicam failed to warn consumers that use of their nasal sprays and nasal swabs could lead to a loss of smell, a class action asserts in St. Louis County Circuit Court.  

By NICK WILSON 


     WASHINGTON (CN) - Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced 50 coastal restoration projects Tuesday that will remove dams and sunken fishing gear to allow fish to move freely, and will restore wetlands and reefs. Experts hailed the projects as a step in the right direction, but said more should be done.

By TIM HULL 

     (CN) - A Kentucky equine veterinarian has challenged his five-year suspension from horse racing for possession of cobra venom and drugs used to treat Parkinson's disease in humans.  

By ELIZABETH BANICKI 

     (CN) - The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday reversed its denial of a waiver request made during the Bush administration, allowing California to enforce stricter greenhouse gas emissions standards for new vehicles.  
By BILL GIRDNER 

     (CN) - In tossing the conviction of a Missouri mother accused of causing a neighbor girl's suicide through a MySpace page, a federal judge in Los Angeles said the prosecution's theory would allow criminal prosecution of anyone who violates the MySpace terms of use, thus turning a boiler-plate contract that is rarely read into criminal law.

By JEFF GORMAN 


     (CN) - James Bond's intellectual property managers cannot prevent a German company from registering "Dr. No" as a European Community trademark, Europe's second-highest court ruled.  

By AVERY FELLOW 

     (CN) - Ships approaching the California coast must use cleaner-burning fuels, a federal judge ruled in Sacramento. U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England, Jr. upheld new regulations set by the California Air Resources Board limiting sulfur in fuel for ships traveling within 24 miles of the state's coast.  

By JONATHAN PERLOW 


     (CN) - Comedian Dave Chappelle does not owe his former manager a cut of the profits from his work in order to satisfy a settlement from a previous court battle, a federal judge in Manhattan ruled. Mustafa Abuelhija accused the funnyman of wrongful termination in 2005.  

By JEFF GORMAN 

      (CN) - MySpace is immune from liability in cases of sexual assaults stemming from people meeting through the site, a California appeals court ruled. Four girls, aged 13 to 15, sued the social networking Web site after they were assaulted by men they met online.  

     (CN) - The 10th Circuit upheld a decision against Accusearch on Wednesday, ruling that the company violated federal law when it sold telephone records on its Web site. 

By JOE HARRIS 

     (CN) - A federal judge in New Jersey denied bail to a radio host who allegedly threatened to kill three federal judges in Chicago. Harold "Hal" Turner, 47, was charged with threatening the judges and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

     (CN) - Author J.D. Salinger won a ruling Wednesday that prohibits the U.S. sale of a new book by a Swedish author called "60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye." U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts said the character Mr. C. copies the character Holden Caulfield in Salinger's classic coming-of-age novel "Catcher in the Rye."  

     (CN) - A Minnesota paper worker's disparaging comment about a co-worker opened him up to liability for defamation, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled.  

     (CN) - Comedian and author Al Franken is now a U.S. Senator-elect, after the Minnesota Supreme Court declared him the winner in the election over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman.  

By JEFF GORMAN 

     (CN) - The Army Corps of Engineers is not required to comply with a Sioux tribe's request to evaluate properties for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, the D.C. Circuit ruled. 

     (CN) - An adviser to the European Court of Justice backed the lower court's ruling that pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline tried to restrict parallel trade in its dealings with Spanish distributors.  

By TIM HULL 

     (CN) - In a decision consistent with a new era of increased public oversight of large financial institutions, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that national banks are subject to some state laws under the National Bank Act.  

By ANNIE YOUDERIAN 

     (CN) - The U.S. Supreme Court moved toward ending a 17-year legal battle over Arizona's programs for students learning to speak English, voting 5-4 that the lower courts failed to recognize the state's efforts to improve its language programs.  

     WASHINGTON (CN) - The Office of Thrift Supervision plans to change the definition of "low income loans" to include low income educational loans made to consumers by banks who receive, or apply to receive, Community Reinvestment Act funding.  

     WASHINGTON (CN) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has proposed two scenarios to wind down the Transaction Account Guarantee Program component of the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, which insures non-interest bearing transaction accounts at Insured Depository Institutions. 

     WASHINGTON (CN) - Mortgage loans modified under the Treasury's Making Homes Affordable Program will retain the risk weight assigned to that loan before the modification, as long as the loan continues to meet certain other criteria, according to regulations by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of Thrift Supervision.  
By MATTHEW HELLER 

     Less than three weeks after being sued for defrauding two former parishioners of $600,000, a Florida preacher dropped his $50 million lawsuit alleging the Bill Maher documentary "Religulous" falsely portrayed him as a charlatan. more

     Unemployement hit 9.5 percent the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced Thursday, after Americans lost 467,000 more jobs in June, contributing to the now 14.7 million unemployed Americans.  

By ANNIE YOUDERIAN 

     LOUISVILLE (CN) - The Courier-Journal claims the Louisville metro government passed an ostensible anti-littering ordinance that was specifically targeted at the newspaper. And because the ordinance carries a $200 fine per violation, the paper says it could be fined up to $68 million a week based on its circulation numbers.  

By KARINA BROWN 

     PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) - A woman says Major League Soccer player Nate Jaqua sexually assaulted her when she was attending the University of Oregon on a soccer scholarship.  

By CHLOEE GREAVES 


     VENTURA, Calif. (CN) - Former professional baseball player Lenny "Nails" Dykstra refused to pay his brother a 10 percent stake in car wash partnerships that the outfielder sold for more than $50 million, Kevin Dykstra claims in Superior Court.  

      Family 1 Films and Jeffrey Wordy failed to repay an $810,000 loan and missed a deadline to create two books based on the characters and themes of their film, "The Velveteen Rabbit," Guideposts claims in Manhattan Federal Court.

     The Chesapeake Climate Action Network seeks an injunction in Baltimore Federal Court that would stop Mirant Mid-Atlantic and Mirant Chalk Point from burning residual fuel oil at the Chalk Point Power Plant in Prince George's County. 

     Gardens Dance Studio breached its franchise agreement with Fred Astaire Dance Studios and Megadance USA, but continues to illegally operate a competing dance studio, the franchise owners allege in Boston Federal Court.  

     Maverick Money Makers and founder Mack Michaels swiped a Texas man's informational video clips from wizardacademy.com and posted them on their Web site, Roy H. Williams III alleges in Austin Federal Court. 

     While repossessing a tractor, North Kern Machinery employees ignited the Rancheria fire in the Sequoia National Forest, which burned 33 acres of national forest land, the federal government claims in Fresno Federal Court. 

     Collection agency APCC Services has no right to demand more than $1 million in payphone charges in an administrative claim before the Federal Communications Commission, Dollar Phone says in Brooklyn Federal Court.  

     The Central Christian Academy filed for bankruptcy protection in Alabama Southern Bankruptcy Court, listing more than $645,000 in assets and nearly $700,000 in liabilities.

     A flash estimate of the June inflation rate for EU countries using the euro currency came in negative, with -0.1% rate. That negative rate followed a month of perfect equipoise at 0.0% inflation for June, possibly suggesting a deflationary trend. The estimates are issued by Eurostat, the EU's statistical agency.

     A study done on European Union consumer habits found that 65 percent of dwellings are owned by their residents, 12 percent of household energy comes from renewable sources, 46 percent of dwellings are apartments and a third of shoppers are able to use another EU language while shopping in another country.  


     The United States imprisons ten times more people on average than the northern European countries of Denmark, Sweden and Ireland and holds more than six times the proportion held by the European Union as a whole. A Eurostat study finds that the union had 123 prisoners for every 100,000 inhabitants between 2005 and 2007, compared to 758 in the United States.