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High hopes for cornfield Palin

An Ohio farmer would like to invite you to get lost inside the head of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. A 16-acre corn maze near Whitehouse, southwest of Toledo, has been carved in Palin’s likeness, complete with her familiar updo and glasses. Farmer Duke Wheeler said Palin created a lot of excitement in the campaign, and he was hoping to generate some for this year’s maze. He said it took an artist from Idaho at least eight hours to mow down stalks for the maze.

People

Music for hunger

Musicians Will.I.am and Angelique Kidjo, actress Kristin Davis and model Elle Macpherson helped launch a new campaign Thursday to cut global poverty in half by 2015. Kidjo and Black Eyed Peas members Will.I.am and apl.de.ap performed a new song written for the Global Call to Action against Poverty called “in my name” outside the United Nations, where world leaders are gathered this week. YouTube has teamed up with Will.I.am, and nongovernmental organizations GCAP, Oxfam International, Save the Children and Comic Relief to help spread the message that poverty around the world needs to be eradicated.

No charges

Citing insufficient evidence, Los Angeles prosecutors said Thursday they will not charge actor Shia LaBeouf with drunken driving in connection with a car accident in July in West Hollywood. Two other people involved in the July 26 accident with LaBeouf, 22, will face unspecified charges, said a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Singer injured in new wreck

Grammy-winning Tejano singer Emilio Navaira, still recovering from major injuries suffered in a bus wreck six months ago, was back in the hospital Thursday after another traffic accident. Emilio and wife Maria Navaira were in stable condition at University Hospital in San Antonio after their car and a truck collided Wednesday. Police think Maria Navaira was driving at the time. The truck driver was not hurt.

Upcoming

Subway comfort

Riding the London Underground is getting cooler, literally. Tube trains are to get air conditioning for the first time, and London Mayor Boris Johnson unveiled an example of the new train model Thursday. The new air-conditioned trains will serve the Underground’s Metropolitan line beginning in 2010 and additional lines after that. They are all expected to be up and running by 2015. The Underground is nearly 150 years old.

Update

Gas charge dropped

Jose Cruz, 34, a West Virginian accused of passing gas and fanning it toward a police officer, no longer faces a battery charge. The Kanawha County prosecutor’s office requested that the charge be dropped Thursday. He still faces driving-under-the-influence and other charges.

Today in History

1789: Thomas Jefferson was appointed America’s first secretary of state.

1955: After word that President Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack, the New York Stock Exchange saw its worst price decline since 1929.

1957: The musical “West Side Story” opened on Broadway.

Today’s Birthdays

Fitness expert Jack LaLanne, 94. Actress Mary Beth Hurt, 60. Actress Linda Hamilton, 52. TV personality Jillian Barberie, 42. Actor Jim Caviezel, 40. Singer Shawn Stockman, 36. Actor Mark Famiglietti, 29. Singer-actress Christina Milian, 27. Tennis player Serena Williams, 27.

Seattle Times news services