MAY 22, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 20

Milestones
BY PENNY CAMPBELL

DIED. DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS JR., 90, swashbuckling star of such films as The Prisoner of Zenda and Sinbad the Sailor; in New York City. Fairbanks, who never quite grew out of the shadow of his father, silent-screen legend Douglas Sr., appeared in the first of his 75 films at the age of 13. An avid anglophile, he was decorated by the British government for his role in Anglo-American commando operations during World War II and awarded an honorary knighthood in 1949

ACQUITTED. SERGIO BER-LUSCONI, 62, Italian media mogul, conservative opposition leader and former Prime Minister, of charges that his company, Fininvest, bribed tax officials between 1991 and 1994; in Milan. Found guilty of collusion in the payment of nearly $200,000 in bribes in 1998 and sentenced to more than two years in prison, Berlusconi won on appeal. This was one of a series of charges against Berlusconi that has prompted him to accuse prosecutors of waging a "Stalinist plot" against him. In March he was acquitted of a forgery charge, but further cases are pending.

RETIRED. JIM COURIER, 29, American tennis player whose powerful forehand, ferocious work ethic and supreme fitness took him to world's No. 1 ranking; in Orlando, Florida. During a 13-season career, Courier won four Grand Slam titles and two Davis Cup championships, earning $14 million in prize money along the way. He captured the top ranking in February 1992 and held it for a total of 58 weeks. Courier, who says his enthusiasm for tennis has waned, is starting a new career as a TV commentator.

CONVICTED. EDWIN EDWARDS, 72, flamboyant former Democratic Governor of Louisiana, of racketeering, extortion and fraud; in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Edwards was accused, along with six others, of extorting $2.5 million in kickbacks from applicants for casino-riverboat licenses between 1991 and 1997. He now faces having to repay the money plus a fine of up to $4.5 million, as well as a lengthy jail sentence. He was acquitted twice in the 1980s of corruption charges.

PLEADED GUILTY. PHILIP DURAN, 23, to supplying a gun to the two teenage perpetrators of last year's Columbine High School shooting; in Golden, Colorado. One of two adults charged in the case, Duran sold 17-year-olds Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold a TEC-DC9 assault handgun for $500; in Colorado, it is illegal to provide such weapons to a minor. Klebold fired 55 rounds from the gun during the rampage at the school in which he and Harris killed 13 people before taking their own lives. Duran faces up to nine years in prison.

BORN. AASTHA ARORA, 0, bringing the population of India officially to 1 billion; in New Delhi. The government has formally designated Aastha as India's billionth citizen and is using the occasion to publicize the need to control the country's surging population, which experts say will surpass that of China--the only other nation with more than 1 billion people--in 45 years.

WILD KINGDOM
Officials at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center in Chengdu, China, are resorting to desperate measures to boost the animals' lethargic libidos. Researchers are showing blue movies to the black-and-white beasts to help get their mojos working. Zoologists filmed some of the more energetic pandas copulating and are now running the XXX films in panda sex-ed classes. So far the results are inconclusive. "I don't know if pandas like to watch," says Yu Jianqiu, the center's vice-director. "Maybe they aren't like people. But I think they like it." The panda porn videos were adopted after an earlier, failed foray with a sex doll. The research team created a model of a female panda meant to attract young males for practice. "The males wouldn't have sex with it," says Yu, so the doll was scrapped. If the latest effort fails as well, there's always one sure-fire option: put on a little Barry White.

By Daffyd Roderick. Reported by Craig Simon/Chengdu