Etc...

BUT, HEY, WHO'S COUNTING?

Sian Thurkettle isn't among those who were bowled over by the re-release of "E.T." Oh, she's pleased, all right. In fact, she was in the audience in Rugby, England, when the film opened there March 22. And she bought a month's worth of tickets so she can return "as often as possible." But there's really no mystery left for her. Between trips to the cinema when "E.T." first came out in 1982 and watching the video at home, she has seen it 773 times. Her husband, George, has sat through dozens of viewings, too, but says "I much prefer James Bond."

There are quirks of nature and then there's a certain lioness in Kenya's Samburu Game Reserve. For the third time since Christmas, she has adopted a baby oryx as her own offspring, acting "fiercely protective" anytime they're approached. Alas, the first was killed by another lion. The second now is in an orphanage. Said one wildlife expert: "This does happen, but it's quite unusual."

For Yellowstone, it's snowmobilers; at Valley Forge, it's luxury homes. They're among the parks cited in an annual list by the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association. Air pollution, development, and insufficient funding pose the greatest threats, according to the advocacy group. The parks and monuments it considers most endangered, in alphabetical order:

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Everglades National Park/Big Cypress National Reserve, Florida

Federal Hall National Memorial, New York

Glacier National Park, Montana

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee/North Carolina

Mojave National Reserve, California

Ocmulgee National Monument, Georgia

Valley Forge National Historic Park, Pennsylvania

Yellowstone, Wyoming/Montana

– Associated Press