Etc...

Sure does sound fishy

"It's like a weight's been lifted off me," said Clive White of his recent confession. And it was a weighty matter, indeed. For eight years, the avid angler held Britain's record for catching the biggest rainbow trout - at 36 pounds, 14 ounces. Alas, White told the British Fish Record Committee, it actually was hand-raised by a friend. At least, that's his story to the Press Association. In an interview with The Times (London), White said he found the fish floating dead in the water.

All 2,300 students at New Jersey's Atlantic City High School will be carrying shiny new backpacks when classes start. Not unusual, right? Wrong. In this case, the packs must be made of clear plastic, a rule that Superintendent Frederick Nickles says will boost safety. The school is one of seven in the state listed as "persistently dangerous" under the federal No Child Left Behind law. While he questions the list's fairness, Nickles says transparent totes will speed bag checks for the students, who must pass metal detectors and checkpoints.

Fox, praised for innovative shows while also criticized for reality programming that stretches the bounds of good taste, is the top network among young people aged 20 to 29, according to a survey published by Advertising Age magazine. Online market research firm InsightExpress polled 500 members of that demographic - which is aggressively targeted by advertisers - asking respondents to name their three favorites. In bad news for ABC, the Big Three broadcaster came in at No. 11, behind six cable stations. AdAge's top 10 networks for "twenty-somethings":

1. Fox
2. NBC
3. Discovery Channel
4. HBO
5. Comedy Central
6. MTV
7. Cartoon Network
8. CBS
9. WB
10. ESPN