FCC fine targets "NYPD Blue" scene

Washington, D.C.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a $1.43 million fine against 52 ABC Television Network stations over a 2003 broadcast of cop drama "NYPD Blue."

The fine is for a scene where a boy surprises a woman as she prepares to take a shower. The scene depicted "multiple, close-up views" of the woman's "nude buttocks" according to an agency order issued late Friday.

ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co. The agency proposed a $27,500 fine against 52 ABC-owned and affiliate stations in the Central and Mountain time zones, which broadcast the episode before 10 p.m., when the FCC's authority to police the airwaves for indecency expires each day.

The agency said the show was indecent because "it depicts sexual organs and excretory organs — specifically an adult woman's buttocks."

"NYPD Blue" aired from 1993 to 2005.

Ocala, Fla.

5 die after BMW rockets off runway

A car speeding down a private airport runway ran off an embankment and was airborne for 200 feet before smashing into a tree early Saturday, killing all five men in the vehicle, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Investigators did not know whether the BMW was alone or was racing another car on the airstrip at the exclusive "fly-in" community of Jumbolair Aviation Estates, where pilot-actor John Travolta has a home, officials said.

According to the preliminary investigation, the car ran off the 85-foot-high embankment at the end of the runway. When it struck the large tree, the car split in half, scattering wreckage.

Three of the five occupants were ejected, Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Mike Burroughs said. Two of the five men — ages 18 to 20 — were from Ocala, two were from Fairfield and one was from Anthony, but it was not clear if any of the men lived within the gated community.

Los Angeles

Pilot dies as copter crashes on freeway

A helicopter pilot was killed when his craft crashed into a freeway and burst into flames, authorities said. The pilot was flying too low and hit overhead power lines shortly before the accident, California Highway Patrol officials said Saturday.

The man's body was so badly burned that dental records may be needed to identify him, coroner's officials said.

The two-seat Robinson R22 was heading from El Monte's airport to Torrance when it went down about 11 p.m. Friday in the southbound lanes of the Harbor Freeway in South Los Angeles, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman Ian Gregor said. The helicopter did not strike any vehicles. The pilot, who was alone, was not in contact with air traffic controllers, Gregor said.

Las Vegas

Hotel-casino closed until fixes are done

The burned exterior facade along the roof of the Monte Carlo hotel-casino will have to be removed or secured before the Las Vegas Strip resort can reopen, the chief building inspector said Saturday.

Ron Lynn, chief of the Clark County Building Department, said the 32-story building will remain closed until resort owner MGM Mirage completes work to the building material damaged in Friday's blaze.

A spokesman for the casino company said he could not say how long that would take.

Guests were allowed back into the hotel with security escorts to retrieve items left when they fled, officials said. Absher said MGM Mirage found rooms for displaced guests at its other properties.

Washington

Florida lawmaker won't run again

Rep. Dave Weldon, of Florida, said he would retire from Congress, becoming the 25th House Republican who won't run for re-election during this cycle.

Weldon, 54, a physician who opposed stem-cell research, said Friday that he wanted to return to practicing medicine in Melbourne, Fla., and devote more time to his family.

Weldon's announcement was made on the heels of another retirement by a Republican.

Rep. James Walsh, of New York, said Thursday that he wouldn't seek re-election.

Seattle Times news services