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Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Oct 24, 2007

CARACAS, Venezuela - Thousands of university students scuffled with police and government supporters during a protest Tuesday demanding that civil liberties be respected under constitutional reforms being drafted by allies of President Hugo Chavez.

Police tossed tear gas canisters into the crowd of opposition students after clashes broke out with a smaller group of pro-Chavez demonstrators near the National Assembly. Journalists estimated the crowd at about 20,000 protesters, but pro-Chavez lawmakers said there were far fewer.

There were no reports of arrests or serious injuries, though student leader Stalin Gonzalez said at least five demonstrators suffered minor injuries during the bottle and rock-throwing melee.

The students said they fear civil liberties would be severely weakened under the constitutional changes under consideration. Critics are particularly concerned by an amendment that would allow authorities to detain citizens without charges during a state of emergency.

The National Assembly, dominated by Chavez supporters, is poised to approve 67 constitutional amendments in the coming days that would give the government control over the Central Bank, create new types of cooperative property and extend presidential terms from six to seven years while allowing Chavez to run again in 2012.

To take effect, the reforms must be approved by voters in a Dec. 2 referendum.

NEW YORK - Marie Osmond says she doesn't know why she fainted during ABC's live broadcast of "Dancing With the Stars," but it may have something to do with allergies.

Osmond and her partner, dancer Jonathan Roberts, the first performers on Monday night's show, had just finished a samba and were listening to comments from the judges when she suddenly toppled.

"She was laughing and then sank like a stone. Everyone froze," said ABC publicist Amy Astley. As the show cut to a commercial, Osmond started to rise and was helped up, Astley said.

"I feel bad that it happened," the effervescent 48-year-old singer told "Entertainment Tonight" in an interview that was to air Tuesday night.

"Right at the beginning, I started getting lightheaded. The only thing I can think of, I have allergies. The air quality (in Los Angeles) is terrible. And I think I just couldn't get my breath," Osmond told "E.T."

The hit series, which pairs celebrities with professional dancers, puts its stars through rigorous dance routines.

She explained on-air that "once in a while that happens to me when I get winded. I stop breathing." She punctuated her remark with a giggle.1537 - Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI.

1939 - Nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Del.

1940 - The 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

1945 - The United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.

1952 - Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower declared in Detroit, "I shall go to Korea" as he promised to end the conflict. (He made the visit over a month later.)

1962 - The U.S. blockade of Cuba during the missile crisis officially began under a proclamation signed by President John F. Kennedy.

1987 - 30 years after it was expelled, the Teamsters union was welcomed back into the AFL-CIO. (However, the Teamsters disafilliated themselves from the AFL-CIO in 2005.)

1997 - In Arlington, Va., former NBC sportscaster Marv Albert was spared a jail sentence after a grudging courtroom apology to the woman he'd bitten during a sexual romp.

2002 - Authorities arrested Army veteran John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo near Myersville, Md., in connection with the Washington-area sniper attacks. (Malvo was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in Virginia and Maryland; Muhammad was sentenced to death in Virginia, and to life in prison in Maryland.)

This is a list of deaths in the area. Obituaries are on Pages 2, 3B.

John Arnold/Topeka

Robert Clement/Topeka

Daniel Finch/Topeka

Robert Laster/Topeka

Annette Lyons/Topeka

Jocile Nevin/Topeka

Bertha Pawley/Topeka

Kim Peterson/Wakarusa

Daryl Pickens Sr./Baldwin City

Richard Rosenbaum/Topeka

Barbara Sardou/Olathe

Robert Slemmons/Topeka

Anna Tipton/Topeka

Emogene Wagner/Lawrence

Sharon Zimmerman/HortonFootball Hall-of-Famer Y.A. Tittle81

Rock musician Bill Wyman71

Actor-producer David Nelson71

Actor F. Murray Abraham68

Actor Kevin Kline60

Former NAACP president

Kweisi Mfume59

Country musician Billy Thomas

(Terry McBride and the Ride)54

Actor B.D. Wong47

Rock musician Ben Gillies

(Silverchair)28

Singer-actress Monica Arnold27

Rhythm-and-blues singer Adrienne Bailon (3lw)24

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. - Garry Trudeau says topics in his "Doonesbury" comic strip that were at first shocking to some readers aren't so anymore, such as one character's revelation 30 years ago that he was gay.

"Now I can pretty much write about gay issues and not hear from anyone," Trudeau told students at the Center for Cartoon Studies on Monday.