Jail for man who stole Cage's Porsche

A US airman has started a six-month in prison term after being convicted of stealing a 1989 Porsche 911 belonging to actor Nicolas Cage.

The car was found submerged in 12 feet of water in the Lake of the Ozarks in January by the Missouri Water Patrol.

The Porsche, worth $100,000 (£65,000), had been stolen a month earlier from a car park in St Louis while being transported in a trailer to Pennsylvania.

A US Air Force court-martial convicted Robert N Clerkin, 20, stationed at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, of five charges involving the theft of the car.

Stripes painting wins £25,000

Alan Charlton has won the £25,000 Royal Academy Charles Wollaston Award with a painting consisting of 20 grey stripes.

The 54-year-old Sheffield-born artist saw his work, Vertical Painting In 20, named the "most distinguished work" in the Academy's summer exhibition on Tuesday.

The painting, itself worth £35,000, was selected from a field of 1,059 exhibits by well-known figures such as Sir Peter Blake and Gary Hume.

Mr Charlton's works since 1969 have all been based around two features - the colour grey and the measurement of 4.5cm, the width of the wooden stretchers on which the canvases are mounted.

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Sopranos lawsuit fails

A lawsuit against the makers of the TV series The Sopranos, which alleged the show depicted Italian Americans as criminals, has been dropped.

The Italian-American Defense Association had filed the lawsuit against Time Warner Entertainment under the "individual dignity" clause of the Illinois Constitution.

But Cook County Circuit Court Judge Richard Siebel dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice last September, ruling that the clause in the state's Constitution was merely advisory.

The Illinois Appellate Court has now upheld the ruling.

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Patsy Palmer honours first aiders

Ex-EastEnders star Patsy Palmer has presented 10 young people with St John Ambulance Young First Aider of the Year awards.

The winners, aged between eight and 18, had all showed courage and bravery in giving first aid in emergency situations.

Ms Palmer, who played Bianca in the BBC soap, handed out the awards at a ceremony at London Zoo and each winner, as well as a medal, has won a first aid training package for each of their schools.

Nic Suggit, head of training at St John Ambulance, said: "These awards allow us to honour young people who have practised first aid in an emergency situation and to show others how even the most basic knowledge of first aid can help to save a life."

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Arnold weds for third time

Actor-comedian Tom Arnold, known for roles in the films True Lies and Cradle 2 The Grave, has married his girlfriend Shelby Roos.

The couple married at Beverley Hill's Four Seasons Hotel on Saturday and will go on a honeymoon later this summer.

Arnold, 43, was previously married to comedian Roseanne but divorced in November 1994, and later married and divorced Julie Champnella.

Ms Roos, 30, works for a political consultant in Los Angeles.

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O'Connor farm to open

Fans of the short story author Flannery O'Connor soon are to be able to tour her farm Andalusia in Georgia.

The farm, which inspired much of O'Connor's writing has, until now, been closed to the public.

The local Milledgeville-Baldwin County Convention and Visitors Bureau has announced that it will open the farm in late August for tours of the grounds, and the Flannery O'Connor-Andalusia Foundation also plans to restore the farmhouse.

O'Connor died in 1964 at the age of 39.

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