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LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 (AP) — Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks is expected to star in a film adapted from Dan Brown’s popular novel “The Da Vinci Code,” the Hollywood Reporter reported Monday.

Hanks, who will play the role of Robert Langdon, was the top choice for director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer, the report said. “Tom just has that extra something that will really set this picture on fire.” Howard said. “Plus, he really needs the work. Did you see that freaking train thing he was in. Poor guy. I just felt kinda bad for him.” Columbia Pictures hopes to begin shooting the film next year.

BEIJING, Nov. 15 (Xinhuanet) — The 2004 Miss World pageant kicks off on Sunday in Sanya, a picturesque tropical city in southern Chinese province of Hainan.

The event started with the Beach Beauty final, in which contestants in swimsuits from 120 countries paraded on the white sand, flaunting their taut asses and medically-enhanced breasts in front of a distinguished panel of horny judges. Miss United States, Nancy Randall, finally took the coveted title of “Chick I’d Most Like to Bang.”

ATLANTA (AP) - Fewer American girls are having babies. The birth rate for girls ten to 14 has dropped to the lowest level since 1946.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention credits the drop to sex education.

“Back in 1946, we knew sex caused babies, but we forgot to tell everyone.” a spokeswoman said. “Now, with advances in science, we are able to share this information with sexually active ten to fourteen year olds.” The most recent data shows there are about 73-hundred babies born in this age group.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Rueters) – US President George W. Bush has chosen national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to be successor of Secretary of State Colin Powell who resigned last Friday, a senior official said Monday.

The official announcement of the appointment will be made on Tuesday, said the official who asked to be identified, but was not.

In addition to Powell, the White House also announced on Monday the resignations of Education Secretary Rod Paige, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. We’re not sure who these people are either, but it is rumored that Spencer Abraham has many sons, and many sons has Spencer Abraham.

New York – (Reuters) Watching a computer screen for nine or more hours a day might be linked to a progressive eye disease that can blind without treatment, researchers warned yesterday.

The risk of developing glaucoma this way was highest for those with short sight, they said in a study which provided more bad news for male office workers and professionals.

They were told by New York eye specialists last year that wearing a tightly knotted tie could make the condition more likely. “If you wear a tie, and are short-sighted, you will go blind,” said a spokesman for the group People Against Ties and Short-Sightedness. ”That’s why it’s better if you have some vision of the future. Or if you don’t wear a tie.”

Boise (ID) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new report Wednesday, showing a slight drop in adult smoking from 2002-2003.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention credits the drop to sex education.

The overall smoking rate among U.S. adults fell to 22.1 percent in 2003, the according to the CDC. That was a decline of just one percentage point from the year before.

“It’s a slow decline, but at least it is still is going down,” said Dr. Corinne Husten, acting director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “The numbers might look better if I were not just ACTING director. Hint-Hint.”

Los Angeles – (Wu Tang Times) Despite the fact that the cause of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s death may not be known for several days, it seems that some of his survivors are already bracing for battle over his assets.

Though the rapper, whose real name was Russell Jones, has been widely reported to have fathered more than a dozen children with different mothers over the years, Icelene Jones, his wife of 13 years, denied those numbers to the New York Post.

“For the record, he only has three children,” Jones, 35, told the Post, “ODB did not have many sons. And many sons, did not have ODB.”

BOULDER (AP) - An audit released by the University of Colorado chancellor has found no evidence that escorts or strippers were hired to entice football recruits. “Not within the last four years, for sure,” said a spokeswoman for the university.

The audit was launched earlier this year after allegations surfaced that such tactics were used by the CU football program. The audit covers 2000 through June 2004.

The report recommends that the university ban the use of private funds for recruiting, but the CU athletic department has already done that. “Basically, this was a big freaking waste of time and money,” said one official, who asked not to be identified as Chester Langley.

The audit also documented that a former athletic department employee purchased nearly $240 in alcohol at five recruiting dinners in 2001 and charged nearly all of it to the university. “Look at the numbers,” said Bill Bradley. “That’s less than $50 per party. Dude, $50 does not buy much beer.”

It also found that football coaches used a little more than $1,400 in university funds to have beer delivered to their hotel rooms during some away games for 1999 through 2003. “I thought we weren’t gonna talk about 1999. You promised we’d start looking at this from 2000 forward,” said Arlen Davis, spokesman. “Most of that $1,400 was in 1999, so it shouldn’t even count. And a good portion of it was not for beer, if you know what I mean.”

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