Canadian sci-fi writer avoids jail time in US

PORT HURON, Michigan (AP) — A Canadian science fiction writer who refused to comply during a US customs inspection has avoided jail in Michigan.

Fifty-two-year-old Peter Watts of Toronto on Monday avoided a 60-day jail sentence imposed by Circuit Court Judge James Adair by paying more than $1,500 in fines and fees.

Watts faced up to two years in prison after a St. Clair County jury in Port Huron found him guilty of obstructing and resisting a police officer.

Watts was trying to cross into Canada at the Blue Water Bridge on December 8 when his vehicle was selected for inspection by US Customs and Border Protection officers. Authorities say he was detained after becoming noncompliant. Watts said he tried to comply.

Watts' books include "Starfish," "Maelstrom" and "Behemoth," known as the "Rifters Trilogy.

Amy Winehouse bruises ribs in fall at home

LONDON (AP) — Amy Winehouse is being treated for bruised ribs at a London clinic after falling at home.

The soul diva's spokesman says Winehouse also suffered a cut above her eye after she tripped and fell at her north London house on Saturday.

Spokesman Chris Goodman said yesterday that the 26-year-old singer is recovering at a private clinic, and is expected to be fine.

Winehouse shot to stardom with the Grammy-winning album "Back to Black" in 2006, but her music has been overshadowed by drug use, legal run-ins and a tempestuous marriage that ended in divorce last year.

Goodman says she has been recording new material with producer Mark Ronson.

Woodsman featured on 'American Loggers' dies at 45

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — A Maine woodsman and skidder operator who had a supporting role on Discovery Channel's "American Loggers" has died.

The Maine medical examiner's office has confirmed the death on Friday night of David McLaughlin of Milo. He was 45 and had suffered from a severe diabetic condition.

Rudy Pelletier, co-owner of Gerald Pelletier Inc. in Maine, said the amiable, hardworking logger was sidelined from time to time because of his diabetes.

McLaughlin's condition was diagnosed when he was 14, but he maintained a sense of humor that sometimes came through on the TV series.

"American Loggers" focuses on the Pelletier family's logging operations. Rudy Pelletier tells the Bangor Daily News that viewers were touched by McLaughlin's struggles.