Layne Staley Alice in Chains lead singer

Body Found in Rock Singer's House

Associated Press

SEATTLE - A body was found at the home of Layne Staley, lead singer and guitarist for the Seattle grunge band Alice in Chains.

The King County medical examiner's office scheduled an autopsy Saturday but investigator Jim Sosik could not immediately confirm the identity of the deceased late Friday night.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quoted unidentified law-enforcement sources as saying the body was Staley's.

The person appeared to have been dead for several days, the P-I reported in Saturday editions.

Seattle Fire Department spokeswoman Sue Stangl told The Associated Press she could not confirm the identity of the deceased.

Like Nirvana and Soundgarden, Alice in Chains was a band prominent in the early-'90s Seattle heyday of grunge rock.

In a 1996 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Staley spoke of how his drug use influenced his lyrics.

"I wrote about drugs, and I didn't think I was being unsafe or careless by writing about them," he told the magazine. "Here's how my thinking pattern went: When I tried drugs, they were (expletive) great, and they worked for me for years, and now they're turning against me - and now I'm walking through hell, and this sucks."

UA Alumni take home film awards at Arizona International Film Festival

Arizona Daily Wildcat

Two UA film program alumni were awarded Friday at the Arizona International Film Festival's "Reel Frontier Film and Video Competition."

John Laben, with his staff comprised mainly of University of Arizona students and graduates, won the Best of Arizona award for "The Bird Feeder."

The film portrays the "destruction of a young illegal immigrant's dream for a better life in the United States," according to a press release.

"Life Shelter," a film by UA alumna and New York University graduate student Toshiharu Takatsuka, was commended with the award for Best Short Documentary. The film profiled animal-shelter activity.

Harding cited for drunk driving after accident

Associated Press

BATTLE GROUND, Wash. - Former figure skater Tonya Harding crashed her pickup into a ditch early Saturday and was cited for drunken driving after failing a sobriety and breath test, police said.

Neither Harding nor her passenger was hurt in the 1:30 a.m. accident, in Battle Ground, northwest of Portland, Ore.

Authorities did not release Harding's blood-alcohol content.

Harding's life has taken several bizarre turns since she was implicated in the 1994 knee-whacking of rival skater Nancy Kerrigan. Two years ago, she was sentenced to three days in jail for hitting her boyfriend with a hubcap during a drunken argument.

In January, a judge ordered her to vacate her home near Camas, Wash., for failing to pay rent and late fees totaling $4,530.

Last month, Harding achieved a triumph of sorts when she pummeled Paula Jones in the ring during Fox's "Celebrity Boxing" special. The spectacle drew more than 15 million viewers.