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Deadly Blaze Claims 5th

Kinky Celebrates

Independent governor candidate Kinky Friedman celebrated his birthday Wednesday with a nosh and some salty comments about his opponents.

At a lunch with reporters at a Jewish deli, Friedman counted down what he will do next Wednesday if he is not the governor-elect of Texas after a race among Republican Gov. Rick Perry, Democrat Chris Bell, and independent Carole Keeton Strayhorn:

"If Perry wins, I retire a petulant snit on a goat farm. If Bell wins, I move to France with Barbra Streisand. If Strayhorn wins, I blow my (expletive) head off."

Nevertheless the humorist, musician and mystery writer was confident....................

A firefighter who was the lone survivor of a five-man U.S. Forest Service crew that was overtaken by flames while fighting a Southern California wildfire last week has died.

Pablo Cerda, 23, died at 5:08 p.m. Tuesday, said Jeanne Wade Evans, forest supervisor for the San Bernardino National Forest.

"Today, more sadness is added to our almost unbearable grief," she said.

The news of Cerda's death came as authorities announced the arrest of a "person of interest" in connection with the wildfire.

Cerda had been in critical condition since the incident Thursday. Doctors said he suffered burns over 90 percent of his body. In addition, said Dev Gnanadev, medical director of Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Cerda had a "very severe inhalation injury."........

California Wild Fire

A modified DC-10 passenger aircraft drops fire retardant over Poppet Flats, near Idyllwild. The area is unburned, but it is surrounded by land burned by the Esperanza fire and could be threatened if winds shift.

Bob Barker Retiring

Bob Barker is heading toward his last showcase, his final "Come on down." The silver-haired daytime-TV icon is retiring in June, he told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

"I will be 83 years old on December 12," he said, "and I've decided to retire while I'm still young."

He'll hang up his microphone after 35 years as the host of "The Price Is Right" and 50 years overall in television.

Though he has been considering retirement for "at least 10 years," Barker said he has so much fun doing the show that he hasn't been able to leave.

"I've gone on and on and on to this ancient age because I've enjoyed it," he said. "I've thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm going to miss it."..............

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