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BUSH WANTS TO VISIT THE POPE

The White House confirmed this week that President Bush may be adjusting the itinerary for his upcoming European trip to allow him to visit with Pope John-Paul II. The meeting would take place late this month while Bush is in Rome for a meeting of NATO nations and representatives from Russia. Meanwhile, as we have been reporting, the pope conditions to weaken. He will soon be 82. This week the Vatican announced that he has no plans to step down, even though he is showing the increasing effects of Parkinson's disease and problems with major joints. He is about to embark on a five-day, two-nation trip. By the way, in addition to visiting Rome, Bush has scheduled stops in Germany, France and two cities in Russia.

SHARON STONE BACK IN LIMELIGHT

Since suffering a potentially life-threatening stroke last fall, actress Sharon Stone has made few public appearances. Now she has re-emerged. Stone made an appearance this week at the Cannes Film Festival, appearing as a member of the jury for presentation of the Golden Palm Award. Director Woody Allen was the official Cannes opener, presenting the initial movie to the posh guest list of foreign movie makers and stars. His film "Hollywood Ending" was the first film to be screened. The BBC reports that security is super tight at this 55th annual fete for films in the French resort city. The annual Cannes Festival is traditionally the most talked-about event of its kind.

RAPPER SAYS NEWEST RECORDS RIPPED

It doesn't seem to take much to alienate controversial, foul-mouthed rapper Eminem. Now, according to MTV, he's more than a little miffed. It seems that in spite of extraordinary attempts to keep everyone from having access to his latest CD until it's unwrapped on store shelves, someone has gotten a copy of all 20 songs ... and splayed them across the Internet. What makes it more embarrassing for the singer and Interscope records is that neither gave advanced copies to anyone. And that "anyone" included employees and even journalists who are usually given advanced copies for their critique. There is speculation that somehow a computer hacker got into the recording computers of the company and lifted the tracks. A second theory is that someone at a plant where the CDs were made might have gotten hold of one.

DON'T MESS WITH A KARATE EXPERT

When a would-be robber picked an address for a home in Johannesburg, South Africa, for his next "project," boy did he get a wrong number. The Star newspaper there reports that when the intruder tried to strangle Marietjie Fourie, the 45-year-old woman not only fought back but gave the man a fractured skull for his troubles. It seems that Fourie is a karate expert. After her first attempts to drive him away were unsuccessful, she picked up a martial arts device, made up of two batons connected by a piece of chain. She not only broke his skull but several other bones when she retaliated. The woman reports that it was the third time she's had to repel an intruder in recent years. By the way, the newspaper points out that South Africa has one of the world's highest rates of crimes against women.

SCHOOL DOODLE WEAVER IN HOT WATER

Remember the old song lyric that said: "You can't go to jail for what you're thinkin'?" Well, in suburban Pittsburgh, it would appear that if you're a school student and you happen to commit your thoughts to paper in the form of a doodle you can get into some severe hot water. The Post-Gazette says that Becca Johnson, a sixth-grade student, was suspended for three days because a doodle of stick figures she scribbled appeared to be a terrorist threat. The school says that she did the drawing in retaliation for scoring poorly on a vocabulary test. Columnist Roger Stuart, going to the girl's defense, says that the school's officials are "second cousins of the thought police." One of the figures apparently showed a teacher with an arrow through his head. Stuart notes that although the school doesn't think the girl's vocabulary is up to snuff, it hasn't commented on the quality of her artwork.

QUEEN'S CELEBRATION HITS LOSING STREAK

It hasn't been that many days ago that the Queen Mum died. Now her daughter, the reigning queen -- Elizabeth II -- is in the midst of a tour of the U.K. in celebration of the 50th anniversary of her accession to the throne. Published reports indicate that although security has been expectedly tight for the multi-city tour, one person managed to mar Wednesday's parade through Northumbria. Police there confirm that a man, wearing only a smile, raced in front of the queen's motorcade. He was quickly wrapped in a blanket and whisked away. The tour continues with thousands showing their enthusiasm in more traditional ways. For many of us the specter of the young queen being crowned in still fresh in our memories. Of course, that was at a time before the days of Lady Di, divorces, scandals and royal trashing by the tabloids.

UPI RADIO SURVEY QUESTION NO. 334

Now that Coca-Cola has come out with Vanilla Coke in some markets and Pepsi-Cola has a new "blue" cola, it's time for another soft drink-related question: "Have you tried any of the new cola flavors? What do you think? What combinations would YOU like to see?" Put FLAVOR in the subject line and send to [email protected] via the Internet.

RESULTS OF QUESTION NO. 329 (CLASSICAL)

Last week we asked whether you listen to classical music and what your thoughts are. From a sampling of the e-mail received, here are some of the replies: One of our Canadian friends, Pat O, reports that for a long time she had an album of light classical music by the 101 Strings. She often used it as background for dining. Cards says that her house is an eclectic one; they listen to all kinds of music. She also loves classical at dinner time. Stacey (in Washington, D.C.) says she "can deal with it." Cindy H's favorite is music with Sir James Galway on the flute. Even CMor, who usually listens to country music, likes some classical, including the "1812 Overture." It was difficult to find many in the sampling who don't like classical, at least at times. That just shows the high quality of the people who read this column. Doesn't it? On a personal note: A friend of mine, who loves LOUD classical music, decided to play it loudly from the first day he and his wife brought their infant daughter home from the hospital. Now, in college, she's an award-winning bassoonist. TOMORROW: Things you've had stolen. GBA.