ATLANTA (AP) – Anna Nicole Smith’s companion, Howard K. Stern, filed a $60 million libel suit last week against journalist Rita Cosby and her publisher with regard to a book she wrote that, among other things, claims Stern and former Smith boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, had a sexual encounter.

The suit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, seeks $10 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages from Cosby and Hachette Book Group USA Inc. A John or Jane Doe also was named as a defendant.

The suit stems from Cosby’s book, Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith’s Death.

The book, released in September, claims that in addition to the alleged sexual encounter, Birkhead and Stern both worked together after Smith’s death to manipulate the media and maximize profits.

The suit says that the book falsely accuses Stern of, among other things, criminal lewd acts, homosexual acts, illegal possession and use of cocaine, conspiring to commit murder and kidnapping for ransom.

“Defendants have exploited Ms. Smith’s life and death by publishing false and defamatory factual accusations against” Stern, according to the 65-page lawsuit filed by Atlanta attorney Lin Wood and his firm, Powell Goldstein LLP.

Wood said in a statement Tuesday that Cosby and her publisher “made a conscious decision to smear the personal and professional reputation of” Stern for financial gain.

“Blonde Ambition purports to be a ‘tell-all’ book, but it can only be accurately described as a ‘tell-all-lies’ book,” Wood said.

A spokesperson for Cosby declined to comment and referred calls to a spokesperson for the book’s publisher, which does business under the name Grand Central Publishing. That spokesperson, Evan Boorstyn, did not immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.

Birkhead is the father of Smith’s infant daughter. Stern was her longtime attorney and companion.

Both men had threatened to sue soon after the book was published. Tuesday’s lawsuit only lists Stern as a plaintiff.

An attorney for Birkhead, M.L. Trope, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that “it’s just a matter of time” before his client files a libel suit of his own. He did not say when that would be filed.

Stern’s lawsuit says Stern’s attorney advised Cosby and her publisher before the book was published not to include any defamatory statements about Stern in the book. The suit says that Cosby and her publisher never contacted Stern to verify the truth of allegations against Stern in the book.

Birkhead acknowledged meeting with Cosby several times after Smith’s death in February. But he flatly denied that he and Stern ever shared a sexual tryst.

Cosby, a former MSNBC correspondent, claimed there is a videotape of the alleged encounter and that one of Smith’s former employees had seen the Playboy Playmate watching it. But Birkhead has said no tape could exist because the encounter did not occur.

Birkhead also has denied the book’s claim that he and Stern made a “secret deal” about finances and the custody of Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn.

Cosby has said she expected backlash from Birkhead and Stern when she started writing the book in April.

Stern’s lawsuit indicates that media organizations that broadcast references to the allegedly false statements in the book could be sued later if they don’t retract their reports.

MARIETTA (AP) – A column in a Cobb County high school newspaper that criticizes homosexuals has generated controversy among students and faculty.

Kell High School senior Thomas Benjamin wrote the column titled “Homosexuality: Beyond the Bible” under the opinion-editorial section.

It suggests gays should be denied the privilege of marriage because they are victims of reproductive error or an unusual upbringing.

Principal Trudie Donovan says she reviewed the article before it was published, but had no authority to censor it.

Cobb County schools spokesperson Jay Dillon says principals have no legal standing to keep articles about student opinion from being printed. He says exceptions might include the use of obscenities or an item that might cause a school riot.

JOHNSON CITY (AP) – An undercover investigation into public sex in Johnson City parks has led to the arrest of 40 men in two weeks.

“Our parks are for family use. People should not be exposed to this while they are out there with their family or trying to enjoy the walking trails,” Johnson City Police Chief John Lowry said. “They are not built nor maintained for sexual activity, be it homosexual activity or heterosexual activity.”

The investigation in the Winged Deer and Buffalo Mountain parks began after police received complaints from the public.

“Part of this took place off the paved trails. There’s a thing out there (at Winged Deer Park) they’ve evidently termed the ‘Man Cave,’” Lowry said. “It’s a good way off the paved trail. It’s underbrush that’s grown up and resembles a cave.”

As part of the investigation, undercover officers would strike up conversations with men approaching a trail leading to the Man Cave. Some of those conversations led to proposals for sex and several men exposed themselves or groped the officers, police said.

The suspects from Tennessee, Virginia and North Carolina ranged in age from 26 to 85.

ST. ALBANS (AP) – Two sisters are being charged with a hate crime for spray painting anti-gay slogans and slashing the tires of the vehicles belonging to two men joined in a civil union.

Police say 16-year-old Melissa Gaboury and 18-year-old Meghan Gaboury are due in court Wednesday to answer charges of a hate crime, unlawful mischief and unlawful trespass.

Police say the sisters are distant relatives of one of the victims.

Police say the two men discovered the vandalism on Monday.

Police say the Gaboury sisters had “increasingly volatile interactions” with the alleged victims.

Police say damage to both vehicles is estimated to be more than $2,000.

WASHINGTON (AP) – In a decision that could jeopardize a Navy physician’s career, a military judge ruled last week that gay pornography found on the doctor’s computer can be used as evidence in his trial on charges that he videotaped U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen having sex.

Cmdr. Kevin J. Ronan is charged with seven counts of conduct unbecoming to an officer, three counts of illegal wiretapping and one count of obstruction of justice. Prosecutors said the pornography establishes a motive for the alleged secret taping of the midshipmen.

Ronan, who hosted midshipmen in his home as part of a Naval Academy program, could be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison if convicted on all counts.

Even if Ronan is found innocent at trial this month, such evidence often brings a military investigation into a service member’s sexual orientation. Open homosexuality is grounds for dismissal from the service.

Ronan’s lawyers had tried to keep the evidence out of his trial, saying prosecutors couldn’t prove he was the one who downloaded the material, and that the implication he might be gay would turn the jury against him.

“The effect of this is going to be to suggest, ‘This is a bad person; he’s got homosexual tendencies, and we certainly don’t want him in the Navy,”” William Ferris, Ronan’s civilian attorney, said in the Washington Navy Yard courtroom. He noted the uproar over the recent comments of Gen. Peter Pace, the nation’s former top uniformed officer, who said he believed homosexual behavior was “immoral.”

“There is a strong prejudice against homosexuals in the military,” Ferris said.

Ronan briefly took the stand and denied any knowledge of the videos or pictures and said he didn’t know how they got onto his computer. He said that about a dozen midshipmen regularly stayed in his home in their free time, and Ferris stated that any of them could have downloaded the pornography.

Ronan was not asked about his sexual orientation.

Ronan was previously a team physician for Naval Academy sports teams and a medical officer in the midshipmen’s dorm.

Ronan also was a “sponsor” at the service academy. Sponsors typically are Annapolis residents who open their homes to midshipmen so they can relax on weekends or school holidays.

Marine Col. Steven Day, the judge in the case, said that admitting the evidence could be harmful to the defense case, but agreed with prosecutors that the reasons for allowing it outweighed potential bias. The judge said he would limit any bias with jury instructions and by careful screening of jurors.

The images and videos could be used to prove motive, Day said, and could show “possible need on his part” to view “young, athletic males” engaged in sexual activity.