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NYC to mark landmark Grand Central Terminal's 100th birthday with music, speeches
• NEW YORK (AP) -- Grand Central, once in danger of being demolished, is celebrating its 100th birthday with speeches, a brass band and a rollback to 1913 prices when a slice of cheesecake might go for 19 cents.
• The majestic Beaux Arts building, known as Grand Central station although it is technically a terminal, is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations.
• As one of New York City's most recognizable landmarks it has served as a backdrop for countless movies and TV shows including "North by Northwest," ''The Cotton Club" and "Gossip Girl."
• A previous plan to replace the building with an office tower sparked a campaign by the late Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and other preservationists to have it declared a landmark. The fight for Grand Central went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 1978 that cities have the right to protect historic buildings even if it limits the owner's ability to develop or sell the property.
• Onassis' daughter, Caroline Kennedy, will speak at Friday's centennial celebration in the terminal's main concourse. Other speakers scheduled include Mayor Michael Bloomberg, "Sex and the City" actress Cynthia Nixon, former Mets star Keith Hernandez and former poet laureate Billy Collins.
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New national missing kid alert system surprises cell phone owners with shrieking text messages
• LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The next time a child is abducted near you, your cell phone may shriek to life with an alert message.
• A new national Amber Alert system officially rolled out earlier this month to millions of cell phones, and because the alerts are automatically active on most newer phones, the messages have already taken tens of thousands of people by surprise.
• The newly-expanded emergency alert system is an effort by FEMA to update the way it reaches people with new technologies, but local officials and others worry that the lack of public education and some initial stumbles may undermine the program's purpose, especially when people are startled and annoyed and choose to opt out.
• Lisa Rott was jolted from her sleep at 1:44 a.m. earlier this month in her Sarasota, Fla. home. A high-pitched tone sounded in spurts for about 10 seconds while her phone buzzed multiple times.
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