Breathed retiring

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed announced he is retiring, leaving a hole in the Sunday funnies and the hearts of "Opus" fans. The last strip featuring the beloved, large-beaked penguin will run Nov. 2 in about 200 newspapers nationwide, including the Globe. Amy Lago, comics editor of The Washington Post Writers Group, said Breathed will pursue other interests, such as writing books and screenplays. Starting and stopping popular strips is old hat for Breathed. The writers group unveiled his "Bloom County" strip in 1980. He ended that strip in 1989 and the same year began the Sunday-only strip "Outland," which he quit in 1995. In 2003 he launched "Opus." (AP)

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who's always been afraid of flying, said he's glad to be alive after suffering severe burns in a plane crash last month. "I hate planes," Barker said in an interview with Us Weekly magazine. "My biggest fear ever is to be involved in a plane crash, so when that happened . . . well, I'm just thankful to be alive! I'm just grateful to be here at all." The musician and celebrity disc jockey DJ AM were the only survivors of the crash Sept. 19 in Columbia, S.C. Two pilots and two passengers were killed. Barker was released from a Georgia hospital and is being treated at a burn center in Los Angeles. (AP)

Yet another band is complaining about John McCain's use of its song to promote his campaign. This time, it's the Foo Fighters. The rockers sent out a missive telling the Republican presidential candidate to stop using "My Hero." The band noted it's not the first time McCain has been told to stop using a song. John Mellencamp, Heart, and Jackson Browne have also complained - Browne even filed a lawsuit. Soul legend Sam Moore has asked the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to stop using "Soul Man." (AP)

The Franciscan Hospital for Children in Boston is hoping to raise money for its programs by auctioning off a custom-built 1967 Lincoln Continental once owned by Manny Ramirez, the former Red Sox star who is now bashing balls for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez donated the car to the hospital before he was traded. Kevin Flight, a spokesman for the hospital, said the hospital was hoping to get at least $80,000 for the vehicle, which is being auctioned on eBay. (Globe staff)

A recording company has sued Lil' Kim for $2.5 million, saying the Grammy-winning rapper hasn't delivered all the recordings their contract requires. Brookland Media filed the suit Tuesday in Manhattan's state Supreme Court. (AP)

An attorney for Britney Spears has rejected a plea offer that would have placed her on a year's probation and fined her $150 in her misdemeanor driver's license case. Attorney J. Michael Flanagan said Spears would consider an offer that reduces the charge to an infraction and requires her to pay a $10 fine. The charge is the last remnant of a criminal case that prosecutors lodged against Spears after she hit a parked car in August 2007 and left without notifying the owner. (AP)

My Morning Jacket singer-guitarist Jim James has been released from the hospital after being injured in a fall during a concert at the University of Iowa. . . . Linkin Park is canceling its China tour because lead singer Chester Bennington suffered a back injury. (AP)