Bahama Islands

The first thing a beach-loving vacationer should know about the Bahamas, the chain of more than 3,000 coral islands and islets that stretches southeast from the Florida coast toward Haiti, is that it is not, repeat not, a Caribbean island nation--although generally it is included in Caribbean island guidebooks. The Bahama Islands are near the Caribbean but located entirely in the Atlantic Ocean--a factor to keep in mind when you are planning a winter trip.

A Bahamas judge asked a lawmaker Friday to explain remarks that led to a mistrial in the John Travolta extortion case. Picewell Forbes was summoned before the judge for announcing an acquittal Wednesday night while the jury was still deliberating a verdict for two defendants accused of trying to blackmail the movie star. Senior Justice Anita Allen told Forbes that he has until Thursday to show why he should not be charged with contempt of court. Forbes did not provide an explanation at the hearing, but his lawyer said earlier he was only repeating a rumor he heard moments before making a televised speech at political convention.

A sprawling black stingray glided toward me as I lazed on my inflatable raft, moving as gracefully as a magic carpet through the clear, waist-deep water. It resembled Caribbean scenes I'd seen a hundred times on TV commercials. But this wasn't a cruise or even a resort. These were the open, uncrowded waters of Eleuthera, a rugged Bahamian island where swimmers are more likely to see bonefish and barracuda than other tourists.

Jett Travolta's body showed no sign of head trauma despite a police statement that he hit his head on a bathtub, and the death certificate says he was killed by a seizure, an undertaker said Monday. The 16-year-old son of actors John Travolta and Kelly Preston had a history of seizures and was found unconscious in a bathroom Friday at a family vacation home on Grand Bahama Island.

One reason people go to the Abaco islands is to roam the miles of smooth, empty beaches. Another reason people go is because the calm, blue-green waters of the Sea of Abaco are perfect for boating. Still others are drawn to the signature Bahamian reefs, where even the most inexperienced snorkler is treated to a succession of breathtaking vistas. And, of course, there are the deep-sea fishermen who come to have a go at the area's prized blue marlin.

Actress and model Anna Nicole Smith's 20-year-old son died from a lethal combination of methadone and two antidepressant drugs, the U.S.-based pathologist who conducted a private autopsy said in San Juan. Toxicology tests showed that Daniel Smith had methadone, Zoloft and Lexapro in his system when he died Sept. 10 in a hospital room in the Bahamas where his mother was recuperating from giving birth, according to pathologist Cyril Wecht. Methadone is used to treat heroin addiction.

Immigration Minister Shane Gibson resigned in a flap over his relationship with the late Anna Nicole Smith. Photos in a Bahamas newspaper recently showed Gibson in bed with the former Playboy Playmate. Both were clothed, but the pictures stoked a controversy because Gibson had fast-tracked her application for residency.

A single-engine plane crashed off the Bahamas on its way to Florida, killing at least three of the five people on board. Rescuers found three bodies and plane debris and were searching for the two other men. Coast Guard spokesman Roger Krass said the aircraft was heading into a storm front when it disappeared from radar screens. The plane took off from Freeport in the Bahamas and was headed to Lantana Airport in Palm Beach County, authorities said.

A court here cleared the way for Anna Nicole Smith's ex-boyfriend to leave with their baby daughter, rejecting an appeal by the late reality TV star's mother. The judges ruled that a U.S. court probably would have the final say in the custody dispute between Virgie Arthur and Larry Birkhead, whom DNA tests confirmed as the baby's father.

Former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith will be buried beside her son today in a custom-made gown after an extravagant, private and "very pink" memorial service. The service at Mount Horeb Baptist Church, west of downtown Nassau, will be "over the top," with up to 300 guests, a singer and copious amounts of pink flowers, organizer Patrik Simpson said. Smith, 39, died in Florida on Feb.

A court here cleared the way for Anna Nicole Smith's ex-boyfriend to leave with their baby daughter, rejecting an appeal by the late reality TV star's mother. The judges ruled that a U.S. court probably would have the final say in the custody dispute between Virgie Arthur and Larry Birkhead, whom DNA tests confirmed as the baby's father.

The guests of honor were feuding. Spectators booed and cheered behind steel barricades. A crew from an entertainment TV program buzzed around a coffin draped in a rhinestone-studded pink cloth.

Former Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith will be buried beside her son today in a custom-made gown after an extravagant, private and "very pink" memorial service. The service at Mount Horeb Baptist Church, west of downtown Nassau, will be "over the top," with up to 300 guests, a singer and copious amounts of pink flowers, organizer Patrik Simpson said. Smith, 39, died in Florida on Feb.

A three-judge panel from the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday against Anna Nicole Smith's estranged mother, who had sought to take the tabloid star's body to her native Texas for burial. "Anna Nicole Smith's last ascertainable wish with respect to the disposition of her remains was that she be buried in the Bahamas next to her son Daniel Wayne Smith. This finding is not essentially disputed," the judges wrote in their five-page opinion issued in West Palm Beach.

Anna Nicole Smith wanted to be buried next to her son in the Bahamas and bought two burial plots for their final resting places, Howard K. Stern, the former Playboy Playmate's last companion, told a Florida court Tuesday. In his first court appearance since Smith died Feb. 8, Stern sat in the witness chair in front of photographer Larry Birkhead, Smith's former lover, who also claims to be the father of her 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn.

Immigration Minister Shane Gibson resigned in a flap over his relationship with the late Anna Nicole Smith. Photos in a Bahamas newspaper recently showed Gibson in bed with the former Playboy Playmate. Both were clothed, but the pictures stoked a controversy because Gibson had fast-tracked her application for residency.

A Bahamian government board's decision to ban the movie "Brokeback Mountain" has prompted charges of discrimination and censorship in the island chain. Gay rights groups and others have called on the Plays and Films Control Board to reverse its decision prohibiting theaters from showing the award-winning movie about a troubled love affair between two cowboys.

The guests of honor were feuding. Spectators booed and cheered behind steel barricades. A crew from an entertainment TV program buzzed around a coffin draped in a rhinestone-studded pink cloth.

NO other hotel is marketed, to my mind, with such advertising fanfare and bombast as Atlantis on Paradise Island in Nassau, Bahamas. "Welcome to the lost world of Atlantis," desk staff members say as they check you into a property that's unusual and outsized in every sense. It has 2,917 guest rooms spread over 171 acres, 35 restaurants and eateries, a water park, casino and sea-life exhibits featuring more specimens than any other man-made, open-air marine habitat in the world.