Danny Puff

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Russian monument to a bottle of vodka has been toppled over fears that it could be seen as an illegal advert for the country's favourite tipple.

The three-metre metal sculpture had become a local landmark in the Urals town of Glazov, 1,000 km (600 miles) east of Moscow. But residents woke up one morning last week to discover it had disappeared, leaving only an empty plinth.

The bottle's fall reflects a new, sober spirit of the age in Russia under President Vladimir Putin, a judo blackbelt who rides, flies and dives for the TV cameras but is rarely seen raising a glass - unless to toast a billion-dollar oil deal.

Putin signed a ban on all alcohol advertising in July last year, while other laws have banned sales of alcohol from street kiosks or after 11 p.m. at night.

Initial reports suggested that local authorities were behind the disappearance of the memorial, erected 13 years ago to mark the centenary of the local Glazovskiy spirits factory.

But factory bosses later told local media they had decided to remove the monument from public view over fears that it could fall foul of the strict new advertising laws.

"The bottle monument...might be considered as an advert for our products. For this reason, a decision was taken to remove it," Dmitry Pozdeev, the head of the factory's legal department, told local media. The sculpture was moved into the factory.

Russian media suggested anti-drinking campaigners might have more work left to do in the region. They pointed out another sculpture to meat dumplings - a popular Russian drinking snack - is still standing in the regional city of Izhevsk.

(Reporting by Sonia Elks; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Oliver Holmes)

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MINSK, Belarus (AP) The powerful Soviet Union may still exist after all at least on paper.

Former Belarusian leader Stanislav Shushkevich says a historic 1991 document that proclaimed the death of the Soviet Union is missing from the archives.

Shushkevich discovered that the document was gone while working on his memoirs. He said he believes it was stolen possibly by a former Belarusian official probably with the intention of selling it to a collector.

"It's hard to believe the disappearance of a document at such a level, but this is a fact," Shushkevich told The Associated Press.

Officials with Belarus' government and the Russia-dominated alliance of ex-Soviet nations confirmed late Wednesday that they only have copies.

"We don't know where the original is," said Vasily Ostreiko, the head of the archive department of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which has its headquarters in Minsk, the Belarusian capital. "We have a copy of that document. It's certified in line with international standards, but it's still a copy."

The document's disappearance reflects the chaos that surrounded the 1991 demise of the Soviet Union, a superpower of 300 million people that sprawled over nearly a dozen time zones and encompassed what is now 15 nations.

On Dec. 8, 1991, Shushkevich hosted Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk for secret talks at a government hunting lodge near Viskuli in the Belovezha Forest. The trio signed a deal declaring that "the U.S.S.R. has ceased to exist as a subject of international law and geopolitical reality" defeating Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's attempts to hold the Soviet Union together.

The agreement also announced the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance joined by nine other Soviet republics that month.

Gorbachev resigned on Dec. 25, 1991, and the Soviet Communist empire that ruled with an iron fist for almost 70 years ceased to exist.

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) A young pig has won a reprieve from the frying pan just as Iowa's popular bacon festival is about to begin.

Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad pardoned the 30-pound, 2 -month-old Berkshire pig named Bonnie on Friday morning.

The pardon took place outside the governor's mansion in Des Moines in a ceremony ahead of the Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival held Saturday at the Iowa State Fairgrounds.

More than 8,000 people are expected to eat more than 10,000 pounds of bacon at the festival. Tickets for this year's event sold out in just over three minutes.

Branstad says he's pardoned turkeys before, but never a pig. Bonnie was selected at random from a State Center farm affiliated with Eden Farms. An Eden Farms spokesman says Bonnie will become a farm pet.

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A group of blue collar University of Utah workers will split $1 million in lottery winnings thanks to a set of keys left in a truck and an ornery little dog named "Stella."

Thirteen years after playing the same set of numbers every month in the Idaho lottery, the group of 33 workers who work on heating and cooling university buildings hit pay dirt when Steve Hughes left his truck running to keep his dog "Stella" warm while he went inside to a gas station near Lava Hot Springs, Idaho, on Jan. 6. Utah has no lottery.

When he returned to his truck, his miniature pincher had locked him out by putting her paw on the manual lock. Hughes, 29, planned to buy the ticket elsewhere, but instead he had his girlfriend buy it there while he tried to pick the lock with a slim jim.

He eventually coached Stella to put her paws on the electronic window button in the back seat, allowing Hughes to get in the car.

What seemed like an annoying delay that day turned out to be serendipitous when the group discovered Wednesday night that they had won second prize in the Idaho Powerball. They announced the great news during a morning meeting Thursday morning at the HVAC shop at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Hughes thought it was a joke looking for the camera filming the prank.

"It was pretty exciting," said Richard Tison, 50, the supervisor.

About 25 members of the group made the 5.5-hour trip on a charter bus to Boise, Idaho on Friday to turn in their winning ticket and collect their checks. The rest had to stay behind to make sure the university's buildings were toasty on the cold winter day, Tison said.

It was a raucous ride on the bus, with the crew making it a "party bus" type atmosphere as they celebrated their good fortune. After collecting their money, the group planned to climb back on board the bus for the journey home though some suggested they might stop off at a watering hole in Boise to contemplate their winnings.

Tison and Hughes say they will each get about $20,000 after taxes, or as Hughes said, "A nice little bonus during the year."

Hughes plans to save half of his share and buy a four-wheeler. Many in the group plan to buy four-wheelers or drag cars, he said. Some are going to save or invest it.

"I'm going to pay off some bills and probably get me a boat," Tison said.

Hughes' dog, "Stella," didn't get to go on Friday's "party bus" but the lucky winners had previously made sure she was rewarded.

"She got a couple of big surprises when I got home," Hughes said. "She got 18-inch rawhide bones."

The group began buying the tickets in February 2001 with just three people. The pool grew to 33 people, but the philosophy of using the same numbers never changed.

Recently, some in the group suggested they change the numbers fed up with 13 years of futility. But Tison, one of the original three, insisted they stay the course. Hughes estimates that they've each put in $200 to $400 over the years, depending on how long they've been in the group.

Tison said they plan to keep playing the Idaho Powerball, taking turns making the monthly 1.5 hour drive to Millad, Idaho to pick up a ticket.

And yes, Tison says they'll keep playing the same numbers: 11-16-33-40-41.

"There is no need to change them," Tison said. "It worked once, why wouldn't it work again."

___

Associated Press writer John Miller in Boise, Idaho, contributed to this report.

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SEATTLE (AP) To Laura King, her three children were acting normal while enjoying dinner at an Italian restaurant in their hometown in Washington state.

But staffers of the restaurant Sogno di Vino in Poulsbo were so impressed with her children's table manners during their Feb. 1 dinner that they thanked her kids and gave the family of five a bowl of ice cream.

It wasn't until King got home that that she noticed a $4 "well behaved kids" discount on her receipt to cover the dessert. A friend posted a picture of the receipt on the website Reddit, and the story took off.

"The server said staff didn't even know there were kids at the table," said King, whose children are 2, 3, and 8 years old.

King said it's been entertaining to see all the attention her story has gotten, and she plans to dine at Sogno di Vino again soon.

Sogno di Vino owner Rob Scott said servers have the discretion to offer a discount to customers, adding that this wasn't the first time well-behaved kids have been rewarded. What was different this time was that one of the staffers wrote it out in the receipt.

"It was just an act of kindness," Scott said.

Scott said the restaurant was packed the night Laura's family came in, which can be challenging to families with small children. But he said he was impressed with the way the family was interacting with each other and that even the 2-year-old on a high chair seemed to be having a good time.

Rowdy children are an issue all restaurant customers have encountered at one point or another, Scott said.

"You can tell when a (family) had a rough ride to the restaurant," Scott said. "There tends to be sometimes activities where children get out of the chair or stand on chairs or get loud, as they get loud, it upsets other patrons, and they paid for a baby sitter."

Scott said he's been asked if he would charge more to customers who have unruly children. That's not something he does, he said.

"Everybody in my generation was raised to behave in restaurants," he said. "That parenting skills have been forgotten in some cases."

King said she has worked in the restaurant industry before and knows that families aren't the easiest customers to serve. She said that at the restaurant, her kids apply the table etiquette used at her dining table.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund star David Einhorn wants to force Apple Inc to share some of its huge cash reserves with investors, but his lawsuit rests on a U.S. securities rule that has little legal precedent.

Einhorn's Greenlight Capital sued the iPad and iPhone maker in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Thursday to try to prevent Apple from eliminating preferred stock from its charter. The suit is part of Einhorn's bid to pressure Apple to use some of its $137 billion in cash to issue perpetual preferred shares that pay dividends to existing shareholders.

The suit contends Apple violated Securities and Exchange Commission rules that prohibit companies from "bundling" unrelated matters into a single proposal for a shareholder vote.

Establishing that Apple violated the rules could be tricky. Little to no case law exists on the question and the SEC's own rule is relatively general with little guidance, legal experts said.

Still, James Cox, a professor at Duke University School of Law, thinks Einhorn "has a hell of good case."

"I think he's got Apple in the crosshairs," he added, saying that it "strikes me as a fairly dramatic case of bundling."

The hedge fund manager is seeking an injunction to block a February 27 shareholder vote on the proposal, saying Apple violated Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Arguments are to be heard before U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan on February 22. Apple has until February 15 to file a response with the court.

The proxy proposal at issue, Proposal No. 2, seeks to amend Apple's articles of incorporation in three ways: by providing for majority voting for directors, establishing a par value for Apple stock and eliminating its ability to issue preferred stock.

Einhorn is represented by law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Greenlight's long-time outside counsel. No lawyer for Apple is yet listed on the court docket and a representative declined to say who would represent Apple in the case.

On Friday, the California Public Employees Retirement System, the biggest U.S. public pension fund and owner of 2.7 million Apple shares, and influential proxy voting firm ISS Proxy Advisory Services both urged investors to vote in favor of the shareholder proposal in question.

"All shareholders should have a vote," Anne Simpson, CalPERS Senior Portfolio Manager and Director for Corporate Governance said on CNBC. "We don't want the board cutting a deal on the side with a hedge fund out of fear of a lawsuit that will cancel the annual meeting.

"This is a big issue that needs to be thought through carefully and we want the board to come to all shareholders and give a chance to have their voice heard.

ISS, which issues recommendations on how shareholders should vote on proxy proposals, generally believes the "bundling" of proposals was not in the best interest of shareholders, but supported the elimination of "blank check" preferred shares due to their potential to be misused as a takeover defense.

"Though many investors have viewed Apple's cash holdings as excessive and wanted to see more of it returned to shareholders, that view may not be universally held: other investors may prefer to see the cash (or at least a large portion of it) deployed for investments and acquisitions," it said in its Friday statement.

HOW WILL APPLE RESPOND?

It is unclear how Apple will respond in its formal reply to the lawsuits. On Thursday, Apple said Einhorn's lawsuit was misguided and that adoption of Proposal No. 2 would not preclude preferred share issuances in future.

"Currently, Apple's articles of incorporation provide for the issuance of 'blank check' preferred stock by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval," Apple said. "If Proposal #2 is adopted, our shareholders would have the right to approve the issuance of preferred stock."

Einhorn, a well-known short-seller and Apple gadget fan, said in an interview with CNBC the company harbored a "Depression-era" mentality that led it to hoard cash and invest only in the safest, lowest-yielding securities.

Apple nearly went broke in the 1990s before Steve Jobs returned and engineered a sensational turnaround, with products such as the iPhone and iPad that became must-haves for consumers around the world. The company's near-death experience has led Apple to be exceptionally conservative with its cash.

Greenlight in its complaint said it supports two of the proposals, but not getting rid of preferred stock. Einhorn deems preferred stock superior to dividends or share buybacks and has separately put forward a proposal for an issuance of Apple preferred stock with a perpetual 4 percent dividend.

But as Apple's proxy proposal is structured, Greenlight said, shareholders have "no choice but to either vote in favor of an amendment they oppose, or against an amendment they support."

Few lawsuits have ever been filed challenging proposals under the rules, a situation some legal experts attributed to the normally passive nature of shareholders.

"In most cases you're not going to get a lot of complaining about bundling," said Brian Slipakoff, special counsel at law firm Duane Morris in Philadelphia.

In one of the few related lawsuits, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in 1999 recognized an implied private right of action by shareholders suing over alleged anti-bundling rule violations.

That precedent could back Einhorn in his legal standing to bring the case. The appeals court ruling was cited by Greenlight in additional court papers filed late on Thursday.

Francis Vasquez, a lawyer with the law firm White & Case who is not involved in the case, said Apple might argue that because the stockholder proposals in Proposal 2 are all amendments to the charter, they are properly related.

The California company has another five proposals up for a vote, which are not being challenged by Einhorn and do not involve amending Apple's charter. Those measures focus on matters such as director elections and executive compensation.

"Apple's first argument likely is going to be, 'Look, these are all amendments we put in one place, they don't have to do with the other items,'" Vasquez said.

The anti-bundling rules date from 1992. John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Law School, said the idea was to "prevent managements from bribing shareholders with a sweetener into voting for a proposal they would otherwise reject."

The case is Greenlight Capital LP, et al., v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 13-900.

(Reporting By Nate Raymond in New York. Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Martha Graybow, Tiffany Wu, Tim Dobbyn and Todd Eastham)

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Friday afternoon in West Nyack, N.Y. (SA_Steve/Flickr)

As snow blankets the northeastern United States, snarls traffic and shoves residents indoors, Yahoo News readers are sharing their storm experiences. Here are dispatches, photos and videos they shared this morning. Interested in contributing? Learn more. (All times on posts are ET.)

6:58 p.m.

Visibility lower, snow heavier in southeast Connecticut

NORWICH, Conn. Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy issued a travel ban for state highways, but local roads are still accessible. Norwich City Manager Alan Bergren issued a state of emergency for the town as of 4 p.m.

An afternoon trip to our local Stop & Shop found shelves still full with no long lines. The store's cashiers said they will still be open until midnight tonight. Stop & Shop's gas station was closed. However, and it was unclear whether it was due to an outage of gas or the snow. Three other gas stations in the Norwich area were still open for business. Roads are still moderately clear with a few snow plows on the road, but it's become apparent that soon they won't be able to keep up with the heavy snowfall that we're currently experiencing. Visibility conditions have also decreased considerably from this morning's work commute.

Christa Leigh

5:32 p.m.

Blizzard knocking at the door

BUCKSPORT, Maine Snow began falling early morning in mid-coastal Maine. The temperatures were frigid outside and down to around 5 degrees. Winds were whipping, and the roads had just started to disappear with a blanket of about two inches of snow on the ground. Our town's road crew had its plows on and was already out clearing the roads locally. I am sure these few inches that had begun to fall were an instant reminder that the blizzard was just knocking at our door.

We left our house early, so we fared well at the gas pumps with only a few others taking their turn getting gas. We took our gas cans as we would need the gas for the generator if we have power outages. We got enough extra for our snow blower that undoubtedly will get a good work out. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home, so that I could get all the essentials we need, e.g., batteries, water, milk, eggs, coffee, oh-- and chocolate! The parking lot was full, and we barely had a place to park -- but I got in and out with no major issues with everything I needed to weather the storm.

Virginia Wright

Long Island resident Eric Holden shot this video on Friday afternoon. 4:53 p.m.

Fun, not fretting, in Maine's blizzard

READFIELD, Maine The day before a storm of any size, our area the grocery stores and gas stations get overrun with customers. Everyone trying to not only stock up on food and necessities for the possible three days of not wanting to be on the roads, but also collecting water, batteries and something for heat just in case we spend a week or so without power.

It is like a game to most of us. We all sit around trying to guess as to how many inches of snow we will end up getting and how many days we will go without power if at all. I personally love the feeling of being surrounded by snow and to be able to sit in my living room and just watch the beauty happen around me.

Oh, the work? You want to know about the work side of it? Well, with each storm, there does come a lot of responsibility, but, hey, we are Mainers. We can handle it. Have your shovels handy and your plow on and you will be fine. Make it fun. There is no need to be stressed out.

Angela Godbout

Roads in upstate New York on Friday. (Ismail Kakembo/Yahoo! Contributor Network) 4:40 p.m.

Bitten by Sandy, taking this storm seriously

STAMFORD, Conn. Storm-weary residents here, once bitten by Sandy, are preparing for the worst. Store shelves were empty and lines at gas stations resulted in wait times of as long as 30 minutes last night, as residents prepared to be trapped inside their homes. Water, road salt, and shovels were in short supply. Optimistically, plastic sleds were also sold out.

The snow fall is alternating between heavy and light. It seems to fall at inches per hour, only to change to very light flakes. It's a heavy, wet, sticky snow on the ground, making shoveling a back-breaker. There's no significant wind to speak of and, thus far, no significant damage, injuries, or power outages reported.

The blizzard will continue throughout the day and into Saturday, with the heaviest snowfall expect in the evening. Connecticut's Gov. Dan Malloy is declaring a state of emergency with road closures to begin at noon.

We have adequate supplies of staple foods, gas for the snow-blower, and flashlights and batteries. We checked our property for potential problems and found none (fortunately, no trees are within striking distance of our house). The storm is finding us well-prepared, well-stocked, and ready to spend a weekend indoors.

David J. Kozlowski

This video from J.D. Harvey's commute in central New Hampshire shows the hazardous road conditions.

3:24 p.m.

Tempers flares, shelves stripped in central Jersey as storm arrives

MONROE TOWNSHIP, N.J. Starting Thursday, residents here began stocking up on food, batteries, snow shovels, and gasoline. Those lucky enough to have generators don't want to risk running out of gas, which may be as hard to find after this storm as it was after "Superstorm" Sandy.

Thousands of flights have been canceled at Newark and other New York-area airports. The parking lot at the local Stop & Shop was jammed, as people stripped shelves of milk, bread, and bottled water. Tempers frayed and a horn-blowing contest erupted over a parking space-- if the participants had not been senior citizens, fisticuffs would probably have taken place instead.

As of noon, the temperature is hovering around 30 degrees with a steady rain. The rain is expected to change to snow later this afternoon, with an accumulation of six to 12 inches forecast for central Jersey by the time the storm moves out.

E. Burgin

Temperatures have plummeted in Freedom, Maine, on Friday. (Raiscara Avalon/Yahoo! Contributor Network) 2:19 p.m.

Near white-out conditions in central New Hampshire

TILTON, N.H. Weather conditions are worsening rapidly in central New Hampshire, with highway visibility and road navigation a major problem even in the early a.m. commute. Thick cloud cover at this time just added to the low visibility.

The right lane on RT 93 in New Hampshire is relatively clear, as you can see in the video, but passing cars in the left lane make visibility close to zero. I commuted from Tilton to Plymouth, N.H., at 8 a.m., about 30 miles and although the RT 93 was not slick or slippery, drivers who chose to drive below 50 MPH seemed to compound the problem as other vehicles stacked up behind them, and ultimately passed them, creating a potential sliding and collision hazard.

The snow spray from the passing vehicles produced complete white-out conditions for the remaining vehicles when cars and trucks passed us.

Franconia Notch is a total white-out driving situation, as one Thornton driver reported after he turned back from his commute and returned home.

Expect back roads to be even worse than RT 93. Though the plows are out in full force, they cannot keep up with the high rate of snow falling at this time. State troopers can be seen parked along RT 93 and are closely monitoring the situation.

Main streets are already sloppy, and I was sliding down hilly side roads, or unable to drive up steep roads. I saw no accidents during this early morning commute, but I am sure that has changed by the time this is published. It was a very tense drive.

Staying at home is strongly suggested if at all possible.

J.D. Harvey

Emptying shelves in a supermarket. (AndrewDallow/Flickr)

2:04 p.m.

The Blizzard of 2013, aka the Great Raid on Dunkin Donuts

TORRINGTON, Conn. I took the day off, as the predicted historic snowstorm approached in Connecticut. I decided to venture out this morning for some breakfast while the roads were still passable. My wife asked me to pick up some donuts while I was out, so I proceeded to the local grocery store where there is a Dunkin' Donuts.

To my dismay there wasn't a donut left on the shelf.

I figured I had to go to the main store where I was sure there would be some since it was only 10 a.m.

As I pulled up to the main Dunkin' Donuts store, I could see through the window that it was going to be slim pickings.

Nothing. Dunkin' Donuts does not have donuts!

I asked the girl behind the counter why a donut shop doesn't have donuts at 10 a.m. She told me that people were coming in and buying dozens of donuts at a time. Dozens of donuts? Is this some kind of an emergency staple I don't know about?

Richard Farr

Snow dusts the streets in Bucksport, Maine, early Friday morning. (Matthew Johnson/Yahoo! Contributor Network) 1:18 p.m.

Already drawing comparisons to 1978

NEWPORT, R.I. Here on the coast, we're preparing for what has the potential to be a storm as severe of the great blizzard of 1978. Almost 35 years ago to the day, that storm left massive amounts of snow on the entire northeastern United States.

Grocery stores and supermarkets were bombarded overnight with people preparing for a long freeze-out this weekend. Lines are winding around gas stations here as the storm approaches. A state of emergency was put in to place at noon, so it would be best to stay off the roads unless there is an emergency.

The state was prepared for this since last night. Classes were canceled at high schools across the state. All RIPTA buses, including the non-medical ride program, were canceled at noon on Friday in anticipation of the coming storm. People who require public transportation can follow them on Facebook and Twitter at @RIPTA_RI to stay up-to-date with when service will be restored. Residents can sign up for news updates, which will update them of service changes.

Eric Jonathan Martin

1:02 p.m.

Storm increasing pace in southern Maine

BUCKSPORT, Maine Somewhere around 7 a.m., it started to flurry fairly hard, and the storm steadily increased its pace. There is already a few inches of snow as of now (1 p.m.), and this is not even the actual storm. That is supposed to hit sometime early this evening and continue into tomorrow.

There s a 19-car pile-up on I-295 in southern Maine, and there have been a number of sirens heard locally in town. If you don't need to go out, I would suggest not, and if you must, please take it slow and do it soon. From what we are being told, the worst is yet to come.

Matthew Johnson

10:58 a.m.

The flakes are starting to appear in Rhode Island

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. The sky looks grey and menacing. I went to the supermarket Thursday morning (along with at least 100 other people who seemed to have the same idea) and made sure I had enough food. The woman in the checkout line before me said the parking lot was in chaos and everybody was acting like the end of the world was coming. I thought it was very funny, and also very accurate. Now I am warm and safe indoors, and there is nothing to do except wait.

There is a feeling of impending doom and my joints ache. I'm not looking forward to this, but I'm as prepared as I can get. I don't drive due to a medical condition, and ironically I have often found that it is actually faster for me to walk right after a snowstorm, since I can be downtown in 15 minutes.

That advantage goes away after the first day or so because they don't pay much attention to the pedestrians and the priority, understandably, goes to the motorists. People like me are having to deal with ice, slush, and all kinds of yuck. The plows have to dump the snow somewhere, though, and it is usually right where I need to walk. So I have to either find a way around it, or climb over a slippery hill and hope that I don't fall on my behind, or worse, fall and land in the road in front of a car.

I'm also hoping the power won't go off. Or if it does, that it will only be off for a little while. The heat in this apartment is electric, and it will get really cold in here really fast.

Melanie Gibson

The first of the snowfall in central Connecticut. (Christa Leigh/Yahoo! Contributor Network)

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hedge fund star David Einhorn wants to force Apple Inc to share some of its huge cash pile with investors, but his lawsuit rests on a U.S. securities rule that has little court precedent surrounding it.

Einhorn's Greenlight Capital sued the iPad and iPhone maker in U.S. District Court in Manhattan on Thursday to try to prevent Apple from eliminating preferred stock from its charter. The suit is part of Einhorn's bid to pressure Apple to use some of its $137 billion in cash to issue perpetual preferred shares that pay dividends to existing shareholders.

The suit contends that Apple has violated Securities and Exchange Commission rules that prohibit companies from "bundling" together unrelated matters into a single proposal for a shareholder vote.

Establishing that Apple violated the rules could be tricky. Little to no case law exists on the question, and the SEC's own rule is relatively general with little guidance, legal experts said.

Still, James Cox, a professor at Duke University School of Law, said he thinks Einhorn "has a hell of good case."

"I think he's got Apple in the crosshairs," he added, saying that it "strikes me as fairly dramatic case of bundling."

The hedge fund manager is seeking an injunction to block a February 27 shareholder vote on the proposal, saying Apple violated Section 14 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Arguments are due to be heard before U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan on February 22. Apple has until February 15 to file a response with the court to the Greenlight complaint.

The proxy proposal at issue, Proposal No. 2, seeks to amend Apple's articles of incorporation in three ways: by providing for majority voting for directors, establishing a par value for Apple stock, and eliminating its ability to issue preferred stock.

Einhorn is represented by law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Greenlight's long-time outside counsel. No lawyer for Apple is yet listed on the court docket, and a representative declined to say who would represent Apple in the case.

It is unclear how Apple will respond in its formal reply to the lawsuits. On Thursday, Apple said Einhorn's lawsuit was "misguided" and that adoption of Proposal No. 2 would not preclude preferred share issuances in future.

"Currently, Apple's articles of incorporation provide for the issuance of 'blank check' preferred stock by the Board of Directors without shareholder approval," Apple said. "If Proposal #2 is adopted, our shareholders would have the right to approve the issuance of preferred stock."

Greenlight in its complaint said it supports two of the proposals but not getting rid of preferred stock. Einhorn deems preferred stock superior to dividends or share buybacks, and has separately put forward a proposal for an issuance of Apple preferred stock with a perpetual 4 percent dividend.

But as Apple's proxy proposal is structured, Greenlight said, shareholders have "no choice but to either vote in favor of an amendment they oppose, or against an amendment they support."

Few lawsuits have ever been filed challenging proposals under the rules, a situation some legal experts attributed to the normally passive nature of shareholders.

"In most cases you're not going to get a lot of complaining about bundling," said Brian Slipakoff, special counsel at law firm Duane Morris in Philadelphia.

In one of the few related lawsuits, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York in 1999 recognized an implied private right of action by shareholders suing over alleged antibundling rule violations.

That precedent could back Einhorn in his legal standing to bring the case. The appeals court ruling was cited by Greenlight in additional court papers filed late on Thursday.

Francis Vasquez, a lawyer with the law firm White & Case who is not involved in the case, said Apple may argue that because the stockholder proposals in Proposal 2 are all amendments to the charter, they are properly related.

The California company has another five proposals up for a vote, which are not being challenged by Einhorn and do not involve amending Apple's charter. Those measures focus on matters such as director elections and executive compensation.

"Apple's first argument likely is going to be, 'Look, these are all amendments we put in one place, they don't have to do with the other items,'" Vasquez said.

The antibundling rules date to 1992. John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Law School, said the idea was to "prevent managements from bribing shareholders with a sweetener into voting for a proposal they would otherwise reject."

The case is Greenlight Capital LP, et al., v. Apple Inc., U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 13-900.

(Reporting By Nate Raymond in New York; Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Martha Graybow, Tiffany Wu and Tim Dobbyn)

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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) Last year, Whitney Houston died hours before Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy gala. This year, the music executive says she'll be remembered.

"In saying I'm proud of her legacy, I'm going to make sure that she's felt somehow during that night, yes," the 80-year-old said in an interview Thursday.

Davis' gala will take place Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton, where Houston died on Feb. 11, 2012, at age 48.

The annual event is where Davis introduced a young Houston to the music world more than two decades ago. Davis Houston's mentor, producer, champion and longtime friend memorialized her at last year's gala, held downstairs from the hotel where she died.

"Whitney and I had great times at this party over the years," he said, smiling. "I'd played her new songs and she'd come over in her pajamas and be listening late at night ... so it is bittersweet. Tragedy is still foul."

Houston was found drowned in a bathtub. Coroner's officials ruled her death accidental, with heart disease and cocaine use contributing factors.

The night continued last year after Houston's death and the music will live on this year.

R&B singer Miguel, who's up for five awards at Sunday's Grammys including song of the year for "Adorn" will hit the stage. He rehearsed some of the song happily Thursday.

"I've dreamt about coming to this party," the singer said. "It's a huge honor to be included and perform."

Davis, per usual, was tight-lipped about the other performers.

"You should expect being blown away by the diversity of the music, by the vitality of the music, by the range of music today," Davis said.

Last year's performers included Elvis Costello, Ray Davies, Alicia Keys, Jessie J and others.

R&B singers Brandy and Monica, mentees of Houston, were supposed to perform their new duet at that time, but were emotional due to Houston's death.

Emotional Houston moments will be captured in an hour-long CBS special titled "The Grammys Will Go On: A Death in the Family." It's a behind-the-scenes look at how Houston's death affected last year's Grammy Awards and will air the same night as Davis' gala. It includes interviews with Jennifer Hudson, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and other artists.

The Beverly Hilton Hotel said in a statement that the room where Houston died has not been used.

"Out of respect to the family and fans of Whitney, the guest room where she stayed was immediately taken out of inventory and all contents were removed," the statement read. "Hotel management is considering options to repurpose the space but has made no final decisions at this time."

Saturday's event will honor Epic Records chairman and CEO Antonio L.A. Reid.

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Follow Mesfin Fekadu at http://www.twitter.com/MusicMesfin

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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) Music teachers are now eligible for a Grammy honor of their own.

Recording Academy president Neil Portnow says the group has established a music educator award that will be presented for the first time next year.

Portnow announced the new award Thursday at the Grammy Foundation's 15th annual Music Preservation Project event at the Saban Theatre.

"We're dedicated to preserving the great music of the past, present and future," he said. "Music education is perhaps the most vital part of the Grammy Foundation's mission."

Kindergarten through college teachers are eligible for the new annual award, which will be presented at a special ceremony the day before the Grammy Awards. Students and colleagues can nominate candidates online.

Thursday's event, dubbed "Play it Forward," featured performances by Dionne Warwick, LeAnn Rimes, Emmylou Harris, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Yolanda Adams and Lupe Fiasco, who is up for best rap album at this year's Grammys.

Adams, who performed two rousing songs backed by a gospel choir, thanked the Grammy Foundation "for preserving the authenticity of all music."

She cited Warwick and Aretha Franklin among her music heroes.

Other artists shared their musical inspirations in video clips that punctuated the program. Ike Turner cited Pine Top Perkins, Quincy Jones named Billy Carter and Isaac Hayes recalled Minnie Pearl. Buddy Holly inspired Waylon Jennings and Bootsy Collins was moved by the guitar work of Lonnie Mack.

The 55th annual Grammy Awards will be presented Sunday at Staples Center and broadcast live on CBS.

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AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen is on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy .

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Online:

http://www.grammyintheschools.com/

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