Nixon Not at a Loss When It Comes to Embassy Piano

“I’ve won and lost a few myself,” former President Richard M. Nixon told 100 guests at a reception at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Moscow. “But I like winning better.” Nixon, who is in Moscow for a private, six-day visit as a guest of Soviet official Anatoly Dobrynin, was on hand at a party given by U.S. Ambassador Arthur Hartman for participating athletes in the Goodwill Games, co-sponsored by the Turner Broadcasting System and the Soviet Union. Nixon, who is staying in a Soviet government guest house in Lenin Hills, said: “The participants in the Goodwill Games are serving the cause that helps create a foundation for that understanding and respect that is essential between nations.” Van Cliburn played “The Star-Spangled Banner” during Nixon’s last trip to Moscow in 1974. While admitting that he “didn’t know how he could top Van Cliburn,” Nixon sat down at the piano and played “God Bless America.”

--Politics may again figure in the life of former South Carolina Rep. John Jenrette, who has served a prison term for taking a $50,000 bribe in the Abscam scandal. Polls show Jenrette would have good support if he decided to run for office again. “I miss politics but I have a lot of proving to do to the people that I’m worthy of their support,” Jenrette, a Democrat, said after being released from the federal Alston Wilkes halfway house in Florence, S.C.

--”I’m sure when I go to court everything will be all right, and hopefully I’ll get off,” British pop singer Boy George was quoted as saying in an interview with the News of the World, a London newspaper. The 25-year-old entertainer, who propelled the “gender-bender” trend in pop music, was arrested and charged with heroin possession. He faces a July 29 hearing in London. “There’s no proof that I was in possession (of heroin) when I was arrested,” he was quoted as saying after his release.

--The cheers in Watertown, N.Y., were mostly for Dawan McPeak, 24, the new Miss New York. But the newly crowned title-holder is used to cheers. The former cheerleader for the Dallas Cowboys, a flight attendant for Delta Airlines, will receive a $2,000 scholarship.