Names, faces

MANVEL, Texas (AP) -- Baking in near 100-degree temperatures, reigning Miss America Heather French destroyed a myth: ''Miss America does not glisten, she just sweats,'' she said.

''That's all there is to it,'' French said Friday while she endured about an hour in the Texas heat to leave her handprints in fresh concrete at a new home built through a national program to help struggling veterans.

More than 10 more homes are to be awarded over the next two years by the program led by the federal Department of Veterans Affairs and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans among others.

French, 25, credited her father, a Marine wounded in Vietnam, for kindling her interest in veterans issues.

Perez refuses to visit mom, who has AIDS

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rosie Perez, an outspoken AIDS activist, has refused to visit her estranged mother who is dying of the disease, according to a published report.

The Daily News reported Friday that Lydia Perez has suffered from AIDS for six years and is now near death.

The newspaper quoted an unidentified nurse as saying the actress last visited her mother on New Year's Day, and quoted Lydia Perez as saying her famous daughter's last visit before that was ''a couple of years ago.''

In a statement Friday, Rosie Perez responded: ''While it is accurate to say she is not the woman who raised me and we are somewhat estranged, I have always wished for her the best of health and continue to offer my support in that regard.

''As a strong AIDS activist, I have pleaded with my mother to accept my assistance through whatever connections I may have within the AIDS community; she has refused it,'' the actress said.