Senatorial bid considered

Dana Point, Calif. — Nicole Brown Simpson’s older sister, Denise Brown, is considering running for U.S. Senate from California the next time there’s an open seat.

“I want to run for Senate,” Brown said Monday. “I think I can get the word out there. I think I can help a lot of issues get solved.”

Brown, 45, has never run for office but said she developed an interest in national politics while lobbying in Washington for victims’ rights after her sister’s 1994 death and the O.J. Simpson murder trial.

Simpson was acquitted of murder charges in the slayings of his ex-wife and her friend, Ronald Goldman, but a civil jury later held him liable and ordered him to pay the victims’ survivors $33.5 million.

Fuhrman sued for slander

Spokane, Wash. — Radio host and true-crime author Mark Fuhrman is being sued by a man incorrectly identified on the air as the attacker in a Liberty Lake beating incident.

The victim, Michael Mullin, initially identified Zachary B. Field as possibly being responsible for the attack. But Spokane County sheriff’s detectives never released Field’s name and later arrested other teens in the crime.

Field was nowhere near where the beating occurred and had an alibi from the start, detectives said.

Caught lying during the O.J. Simpson murder trial about his use of racial slurs and forced to retire, Fuhrman, who had been a Los Angeles police detective, relocated to northern Idaho.

Uptown Girl uptight about Joel

Sag Harbor, N.Y. — Christie Brinkley says she is documenting ex-husband Billy Joel’s “pattern” of car accidents because she fears for the well-being of their daughter.

The one-time supermodel, who is raising 17-year-old Alexa Ray, was seen outside the Sag Harbor, N.Y., firehouse Sunday taking pictures of a car Joel damaged in an accident Saturday night.

“The seat Alexa was sitting in only hours before this latest crash was completely destroyed,” Brinkley said in a statement issued by her publicist.

“I’m worried about Billy, but like any mother would be, I am alarmed and concerned about my child’s safety by this frightening pattern of accidents.”

Saturday’s accident was the second one-car wreck in less than a year for Joel.

Marine can chase his dream

Los Angeles — Atten-shun! The Marine Corps has denied that it kept Lance Cpl. Joshua Gracin from being sent to the Middle East so he could sing on the hit Fox reality show “American Idol.”

Gracin wowed the judges on last Wednesday’s episode with a crisp salute and a strong voice. He is set to appear on tonight’s episode, during which the 32 semifinalists will be chosen.

In a statement, the Marine Corps said Gracin’s unit was scheduled to remain at Camp Pendleton, near San Diego.

Still, his superiors said, there’s nothing more American than chasing a dream. “The Marine Corps sees the recruiting value of Gracin’s appearance before a national audience, appreciates the level of talent the Marine possesses, and recognizes the benefits of allowing him to continue competing on the program,” the brass at Camp Pendleton said in a statement.