Jet: PEOPLE Are Talking About … - A Detroit church has been receiving some of its donations in

* How hours after Detroit's first casino opened just steps from the Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, gambling chips began clattering in the collection plate. The Rev. Russell Kohler wouldn't say how big the jackpot is, but he said that he planned to cash the chips in and use the money to help the poor. "Let's just call it a pile. Bring them over any time," he said. The exchange is legal, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board. It's done in other places like Las Vegas where cab drivers accept chips as tips.

* Four men who burned a cross in a Black family's yard in Edwardsville, IL, who have been ordered to take racial sensitivity training that will include watching films like Schindler's List and Amistad. As a part of their sentence, they must also participate in a special college program on cultural and social diversity, write letters of apology to the family, pay $500 each into an educational trust fund for the couple's daughter, attend counseling and perform 100 hours of public service at an annual summer festival.

* Actor-comedian Eddie Murphy severing his longtime production partnership with his cousin, Ray Murphy Jr., and closing his New York-based production company, Eddie Murphy Productions, the New York Daily News reported. "Eddie is going to concentrate on acting," Ray, who served as vice president for Eddie's company and worked on seven of his movies, reportedly told the newspaper.

* A study recently reported by the American Sociological Association in Chicago which found that those who attend religious services live longer than those who do not. The study found that people who attend religious services at least once a month live significantly longer than those who do not. Reportedly, a reason for this is that churchgoers and those who attend temples take better care of their bodies. It also was suggested that churchgoers were more likely to be nonsmokers, physically active and at the right weight.

* What former football star Lawrence Taylor said while being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "Anyone can quit," said Taylor, who despite drugs, money and family problems became one of the greatest defensive players in history. "A Hall of Famer doesn't quit. A Hall of Famer realizes the crime is not being knocked down. The crime is not getting up again."

* Celebrating birthdays this week are actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, 29, on August 18; NBC weatherman Al Roker, 45, and legendary soul performer Isaac Hayes, 57, both on August 20; and former basketball great Wilt Chamberlain, 63, and veteran filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, 67, both on August 21.