Senior's photo deemed too sexy for yearbook

A high school senior's racy picture is causing controversy after the yearbook staff refused to publish it, calling the picture inappropriate.

The photo shows 18-year-old Sydney Spies in a short skirt and revealing top. She had it taken by a professional photographer in her hometown of Durango, Colorado, and submitted it to the yearbook with her mother's approval.

"She tells me that she has grown tired of seeing all the boring pictures submitted, and she wanted to do something different," said Sydney's mother, Miki Spies.

Seniors at Durango High School can submit their own photos to the yearbook. They often choose pictures that reflect their interests, like sports or music.

A committee of five students determines whether the photos are acceptable. They rejected Spies' photo, calling it inappropriate. A second photo, showing her in a short dress against a brick wall, was also rejected.

"There's something wrong when people can't express themselves in their own yearbook," Miki Spies said.

The Durango School District says it wasn't part of the process, but it supports the decision of the yearbook committee.

According to spokeswoman Marty Kay Hutton, "The student editors of Durango High School's yearbook informed a senior student in December that her photo in question would not be included as a senior portrait in the yearbook and asked her to submit a replacement. Durango School District administration supports this decision."

Miki Spies says her daughter should be able to express herself, just like any other student.

"There are no standards that are required for yearbook photos. She's into the arts outside of school," Miki Spies said.

The photos have outraged many as the story has spread. On a Facebook page set up by the family, some of the comments are extremely negative:

"Too sexy for a young woman. Think of how you will be remembered for the rest of your life, in the eyes of your classmates."

"You are gross and your parents are losers like you are."

"Tramp."

Miki Spies says that she is surprised by the comments but that they have strengthened her resolve to fight for her daughter. She's not sure what they will do next but says she has contacted the ACLU for help.

"I'm a fighter for the underdog, and I hate the abuse of authority," she said. "I'm surprised more Americans aren't on the side of freedom of expression anymore."

Stolen impressionist art returned after 3 decades

Washington (CNN) - More than 30 years after it was stolen from a French museum, an impressionist painting is on its way home.

Camille Pissarro's "Le Marche aux Poissons" ("The Fish Market" in English) was handed over to the French ambassador by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday.

"I love days like this because they are all about the triumph of right over wrong," said ICE Director John Morton before signing the document to return the art.

The roughly greeting-card-size work was stolen from the Faure Museum in Aix-les-Bains in southeastern France in 1981. A museum guard told authorities she saw a man walk out with the work hidden under his jacket.

The piece is a color monotype, a one-of-a-kind print made by painting on glass and then transferring the wet paint to a piece of paper.

Pissarro painted 24 monotypes and only 12 of them were colored, according to the French ambassador, Francois Delattre. "Today is a great day" he said. "This thriller has a happy ending"

This Pissarro was sold to a gallery in San Antonio, Texas, in 1985, where it was bought by a gallery employee, according to ICE investigators. In 2003, they said, she tried to sell it at a New York auction house, where it was expected to bring $60,000 to $80,000.

It was recognized as stolen art and, after years of legal battling, was forfeited to ICE in November of 2011.

Wednesday's return was staged in a hall of a Washington museum filled with other French impressionist works, including some by artists who were inspired by Pissarro.

"'Le Marche aux Poissons' will once again be seen by the public," Delattre said. He called its return "a gift to all future visitors."

The customs bureau said that since 2007 it has returned more than 2,500 items to more than 22 countries.

The man who authorities think walked out of the French museum with the Pissarro has never been prosecuted for the theft.