For the record, Darius Rucker does not recommend acai berries.

The lead singer of Hootie and the Blowfish was recently featured in a series of Web ads in which a woman claimed to have lost weight by eating the berries at his recommendation. Before and after photos allegedly showed her weight loss.

Gus Gusler, a Raleigh attorney who represents Rucker, tracked down the advertisers and e-mailed them a cease-and-desist letter. The ads were taken down within 15 minutes.

"Darius has never used it. He knew nothing about it. He didn't know the girl in the picture," Gusler said. "But they were trying to use his name."

Because the ad was online, Gusler was able to cite other state laws prohibiting the use of a person's image without their consent to sell a product, but North Carolina does not have a so-called "right of publicity."

Two bills filed in recent weeks would create such a law. Nineteen other states, including California, Florida and New York, have an existing law, while 11 states recognize the right under common law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

One of John Edwards' longtime friends says he didn't drop out because of money.

Richard "Gus" Gusler served on Edwards' fundraising committee. He said that the campaign had raised almost $4 million since Jan. 1—money that would effectively be doubled because of his participation in the federal public financing program.

He argued that would have been more than enough for Edwards to continue running past Super Tuesday and on to the convention. Since many of the donors were first-time contributors giving $50 to $100, he said that more could have been raised as well.

"I really don’t think at this point money was the issue," he said.

Gusler, 59, works as an entertainment attorney in Raleigh, representing Hootie and the Blowfish and other bands. He has known Edwards since 1981 and volunteered for his campaign since 2002.

He said he was "awfully proud" of Edwards for raising issues such as poverty, paying for college and the environment.

"John drove the policy debate," he said.