Publicist: Skater Hamilton has brain tumor, biopsy

Publicist: Skater Hamiltonhas brain tumor, biopsy
LOS ANGELES -- World champion figure skater Scott Hamilton was diagnosed Thursday with a benign brain tumor, his publicist said. Hamilton, 46, underwent a biopsy at The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, and doctors expected to release him from the hospital by today.
Hamilton has a slow-growing, noncancerous tumor in the region of the pituitary gland, said Dr. Gene Barnett, chairman of the clinic's brain tumor institute. Hamilton's publicist, Michael Sterling, said the skater has had vision problems in recent weeks.
"We will be working with him on a treatment plan moving forward," Barnett said.
Hamilton was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1997 and treated with surgery and chemotherapy.
Hamilton, who lives in Los Angeles, is a four-time U.S. national champion, a four-time world champion and the 1984 Olympic gold medalist. He is now a skating show producer.
Cosby: I'm standing bycontroversial comments
NEW YORK -- Bill Cosby says the opinions he's expressed in his controversial prodding of fellow blacks are consistent with what he's done as an entertainer for more than 40 years.
In several forums this year, the 67-year-old Cosby has criticized some black children for not knowing how to read or write, said some had squandered opportunities the civil-rights movement gave them and unfairly blame whites for problems such as teen pregnancy and high dropout rates.
"I didn't take this as a job," Cosby told CNN's Paula Zahn. "I took this as an emotion. No, and I'm not stopping, either."
As a young comic in the 1960s, Cosby said he didn't want to be like other black comedians and talk about race issues.
"I don't play that," he said. "You're not going to laugh at the color of my skin. You're going to laugh with me at our similarities, and some of our differences. But I'm not going to have you, because this is not the time in this United States of America, where you're going to laugh at what my people are suffering with."
In the 1980s, "The Cosby Show" came out of seeing so many sitcoms with children smarter than their parents. It seemed many comedy writers had bad relationships with their parents and were trying to retaliate, he said. He wanted to depict parents as strong role models.
Even the cartoon characters in "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" were designed as misfits who made something of themselves, he said.
Cosby said the poet Maya Angelou told him, "You know, Bill, you're a very nice man, but you have a big mouth." He said he doesn't mind that role as long as he makes people think.
And of his critics, Cosby said: "Let them stay mad."
Winslet tops fans' listto step in as Bridget
LONDON -- If Renee Zellweger has grown tired of playing Bridget Jones, British fans would like to see an English star in the role.
Kate Winslet, 29, was the most popular choice to replace Zellweger if she turned down a part in a third installment, according to a fan vote published Thursday.
"Fight Club" actress Helena Bonham Carter was among other British actresses getting votes.
Zellweger, 35, played the role of the chubby, chain-smoking, chardonnay-swilling British TV journalist in the 2001 film "Bridget Jones's Diary" and its sequel, "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason," which had its red-carpet premiere in London this week.
"Titanic" star Winslet took 41 percent of the vote in a survey by Sky Movies, a pay TV channel. Reese Witherspoon, 28, was the second most popular choice in the vote by 3,476 viewers, followed by "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston.
Producers haven't said whether they plan a third film.
The "Bridget Jones" movies are based on two novels by Helen Fielding. Asked at this week's premiere if she would take on the role a third time, Zellweger said: "You tell me if Helen Fielding writes another book. People have responded to Bridget with a lot of affection."
Today's birthdays
R & amp;B singer Ruby Nash Curtis (Ruby and the Romantics) is 65. Actor-playwright Wallace Shawn is 61. Singer Brian Hyland is 61. R & amp;B singer Jimmy Hayes (Persuasions) is 61. Rock musician Booker T. Jones (Booker T. & amp; the MGs) is 60. Singer-songwriter Neil Young is 59. Rock musician Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (Blue Oyster Cult) is 57. Country singer Barbara Fairchild is 54. Actress Megan Mullally is 46. Olympic gold medal gymnast Nadia Comaneci is 43. Rock musician David Ellefson is 40. Figure skater Tonya Harding is 34. Actress Tamala Jones is 30. Actress Angela Watson is 30. Singer Tevin Campbell is 28. Actress Ashley Williams is 26. Actor Ryan Gosling is 24. Actress Anne Hathaway is 22. Pop singer Omarion is 19. Actress Macey Cruthird ("Hope and Faith") is 12.