NEWSMAKERS

July 15, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Piers Morgan likely successor to King

NEW YORK

“America’s Got Talent” judge Piers Morgan appears to be the front-runner to claim the CNN talk show long hosted by Larry King, and he has won permission from NBC, which airs the hit talent contest, to pursue the CNN job.

Appearing Wednesday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” NBC Universal Chief Executive Jeff Zucker noted that Morgan is contractually bound to continue on “AGT” for three more years. “Having said that, I can also tell you that he has approached us about asking us to do another job as well,” said Zucker, without naming CNN or its talk show soon to be vacated by King.

Prosecution rests in Stamos trial

MARQUETTE, Mich.

Federal prosecutors rested their case Wednesday in the trial of two people accused of plotting to extort $680,000 from actor John Stamos after investigators explained how they arrested the pair and found no unflattering photos during a search of a house.Police officers and FBI agents denied anything was destroyed during the search, a recurring theme by lawyers for Allison Coss, 24, and Scott Sippola, 31.

The two are accused of threatening Stamos through e-mail that he give them money or they would peddle 6-year-old photos of him with strippers and cocaine to magazines. The defense says it’s not a crime to make a business deal. Prosecutors, however, say it was a ruse and the photos didn’t exist.

The 46-year-old “Full House” and “ER” star who is preparing to join the Fox show “Glee” watched the trial from the front row, a day after telling jurors how he met Coss in Orlando, Fla., in 2004 while separated from wife, supermodel Rebecca Romijn.

Stamos denied defense lawyer Sarah Henderson’s accusation that he stripped and sat in a hot tub with Coss, who Henderson said was 17 at the time and wearing only underclothes.

Superman to journey across the country

PHILADELPHIA

One of America’s most enduring superheroes has begun a cross-country trek in Philadelphia.

In the pages of DC Comics’ latest issue of Superman, which hit stands Wednesday, the Man of Steel embarks on a yearlong journey on foot from the City of Brotherly Love.

For all his powers, though, he still needs a lesson in geography. The 500 block of South 48th Street is described as the city’s “South Side.” It’s actually the University City section of west Philadelphia.

The flub has generated some good-natured ribbing from locals, and DC co-publisher Dan DiDio says that’s OK. It means people are reading the comic and there’s a sense of area pride.

Superman travels to Detroit for the second installment of the 12-issue “Grounded” series.

Bono recovers from back surgery

DUBLIN

Bono’s back. The 50-year-old frontman for Dublin supergroup U2 has announced he’s fully recovered from emergency back surgery in Munich in May — and has apologized to ticket-holding North American fans who must wait an extra year to see the band return to action.

In a laid-back hand-held video posted Wednesday on U2’s Web site, drummer Larry Mullen Jr., bassist Adam Clayton and guitarist The Edge playfully suggest they’ve been auditioning new singers — but can’t quite replace the middle-aged lad who’s been the face of U2 since 1976.

The camera then pans to Bono in rose-tinted lenses.

“I can sit. I can stand. I can move around a bit. Feeling strong, feeling confident. And I’m ready — rebuilt by German engineering, better design I’m told — and I’m going to be fighting fit next summer in the U.S.,” he says.

U2’s next scheduled performance is Aug. 6 in Turin, Italy.

Restored Da Vinci reveals details

LONDON

A restoration project for Leonardo da Vinci’s “Virgin of the Rocks” has revealed new details and suggest the Renaissance artist may have painted the entire picture himself, instead of with his assistants as previously thought, a British gallery said Wednesday.

The 18-month conservation project involved removing much of some badly degraded varnish applied in the late 1940s, enabling experts to take a closer look at brush strokes and styles, the National Gallery said.

The cleaning revealed the painting’s full tonal range and also affirmed that Leonardo likely painted the entire picture himself and intended for it to be unfinished.

The Italian artist, said to be the “eternal perfectionist,” is thought to have left his pictures unfinished because he wished to return to them later, gallery spokesman Thomas Almeroth-Williams said.

Associated Press