NEWSMAKERS | Scott Pelley named Couric replacement
NEWSMAKERS
Scott Pelley named Couric replacement
NEW YORK
CBS says Scott Pelley will take over as its evening news anchor, starting June 6. The network on Tuesday announced the expected selection of Pelley, the veteran “60 Minutes” reporter, to replace Katie Couric on the “CBS Evening News.” Couric is pursuing a syndicated talk show but hasn’t said where she will be working next. The date for her final CBS broadcast has not been set.
Pelley is a Texas native who has worked at CBS for two decades. He will inherit a broadcast that is in last place in the ratings behind NBC and ABC, and has been for some time. CBS said Pelley will continue to do stories for “60 Minutes.”
Comedian Andy Dick arrested at restaurant
TEMECULA, Calif.
Authorities say comedian Andy Dick has been arrested in Southern California for being drunk and disorderly in public. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department website says the 45-year-old comic actor was arrested Monday night at a Temecula restaurant and booked for investigation of disorderly conduct involving drugs with alcohol. He was released after posting $500 bail.
Dick has a history of arrests. In 2008, he pleaded guilty and received probation after being found drunk outside a Riverside County restaurant. Last year, he was charged with sexual abuse over allegations that he groped a bouncer at a West Virginia bar.
Galifianakis, Bieber win Webby Awards
NEW YORK
Zach Galifianakis leads the 15th annual Webby Awards with four awards for his “Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis” Web series.
Galifianakis’ irreverent interview show won best Web personality, best comedy short and best online variety show as chosen by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The actor also won best online variety show in the voter-chosen People’s Voice category.
Lisa Kudrow won two awards for her “Web Therapy” series. Arcade Fire’s innovative “The Wilderness Downtown” music video also won two awards.
Justin Bieber took the People’s Voice award for best comedy video for his April Fool’s takeover of FunnyOrDie.com as “Bieber or Die.”
Freedom Riders on ‘Oprah’ show
CHICAGO
Oprah Winfrey is marking the 50th anniversary of the first Freedom Ride.
Harpo Productions says 178 former Freedom Riders will be on today’s episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in one of the largest gatherings of Freedom Riders since 1961. The riders peacefully opposed 1960s racial segregation of the South. The episode is to be among Winfrey’s last. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” ends May 25 after 25 years.
Court rejects Spector appeal
LOS ANGELES
A California appeals court rejected music producer Phil Spector’s bid to overturn his murder conviction Monday, saying it was permissible for prosecutors to call a parade of women who said Spector had threatened them with guns in the past.
A three-member panel of the state 2nd District Court of Appeal affirmed Spector’s conviction in a strongly worded, 81-page decision rejecting a number of claims made by defense attorney Dennis Riordan.
The judges also dismissed the contention that actress Lana Clarkson was despondent and might have killed herself with a gun at Spector’s home.
Flavor Flav arrested
LAS VEGAS
Police in Las Vegas say rapper and reality television star Flavor Flav was arrested on four outstanding misdemeanor warrants for driving offenses. Las Vegas police Officer Marcus Martin said Monday the entertainer, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton, was arrested Friday night after a traffic stop east of the Las Vegas Strip. Martin says Drayton had two outstanding warrants for driving without a license, one for driving without insurance and one related to a parking citation.
Vindicator wire reports