newsmakers

newsmakers

CBS dominates prime time’s Top 20 ratings

NEW YORK

Football gave NBC the most-watched broadcast last week, but CBS was the most-watched network overall in prime time.

The Nielsen ratings company says the NFL faceoff between Dallas and Philadelphia brought more than 24 million viewers to NBC.

But CBS claimed 13 of the week’s Top 20 programs, including the annual airing of the holiday classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and the “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show.”

For the week, CBS was ahead with an average 8.6 million viewers. Runner- up NBC had 8.0 million viewers, followed by ABC, Fox and Univision.

ESPN remained the week’s most-popular cable network, averaging 2.9 million viewers.

NBC’s “Nightly News” held its customary lead among the evening newscasts with 9.4 million viewers.

Norman Bridwell, ‘Clifford’ creator, dies

Norman Bridwell, creator of the popular “Clifford the Big Red Dog” series of children’s books turned into a PBS TV show, has died. He was 86.

Scholastic, his longtime publisher, said Birdwell died Friday in Oak Bluffs, Mass. He lived in Edgartown, Mass.

Starting in 1963 with “Clifford, the Big Red Dog,” Bridwell wrote and illustrated more than 40 Clifford books, from “Clifford and the Grouchy Neighbors” to “Clifford Goes to Hollywood.” More than 120 million copies have sold worldwide, along with cartoons, a feature film, a musical, stuffed animals, key chains, posters and stickers. Images of Clifford have appeared everywhere from museums to the White House.

Bridwell is survived by his wife, Norma, their daughter, Emily Elizabeth, son, Timothy, and three grandchildren.

Cosby won’t be charged over molestation claim

LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles prosecutors declined Tuesday to file any charges against Bill Cosby after a woman recently claimed the comedian molested her about 1974.

The rejection of a child sexual-abuse charge by prosecutors came roughly 10 days after the woman, Judy Huth, met with Los Angeles police detectives for 90 minutes.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office rejected filing a misdemeanor charge of annoying or molesting a child under age 18 because the statute of limitations had passed.

Associated Press