Fondling allegation against Cosby weak, prosecutor says

Norristown, Pa.– A prosecutor investigating a fondling allegation against comedian Bill Cosby said Wednesday that the woman’s yearlong delay in coming forward, and their contact in the past year, weighed in Cosby’s favor.

Detectives have interviewed Cosby and expect to know in two weeks whether they will bring charges in response to the allegation he fondled the woman in his suburban Philadelphia home, Bruce L. Castor Jr., the Montgomery County district attorney, said at a news conference.

“I think that factors such as failure to disclose in a timely manner and contacts with the alleged perpetrator after the event are factors that weigh toward Mr. Cosby,” Castor said.

The woman went to Canadian authorities Jan. 13, contending Cosby had given her some medication and later fondled her in his Cheltenham Township mansion about a year earlier, after they and others met for dinner.

The woman, a former basketball standout at the University of Arizona, worked at Temple University in Philadelphia for several years before returning to her native Canada to attend massage school.

Cosby, 67, is a Temple alumnus and booster who frequently attends campus events.

Listening device found near Nicole Kidman’s home

Sydney, Australia — Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman has asked a court to issue a restraining order against two Sydney photographers, their lawyer said Wednesday.

Roland Day said his client, Jamie Fawcett, and another photographer he represents had been served papers saying Kidman’s application would be heard today in Waverly Local Court. Day wouldn’t name the other photographer.

Police officers were called to Kidman’s home Sunday after an electronic listening device was found near a security vehicle that was monitoring her mansion from the street.

The bug was apparently discovered when security officers searched the grounds in preparation for Kidman’s return to film her movie “Eucalyptus.”

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Kidman’s application for a restraining order was related to that incident.

Carson’s smoking habits receive new attention

New York — Soon after Johnny Carson’s death last weekend, NBC announced the 79-year-old entertainer had died of emphysema, a respiratory disease that can be attributed to smoking.

Carson was a heavy smoker during his “Tonight Show” days, wielding a cigarette as a prop on air until smoking on television passed out of favor.

“I feel guilty … it’s compulsive,” Carson told Mike Wallace on a “60 Minutes” interview in 1979. “I should go to one of those places where they shock you or do something or show you old reruns of ‘Gilligan’s Island’ to make you give up smoking.”

The interview was to be rebroadcast Wednesday night on CBS’ “60 Minutes Wednesday” with footage that wasn’t shown in 1979.

Magical Mackenzie

London — J.K. Rowling, creator of the “Harry Potter” boy-wizard fantasy book series, has named her new baby daughter Mackenzie.

The 39-year-old British author gave birth to her third child Sunday at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. In a note posted Tuesday on her Web site, Rowling wrote:

“Her name is Mackenzie Murray (middle names Jean Rowling), and she is ridiculously beautiful, though I suppose I might be biased.”

Rowling and her husband, Dr. Neil Murray, said they were “absolutely delighted” with their new arrival. The couple have a 22-month-old son, David, and Rowling has an 11-year-old daughter, Jessica, from a previous marriage.

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” the much-anticipated sixth book in the series, will be published July 16.

‘Survivor’ winner arraigned

Providence, R.I. — Richard Hatch, the first winner of the hit CBS reality show “Survivor,” was arraigned in federal court on charges that he didn’t pay taxes on his $1 million prize.

Hatch, a resident of Newport, didn’t enter a plea Tuesday, but he told U.S. Magistrate Judge Lincoln Almond that he understood the charges and waived his right to a grand jury.

Almond released Hatch on $50,000 bond, which he posted after the hearing.

Federal prosecutors charge that Hatch, 43, filed false 2000 and 2001 tax returns, omitting his income from the show, as well as another $321,000 he was paid by a Boston radio station.

Stockard Channing arrested on charge of drunken driving

Los Angeles — Emmy-winning actress Stockard Channing was arrested for investigation of drunken driving after she tried to drive around a roadblock on the Hollywood Freeway, reports The Associated Press.

Channing, 60, who won an Emmy for her role as first lady on NBC’s White House drama “The West Wing,” was stopped by California Highway Patrol officers Dec. 14. She was jailed nearly three hours before being released without bail, the highway patrol said Tuesday.

Officers who pulled the car over smelled alcohol and administered a field sobriety test. Officer Alex Delgadillo, a CHP spokesman, said Channing’s blood-alcohol levels were 0.12 and 0.13. The legal limit in California is 0.08.

Two misdemeanor counts of driving while under the influence of alcohol were filed Monday.

The actress was scheduled to appear for arraignment Feb. 9.

The maximum penalty for conviction is six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each charge.