Infection had Swank down but not out during filming

New York — While training for the boxing drama “Million Dollar Baby,” Hilary Swank was nearly TKO’d — by a foot infection.

Swank, nominated for a best-actress Oscar for her performance in the Clint Eastwood-directed film, says a blister on her foot nearly led to her downfall.

After popping the blister, Swank continued her rigorous workouts. But soon she was in intense pain and knew something was wrong.

“I couldn’t believe the pain,” the 30-year-old actress says in an interview to air Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes” newsmagazine. “It was unbelievable and I looked down, there were streaks going to my foot.

“So, I went to the doctor’s that second and he looked at me and he said, ‘This is really serious. And if you would have waited two more hours, you would have been in the hospital for three weeks — and if it gets to your heart, that’s it.'”

Swank says she was diagnosed with a bacterial infection. She took several days of medicated rest and then returned to the ring.

“I didn’t tell Clint,” she says. “The producers don’t know … because in the end, that’s what happens to boxers: They get blisters, they get infected. They have injuries, and they keep pushing through it.”

Judge allows seized adult material in Jackson trial

Santa Maria, Calif. — Dozens of adult-oriented books, magazines and DVDs seized at Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch can be used as evidence in the singer’s upcoming trial, the judge ruled Friday.

The judge also ruled that Jackson’s accuser should testify in open court instead of in a closed courtroom with an audio hookup for the media.

At a hearing just three days before the start of jury selection, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville permitted most of the proposed evidence to be used at trial but said the prosecution could not refer to the material as pornography, obscenity or erotic. Instead, the words “adult” or “sexually explicit” can be used, he said.

Senior Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Zonen said the 50 print and video items that were seized in 2003 included graphic sexual material that was heterosexual and homosexual in nature.

Jackson, 46, has pleaded not guilty to charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy and plying him with alcohol.

Birthdays

Talk show host Oprah Winfrey is 51. Actor Tom Selleck is 60. Olympic gold-medal diver Greg Louganis is 45. Actor Nicholas Turturro is 43. Actress Heather Graham is 35. Actress Sara Gilbert is 30.