Do as he says, not as he does

New York – Bill Cosby doesn’t believe allegations of infidelity prevent him from speaking out about moral issues.

In an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Cosby said he should be able to teach others to learn from his mistakes. He likened his mistakes to hitting a pothole while driving on a rainy road and trying to warn others to avoid the same fate.

Cosby, 67, best known as a warm, wisecracking TV dad, sparked debate last year with blunt remarks on personal responsibility aimed at the black community. In 1997, the long-married Cosby acknowledged a brief affair with the mother of Autumn Jackson, a young woman convicted of extorting him.

The entire ABC interview was set to air Wednesday on “Nightline.”

Cosby was asked if his own failures of judgment disqualify him from speaking about others.

“No,” he replied. “I couldn’t care less what you think of me as long as you begin to execute that which will save your children.”

Cosby faces a civil lawsuit filed by a former Temple University employee who alleges that he drugged and fondled her at his home in suburban Philadelphia.

VH1 to honor Notorious B.I.G. with posthumous award

New York – Both Big Poppa and Big Daddy Kane will get their props from VH1 this year.

The late Notorious B.I.G. – also known as Biggie Smalls, also known as Big Poppa – and old-school rapper Kane will be feted at the second annual VH1 Hip Hop Honors on Sept. 22 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. The show will air Sept. 26 on VH1.

Other honorees include LL Cool J, Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Ice-T, Salt-N-Pepa and the 1991 film “Boyz n the Hood.”

“Our first Hip Hop Honors proved to be an incredible success not only for the channel but also within the hip-hop community. It was a long overdue celebration of the genesis and roots of a genre that has permeated world culture,” said the show’s executive producer, Lee Rolontz, in a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press.

No jail time for Backstreet Boy

Santa Ana, Calif.- Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter was ordered into a three-month alcohol treatment program after pleading guilty to drunken driving.

Carter, 25, entered the plea Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court. The judge also ordered Carter to pay $1,200 in fines, placed him on three years’ informal probation and restricted his driving privileges for 90 days, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Tate McCallister.

Carter, who wasn’t in court Tuesday, was pulled over March 5 in downtown Huntington Beach. He was charged with one count of driving under the influence and one count of driving with a blood alcohol level above 0.08, the legal limit.

The singer has said through his publicist that he was on prescription medication at the time “and was unaware of its interaction possibilities.”

Stefani plans tour

New York – Gwen Stefani’s fall tour in support of her album “Love.Angel.Music. Baby” will kick off in Phoenix on Oct. 16.

The Harajuku Lovers Tour, which coincides with the launch of Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers line of accessories, will feature the Black Eyed Peas.

Stops on the 16-city tour – Stefani’s first solo tour – also will include San Diego, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago, Boston and New York before ending in Houston on Nov. 10, it was announced Monday by Interscope Geffen A&M Records.

Carson contribution

Norfolk, Neb. – The estate of comedian-TV host Johnny Carson has donated $5 million to Faith Regional Health Services.

The donation will be used to fund an endowment for the Carson Cancer Center to ensure that services remain available to people in northeast Nebraska, said Faith Regional Chief Executive Officer Bob Driewer.

Carson’s gift is the largest the hospital has ever received, Driewer said Tuesday.

The center was named in memory of Carson’s parents, and according to the hospital Web site, Carson made the largest financial donation to the initial building fund.

Carson, known as the king of late-night television, died in January. He was 79.

Born in Corning, Iowa, Carson moved to Norfolk when he was 8, and graduated from high school there.

Prized smile

Paris – The mayor of Paris has awarded Jackie Chan an honorary medal from the city, praising the Hong Kong action star for his film career – and his smile.

“It would have been an immense pleasure just to shake your hand,” Mayor Bertrand Delanoe told Chan on Tuesday.

Delanoe called the 51-year-old director, actor and stuntman a “master of humor, of the burlesque and of self-deprecation.”

“This mayor knows everything about me!” Chan joked.

The “Rush Hour” star was in Paris for a film festival that will honor his work.