Shock jock Imus to return to radio

New York – Don Imus will return to the airwaves Dec. 3 on New York’s WABC-AM, only nine months after the cantankerous shock jock’s career seemed doomed over his racist, sexist remark about a women’s college basketball team.

Citadel Broadcasting Corp. made the announcement Thursday, confirming long-rumored reports that Imus was returning to morning drive time in the same city where he was banished in April.

“We are ecstatic to bring Don Imus back to morning radio,” said 77 WABC President and General Manager Steve Borneman. “Don’s unique brand of humor, knowledge of the issues and ability to attract big-name guests is unparalleled. He is rested, fired up and ready to do great radio.”

Imus will return with his longtime newsman, Charles McCord, and other members of his morning team, Citadel said in announcing the move. It did not specifically mention Bernard McGuirk, the producer who was fired along with Imus.

The acid-tongued broadcasting icon was fired in April after he called the Rutgers University’s women’s basketball team “nappy-headed hos” on the air, sparking a national furor and calls by civil rights leaders and broadcast journalists to resign.

TV bounty hunter apologizes for racial slur

Honolulu – Television bounty hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman’s son taped a private phone conversation in which the reality star used a racial slur repeatedly, then sold it to a tabloid for “a lot of money,” Chapman’s attorney said Thursday.

“I guess because of whatever level of anger he had of his father, he felt the need to express it in that manner,” attorney Brook Hart told The Associated Press.

Tucker Chapman could not be reached for comment; no one answered the telephone at a Honolulu number listed under his name.

The National Enquirer on Wednesday posted on its Web site a clip of a conversation in which Duane Chapman, star of the hit A&E series “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” repeatedly used the N-word in reference to Tucker’s girlfriend.

Chapman later apologized to his son and the woman, then learned about how the tape got into the tabloid’s hands, Hart said.

A&E has suspended production of the series, saying the network takes the matter seriously.

The show, in its fifth season and one of A&E’s top-rated programs, has not been canceled.

Chapman has said he was “disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I should have never used that term.” He also said he was ashamed of himself and pledged to make amends.

Democrats say no to Colbert’s bid

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina Democrats squashed Stephen Colbert’s fanciful White House bid on Thursday.

Colbert, who poses as a conservative talk-show host on the Comedy Central cable network, filed to get on the ballot as a Democratic candidate in his native South Carolina. His campaign paid a $2,500 filing fee just before the noon deadline, said state Democratic Party Chairwoman Carol Fowler.

However, after 40 minutes of discussion by top party officials, the executive council voted 13-3 to keep the host of “The Colbert Report” off the ballot.

“He’s really trying to use South Carolina Democrats as suckers so he can further a comedy routine,” said Waring Howe, a member of the executive council. And Colbert “serves to detract from the serious candidates on the ballot.”

Mills McCartney lashes out at ex-husband, media

New York – Heather Mills McCartney spoke out Thursday against Paul McCartney and the tabloid press for not stopping articles that she says have resulted in death threats against her.

“All I can say is when we first split, I said to Paul, ‘I’m going to be crucified. … You know why we split. You know the truth. They don’t need to know the details, but you need to stand up and say: I’m responsible for the breakdown of this marriage,'” Mills McCartney said on NBC’s “Today,” one in a series of interviews with morning talk shows.

“If you say that, I’ll walk away with nothing, and we’ll do a very gentle and quick divorce. And he promised he’d do that. I have evidence of that. And he did nothing,” Mills McCartney said.

Mills McCartney broke her silence Wednesday about issues surrounding her divorce case with the former Beatle in interviews on British television. She said that the police told her “serious death threats” had come from an underground movement.

Rowling completes first post-Harry Potter book

London – J.K. Rowling has completed her first book after her wildly popular series on teen wizard Harry Potter – an illustrated collection of magical fairy stories titled “The Tales of Beedle the Bard.”

Only seven copies of the handwritten book have been made, Rowling said Thursday. One will be auctioned next month to raise money for a children’s charity, while the others have been given away as gifts.

Rowling drew the illustrations and provided the handwriting for the five stories that make up the collection of fairy tales.

“The Tales of Beedle the Bard” is mentioned in the final Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” as a gift left by headmaster Albus Dumbledore to Harry’s friend Hermione, and provides clues that help destroy evil Lord Voldemort.

“‘The Tales of Beedle the Bard’ is really a distillation of the themes found in the Harry Potter books, and writing it has been the most wonderful way to say goodbye to a world I have loved and lived in for 17 years,” Rowling said in a statement.

The volume will be auctioned at Sotheby’s on Dec. 13 with a starting price of $62,000. Proceeds will go to The Children’s Voice, a charity that helps vulnerable children across Europe.