ABC looking to replace 'Nightline'?
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- ABC-TV executives are considering alternative programs to replace "Nightline," The Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Citing sources familiar with the plan, the paper said The Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, has ordered network executives to start coming up with alternatives to the late night news show, which Ted Koppel has anchored since its premiere in 1980.
The Times said ABC News shot a pilot last week for one possible "Nightline" replacement -- featuring Washington reporter Jake Tapper and Bill Weir, the co-anchor of the weekend edition of "Good Morning America." Sources told the paper one of the top stories in the pilot was about the Michael Jackson child molestation trial -- which the paper characterized as "the kind of tabloid-friendly fodder that the generally sober-minded 'Nightline' has tended to avoid."
According to the report, Disney's ESPN is said to be developing an all-sports program for the 11:35 p.m. slot now occupied by "Nightline."
Koppel's contract is scheduled to expire in December. Newsday recently reported that ABC is considering moving Koppel to its Sunday morning talk show, "This Week," and expanding "Nightline" to one hour.
Cosby accuser reportedly tapes phone call
PHILIDELPHIA, Pa., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- A Canadian woman who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault has reportedly taped phone conversations that support her claims, the New York Daily News reported.
Attorneys for the woman gave copies of the tapes to the Montgomery County, Pa., prosecutor's office a couple of weeks ago, sources said.
The woman said she had gone to dinner with Cosby and others. Cosby then invited her to his home, where she said she complained of "stress and tension." The woman said Cosby gave her some pills that made her feel "dizzy and sick."
Cosby helped the woman to a sofa, where she claims he touched her breast and placed her hand on his penis. She said she awoke at 4 a.m. with "her clothing in disarray and her bra undone."
Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor is expected to announce next week whether charges will be filed.
Family, supporters remember Bob Marley
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Family and supporters of Bob Marley gathered in the Ethiopian capital to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the singer's birth.
Marley's wife, Rita, his sons, including singer Ziggy Marley, gathered in the city's Meskel Square for the day-long "Africa Unite" concert Sunday, featuring singers Lauryn Hill, formerly of the Fugees; Angélique Kidjo of Benin, and various Ethiopian entertainers, the New York Times reports.
Marley was said to have had a special fondness for Ethiopia, regarded as the promised land for Rastafarians, the dreadlocked Jamaican spiritualists Marley credited with much inspiration. The concert was organized by the Bob and Rita Marley Foundation, a philanthropic group that works in Ethiopia. It was the first time the birthday festivities had been held outside of Jamaica since Marley died of cancer at 36 in 1981.
The concert was sanctioned by the Ethiopian government, which saw the event as good for the country's economy.
Knightley chooses 'bottom double'
LONDON, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- British actress Keira Knightley has revealed she chose a "bottom double" for her latest film, "Domino," the Daily Mail reported Monday.
The movie is about a model turned bounty hunter.
Romanian ballerina-turned Las Vegas nude review dancer Roberta Lorince was chosen by Knightley out of a line-up of naked backsides to take the actress' place in the nude scenes.
"We had an audition. I was in an office and women came in and started stripping," Knightley said.
"They have fantastic bums and it's at that point you go, 'OK, unless your bum looks like that, don't show it on film.'
"I don't have a bum like that so it's not in the film."
The movie is a fictionalized biopic of model-turned-bounty hunter Domino Harvey, daughter of British actor Laurence Harvey. In one scene, Harvey goes undercover as a stripper while working on a case.
