‘Sextortion’ is latest issue pushing Letterman into spotlight

For someone who seems to go to great lengths to keep his private life away from prying eyes, late-night talk show host David Letterman has seen a great deal of his personal life become public. Heart problems, a troubled stalker and a plot to kidnap his son have all landed Letterman in the news and provided fodder for jokes, including some of his own

Roman Polanski: A life on celluloid

“I did lose my way many times,” said Robert Towne in a recent interview. “It took an ungodly amount of time to work on it — it was 10 months of solid work, and before that, there were several months of letting it gel enough to write it.” The process was worth it to Towne, however — he walked away with an Oscar for best original screenplay, the only one the film received in a year mostly overrun by “The Godfather Part II.” Director Roman Polanski’s film, starring Jack Nicholson as a 1930s detective who gets in over his head with intertwined scandals of murder, sodomy and real estate development, has become a modern classic

Zimbabwe court bars activist Mukoko’s prosecution

Zimbabwe’s highest court granted a permanent stay of prosecution Monday to a leading human rights activist facing charges of plotting to topple President Robert Mugabe’s government. The court said the abduction and torture in custody of Jestina Mukoko grossly violated her rights.