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Maria Shriver quits NBC to be full-time first lady

NEW YORK - Maria Shriver quit NBC News on Tuesday, saying it would be too tough to juggle a journalism job with her duties as first lady of California.

Shriver, a Dateline NBC reporter, said she will continue to work on specials connected to her children's books for other NBC properties.

Shriver took an extended leave from NBC News when her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, ran for California governor. When he won, she returned to work, making two appearances as an anchor for Dateline NBC. But she said that it became clear to her that as first lady, her journalistic integrity would constantly be scrutinized.

"After much soul searching, I have asked to be relieved of my duties at NBC News," Shriver said in a statement.

LOS ANGELES - In a blow to the defense, the judge in the Robert Blake murder case Tuesday ruled that jurors should not hear testimony suggesting that actor Marlon Brando's son might have killed Bonny Lee Bakley.

Christian Brando might have had a motive to kill his former lover but he lacked the opportunity to do so, said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Darlene E. Schempp, who was ruling on pretrial motions. Authorities said he was at home in Washington state the night she was fatally shot.

Bakley had told Brando that he fathered her child and even gave the girl the Brando family name before a paternity test concluded she was Blake's daughter, according to allegations contained in court papers.

The ruling knocks out a major part of Blake's defense strategy. The 70-year-old actor is charged with killing his wife May 4, 2001, near a Studio City restaurant, where they had eaten dinner minutes earlier.

Schempp ruled that defense witness Dianne Mattson should not testify at trial, because she lacked credibility.

NEW YORK - Following Janet Jackson's surprise breast-baring on the Super Bowl halftime show, CBS said Tuesday it would institute a video delay system to avoid any recurrence at Sunday's Grammy Awards.

CBS technicians were scrambling to invent the software - something more than five-second audio delay the network has used to bleep out swear words, as when Eminem performed on the Grammys two years ago.

At the end of their duet Sunday, Justin Timberlake snatched off part of Jackson's bustier on stage, revealing a breast clad only in a sun-shaped "nipple shield" to some 89-million viewers.

Timberlake, who is nominated for five Grammy Awards, is scheduled to perform on Sunday's telecast. Jackson is supposed to present an award.

Two months ago, Luther Vandross' friends and family had high hopes that he would be able to attend Sunday's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where he is nominated for five prizes.

But on Monday, Vandross' business manager, Carmen Romano, announced that the soulful crooner was not well enough to show up. "On the advice of his doctors, I regret to say that Luther won't be able to make this trip," he said.

Vandross, 52, suffered a severe stroke in April and spent several weeks in a hospital before being transferred to a rehabilitation facility in the New York City area. He is still in a wheelchair.

His most recent album, Dance With My Father, is up for five Grammys, including song of the year.

Released last summer, it became the fastest-selling disc of Vandross' career, selling nearly 2-million copies.

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