David Letterman

Some recent ratings highlights:

• America's Got Talent on Tuesday tallied an audience of 11.3 million total viewers — a drop of 12 percent from its previous premiere, but still the night's most watched program. Its second outing dipped 8 percent, to 10.39 mil.

• ABC's The Superstars opened to a not-entirely-super 4.34 mil on Tuesday. In turn, the (thankfully) already-renewed Better Off Ted only managed 1.87 mil.

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• On Wednesday, ABC's Wipeout scored 7.7 mil, topping So You Think You Can Dance in the 8 o'clock hour. All told, Fox's Dance averaged ... read more 7 Comments

Television is usually our escape from the problems of the world, but not this week. Serious stories ruled the screen, from the drama in North Korea to the uprisings in Iran. Somehow reality TV stars also snaked in some airtime. And somewhere between reality and reality TV was a continuing fight pitting governor against comedian. Enjoy our Top Moments, real-life edition. read more 22 Comments

After a semi-apology last week for a joke about one of Sarah Palin's daughters, David Letterman offered an unequivocal sorry during Monday's Late Show monologue "to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke."

Letterman joked last week that Palin's daughter was "knocked up" by Alex Rodriguez during a Yankees game. Though he didn't specify which daughter, he said he meant 18-year-old Bristol Palin. The family, however, said the joke targeted 14-year-old Willow, who attended the game with her mother.

Letterman made the full apology Monday after... read more 194 Comments

David Letterman's comments about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and one of her daughters has prompted a hotel chain to pull its advertising on CBS' website — and spawned a campaign to fire the Late Show host that includes a planned protest outside his studio.

Embassy Suites, part of the Hilton Hotels Corp., pulled advertising on CBS' site because of complaints, company spokeswoman Kendra Walker told TVGuide.com. read more 223 Comments

David Letterman said he regrets telling jokes about Sarah Palin's daughter after the Alaska governor called them "sexually perverted" and her husband, Todd, called them "despicable."

On Wednesday's Late Show, Letterman repeated the jokes in question. He denied that they referred to the Palins' 14-year-old daughter — as the Palins' his-and-hers statements seemed to indicate (see below) — but rather their 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, who, as Letterman pointed out, "was knocked up."