Dr. Huxtable has the prescription
Bill Cosby is at it again.
The comedian/movie star turned social commentator criticized teachers and parents alike at a weekend education conference in Los Angeles.
Cosby, who comes to Washington State University for a performance Saturday, complained that black parents don’t involve themselves enough in their children’s lives.
“We’ve got parents who won’t check the bedrooms of their children to see if there’s a gun,” he said.
And he chided teachers for not offering clear explanations to children who ask why courses such as English and algebra are necessary.
“We can’t answer these children, because nobody’s given them any goals,” he said.
Cosby previously criticized some black children for not knowing how to read or write and said whites are unfairly blamed for problems in the black community such as teen pregnancy and high dropout rates.
Charity begins with O
On her talk show Monday, Oprah Winfrey gave more than 300 audience members $1,000 debit cards to donate to a charitable cause.
Winfrey, who had previously passed out cars and paid off people’s debts, called it her “favorite giveaway ever.”
Monday’s recipients also received a DVD recorder to tape their stories for a future show.
Best child-supporting actor?
Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, who started the year on an Oscar-winning high, announced their separation Monday.
Witherspoon, 30, and Phillippe, 32, have a 7-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son.
In March, Witherspoon won a best-actress Academy Award for her role as June Carter Cash in 2005’s “Walk the Line” while Phillippe co-starred in the best-picture winner, “Crash.”
Birthday meeting, bottled-up whine
Paul McCartney and Heather Mills McCartney put their increasingly ugly divorce battle on hold over the weekend for daughter Beatrice‘s third birthday party.
They reportedly even spoke to one another during the 90-minute event at a play center.
Houston, we have re-entry
Whitney Houston, who earlier this month filed for divorce from Bobby Brown, attended a juvenile diabetes benefit in Beverly Hills on Saturday with longtime producer Clive Davis.
“It’s her first big appearance since the breakup,” said “American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee, who sang Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” adding: “I would love to sing with her, but unfortunately all eyes are on me.”
The lay-low life
Michael Jackson will pick up a Diamond Award for selling 100 million-plus albums at next month’s World Music Awards in London.
Jackson has made few public appearances since being acquitted of child molestation in 2005. He left the United States soon after and has spent time in Bahrain and Ireland.
The birthday bunch
TV newsman Dan Rather is 75. Actor Ron Rifkin (“Alias”) is 67. Actor David Ogden Stiers (“M*A*S*H”) is 64. Singer Kinky Friedman is 62. Anchorwoman Jane Pauley is 56. Director Peter Jackson is 45. Actor Dermot Mulroney is 43. Country singer Darryl Worley is 42. Actor Rob Schneider is 42.