Robert Wagner not interviewed in new Wood inquiry

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robert Wagner has declined to be interviewed by detectives in a renewed inquiry into the drowning death of his wife Natalie Wood three decades ago, an investigator said Thursday.

Wagner was interviewed by authorities soon after Wood's drowning in 1981, but the actor is the only person who was on the yacht the night Wood died who has not spoken to detectives as part of the latest inquiry, despite repeated requests and attempts, sheriff's Lt. John Corina said.

Blair Berk, an attorney for Wagner and his family, said the actor had cooperated with authorities since his wife died.

Detectives began re-investigating the case in November 2011. Since then investigators have interviewed more than 100 people, but Wagner has refused and Corina said the actor's representatives have not given any reason for his silence.

The detective's remarks provided new insight into the case that has remained one of Hollywood's enduring mysteries. Earlier this week, coroner's officials released an updated autopsy report that had been under a security hold. It detailed why Wood's death had been reclassified from an accidental drowning to a drowning caused by "undetermined factors."

"Mr. Wagner has fully cooperated over the last 30 years in the investigation of the accidental drowning of his wife in 1981," Berk said in a prepared statement. "Mr. Wagner has been interviewed on multiple occasions by the Los Angeles sheriff's department and answered every single question asked of him by detectives during those interviews."

After 30 years, Berk said, neither Wagner nor his daughters have any new information to add. She said the latest investigation was prompted by people seeking to exploit and sensationalize the 30th anniversary of the death.

The renewed inquiry came after the yacht's captain Dennis Davern told "48 Hours" and the "Today" show that he heard Wagner and Wood arguing the night of her disappearance and believed Wagner was to blame for her death.

Authorities have not identified any suspects in the case.

Wood, 43, was on a yacht with Wagner, Christopher Walken and the boat captain on Thanksgiving weekend of 1981 before she somehow ended up in the water.

Corina said Walken gave a prepared statement and spoke to detectives for an hour.

Detectives have also interviewed other actors who knew both Wagner and Wood to learn more about their relationship.

Corina said detectives have tried at least 10 times to interview Wagner but have been refused. He said some of the refusals have come from the actor's attorney, and that detectives at one point traveled to Colorado to try to speak with Wagner but were unsuccessful.

Corina said the latest inquiry had turned up new evidence.

"Most of the people we've talked to were never talked to 30 years ago," he said. "We've got a lot of new information."

Asked if the information might lead to criminal charges, Corina said that would be up to prosecutors if they are presented a case.

"All we can do is collect the facts," he said. "We're still trying to collect all the facts."

Corina said new people have emerged with information each time the case is in the news. Detectives would like to interview other people who haven't agreed to talk, he said.

Coroner's officials released an update autopsy report on Monday that detailed the reasons Wood's death certificate was changed last year from a drowning death to "drowning and other undetermined factors."

The updated report states the change was made in part because investigators couldn't rule out that some of the bruises and marks on Wood's body happened before she went into the water.

"Since there are unanswered questions and limited additional evidence available for evaluation, it is opined by this medical examiner that the manner of death should be left as undetermined," Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran wrote in the report completed in June.

Officials also considered that Wood wasn't wearing a life jacket, had no history of suicide attempts and didn't leave a note as reasons to amend the death certificate.

Wood was famous for roles in films such as "West Side Story" and "Rebel Without a Cause" and was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Conflicting versions of what happened on the yacht have contributed to the mystery of her death. Wood, Wagner and Walken had all been drinking heavily in the hours before the actress disappeared.

Wagner wrote in a 2008 memoir that he and Walken argued that night. He wrote that Walken went to bed and he stayed up for a while, but when he went to bed, he noticed that his wife and a dinghy that had been attached to the yacht were missing.

"Nobody knows," he wrote. "There are only two possibilities; either she was trying to get away from the argument, or she was trying to tie the dinghy. But the bottom line is that nobody knows exactly what happened."

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Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

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Life, Interrupted: Brotherly Love

Life, Interrupted

Suleika Jaouad writes about her experiences as a young adult with cancer.

There are a lot of things about having cancer in your 20s that feel absurd. One of those instances was when I found myself calling my brother Adam on Skype while he was studying abroad in Argentina to tell him that I had just been diagnosed with leukemia and that — no pressure — he was my only hope for a cure.

Today, my brother and I share almost identical DNA, the result of a successful bone marrow transplant I had last April using his healthy stem cells. But Adam and I couldn’t be more different. Like a lot of siblings, we got along swimmingly at one moment and were in each other’s hair the next. My younger brother by two years, he said I was a bossy older sister. I, of course, thought I knew best for my little brother and wanted him to see the world how I did. My brother is quieter, more reflective. I’m a chronic social butterfly who is probably a bit too impulsive and self-serious. I dreamed of dancing in the New York City Ballet, and he imagined himself playing in the N.B.A. While the sounds of the rapper Mos Def blared from Adam’s room growing up, I practiced for concerto competitions. Friends joked that one of us had to be adopted. We even look different, some people say. But really, we’re just siblings like any others.

When I was diagnosed with cancer at age 22, I learned just how much cancer affects families when it affects individuals. My doctors informed me that I had a high-risk form of leukemia and that a bone marrow transplant was my only shot at a cure. ‘Did I have any siblings?’ the doctors asked immediately. That would be my best chance to find a bone marrow match. Suddenly, everyone in our family was leaning on the little brother. He was in his last semester of college, and while his friends were applying to jobs and partying the final weeks of the school year away, he was soon shuttling from upstate New York to New York City for appointments with the transplant doctors.

I’d heard of organ transplants before, but what was a bone marrow transplant? The extent of my knowledge about bone marrow came from French cuisine: the fancy dish occasionally served with a side of toasted baguette.

Jokes aside, I learned that cancer patients become quick studies in the human body and how cancer treatment works. The thought of going through a bone marrow transplant, which in my case called for a life-threatening dose of chemotherapy followed by a total replacement of my body’s bone marrow, was scary enough. But then I learned that finding a donor can be the scariest part of all.

It turns out that not all transplants are created equal. Without a match, the path to a cure becomes much less certain, in many cases even impossible. This is particularly true for minorities and people from mixed ethnic backgrounds, groups that are severely underrepresented in bone marrow registries. As a first generation American, the child of a Swiss mother and Tunisian father, I suddenly found myself in a scary place. My doctors worried that a global, harried search for a bone marrow match would delay critical treatment for my fast-moving leukemia.

That meant that my younger brother was my best hope — but my doctors were careful to measure hope with reality. Siblings are the best chance for a match, but a match only happens about 25 percent of the time.

To our relief, results showed that my brother was a perfect match: a 10-out-of-10 on the donor scale. It was only then that it struck me how lucky I had been. Doctors never said it this way, but without a match, my chances of living through the next year were low. I have met many people since who, after dozens of efforts to encourage potential bone marrow donors to sign up, still have not found a match. Adding your name to the bone marrow registry is quick, easy and painless — you can sign up at marrow.org — and it just takes a swab of a Q-tip to get your DNA. For cancer patients around the world, it could mean a cure.

The bone marrow transplant procedure itself can be dangerous, but it is swift, which makes it feel strangely anti-climactic. On “Day Zero,” my brother’s stem cells dripped into my veins from a hanging I.V. bag, and it was all over in minutes. Doctors tell me that the hardest part of the transplant is recovering from it. I’ve found that to be true, and I’ve also recognized that the same is true for Adam. As I slowly grow stronger, my little brother has assumed a caretaker role in my life. I carry his blood cells — the ones keeping me alive — and he is carrying the responsibility, and often fear and anxiety, of the loving onlooker. He tells me I’m still a bossy older sister. But our relationship is now changed forever. I have to look to him for support and guidance more than I ever have. He’ll always be my little brother, but he’s growing up fast.

---

Suleika Jaouad (pronounced su-LAKE-uh ja-WAD) is a 24-year-old writer who lives in New York City. Her column, “Life, Interrupted,” chronicling her experiences as a young adult with cancer, appears regularly on Well. Follow @suleikajaouad on Twitter.

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Bat-killing fungus found at Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park

A fungus that has killed roughly 6 million bats in North America and Canada has now been found for the first time in Kentucky's Mammoth Cave National Park, federal authorities announced Wednesday.

White-nose syndrome, discovered in New York in 2006, has been confirmed in nine national parks and 19 states as far west as Missouri.

"I am incredibly sad to report this," Mammoth Cave National Park Supt. Sarah Craighead said at a news conference. "A northern long-eared bat showing symptoms of white-nose syndrome was found in Long Cave in the park. The bat was euthanized on Jan. 4 and sent for laboratory testing. Those tests confirmed white-nose syndrome."

Long Cave, an undeveloped cave about 1.3 miles long, is not connected to 390-mile long Mammoth Cave, a popular historic site visited by about 400,000 each year.

The park service will continue giving tours of Mammoth Cave, which annually generate about $3.9 million in fees from visitors. To prevent spread of the disease, the parks service screens all visitors before they go on a tour and has them walk across decontamination mats as they exit, Craighead said.

The rapidly spreading fungus, which scientists know as Geomyces destructans, hits hardest among the 25 species of hibernating bats.

The disease "could persist in cave environments for decades even in the absence of bats," said Jeremy Coleman of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. White-nose syndrome, which can be transmitted between animals through direct contact, gets its name from the powdery, white substance that appears around muzzles, ears and wings of affected bats.

Bats with white-nose syndrome exhibit unusual behavior during cold winter months, including flying outside during the day and clustering near the entrances of caves and mines where they hibernate. Bats have been found sick and dying in unprecedented numbers near these hibernacula during a portion of the year when there are no insects to eat.

In November, U.S. Geological Survey scientists and collaborators at the National Institutes of Health hypothesized that bats recovering from white-nose syndrome show evidence of an inflammatory condition first described in HIV-AIDS patients.

If confirmed, the discovery could prove significant for studies on treatment for AIDS, Marcia McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey, said recently.

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

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BlackBerry maker plans local skate, publicity in Waterloo to celebrate new phone

WATERLOO, Ont. – Call it BlackBerry Town, even if the name isn’t official.

In the lead up to the BlackBerry smartphone unveiling later this month, creator Research In Motion is turning its Waterloo, Ont., home base into a celebration of the device.

The company plans to decorate light poles in areas of Waterloo and neighbouring Kitchener with banners that promote its latest smartphone and thank the community for its support.

City councillors in Kitchener voted earlier this week to make an exception to rules that prevent corporations from using public property to advertise.

RIM says it is making plans for other events as well.

The company will hold skating rink parties at Kitchener City Hall and in Waterloo Town Square on Jan. 30 to coincide with the unveiling of its new BlackBerry devices.

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Obama calls for research on media in gun violence

NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood and the video game industry received scant attention Wednesday when President Barack Obama unveiled sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

The White House pressed most forcefully for a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre.

No connection was suggested between bloody entertainment fictions and real-life violence. Instead, the White House is calling on research on the effect of media and video games on gun violence.

Among the 23 executive measures signed Wednesday by Obama is a directive to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and scientific agencies to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence. The order specifically cited "investigating the relationship between video games, media images and violence."

The measure meant that media would not be exempt from conversations about violence, but it also suggested the White House would not make Hollywood, television networks and video game makers a central part of the discussion. It's a relative footnote in the White House's broad, multi-point plan, and Obama did not mention violence in entertainment in his remarks Wednesday.

The White House plan did mention media, but suggested that any effort would be related to ratings systems or technology: "The entertainment and video game industries have a responsibility to give parents tools and choices about the movies and programs their children watch and the games their children play."

The administration is calling on Congress to provide $10 million for the CDC research.

The CDC has been barred by Congress to use funds to "advocate or promote gun control," but the White House order claims that "research on gun violence is not advocacy" and that providing information to Americans on the issue is "critical public health research."

Since 26 were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook in December, some have called for changes in the entertainment industry, which regularly churns out first-person shooter video games, grisly primetime dramas and casually violent blockbusters.

The Motion Picture Association of America, the National Association of Broadcasters, National Cable & Telecommunications Association and the Independent Film & Television Alliance responded to Wednesday's proposal in a joint statement:

"We support the president's goal of reducing gun violence in this country. It is a complex problem, and as we have said, we stand ready to be a part of the conversation and welcome further academic examination and consideration on these issues as the president has proposed."

After the Newtown massacre, Wayne Pierre, vice-president of the National Rifle Association, attacked the entertainment industry, calling it "a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against its own people." He cited a number of video games and films, most of them many years old, like the movies "American Psycho" and "Natural Born Killers," and the video games "Mortal Kombat" and "Grand Theft Auto."

President Obama's adviser, David Axelrod, had tweeted that he's in favor of gun control, "but shouldn't we also question marketing murder as a game?"

Others have countered that the same video games and movies are played and watched around the world, but that the tragedies of gun violence are for other reasons endemic to the U.S.

The Entertainment Software Association, which represents video game publishers, referenced that argument Wednesday in a statement that embraced Obama's proposal.

"The same entertainment is enjoyed across all cultures and nations, but tragic levels of gun violence remain unique to our country," said the ESA. "Scientific research an international and domestic crime data point toward the same conclusion: Entertainment does not cause violent behavior in the real world."

Several R-rated films released after Newton have been swept into the debate. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former California governor and action film star, recently told USA Today in discussing his new shoot-em-up film "The Last Stand": "It's entertainment. People know the difference."

Quentin Tarantino, whose new film "Django Unchained" is a cartoonish, bloody spaghetti western set in the slavery-era South, has often grown testy when questioned about movie violence and real-life violence. Speaking to NPR, Tarantino said it was disrespectful to the memory of the victims to talk about movies: "I don't think one has to do with the other."

In 2011, the Supreme Court rejected a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children. The decision claimed that video games, like other media, are protected by the First Amendment. In dissent, Justice Stephen G. Breyer claimed previous studies showed the link between violence and video games, concluding "the video games in question are particularly likely to harm children."

In the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that the government can't regulate depictions of violence, which he said were age-old, anyway: "Grimm's Fairy Tales, for example, are grim indeed."

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AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report from Los Angeles

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Study Confirms Benefits of Flu Vaccine for Pregnant Women

While everyone is being urged to get the flu vaccine as soon as possible, some pregnant women avoid it in the belief that it may harm their babies. A large new study confirms that they should be much more afraid of the flu than the vaccine.

Norwegian researchers studied fetal death among 113,331 women pregnant during the H1N1 flu pandemic of 2009-2010. Some 54,065 women were unvaccinated, 31,912 were vaccinated during pregnancy, and 27,354 were vaccinated after delivery. The scientists then reviewed hospitalizations and doctor visits for the flu among the women.

The results were published on Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine.

The flu vaccine was not associated with an increased risk for fetal death, the researchers found, and getting the shot during pregnancy reduced the risk of the mother getting the flu by about 70 percent. That was important, because fetuses whose mothers got the flu were much more likely to die.

Unvaccinated women had a 25 percent higher risk of fetal death during the pandemic than those who had had the shot. Among pregnant women with a clinical diagnosis of influenza, the risk of fetal death was nearly doubled. In all, there were 16 fetal deaths among the 2,278 women who were diagnosed with influenza during pregnancy.

Dr. Marian Knight, a professor at the perinatal epidemiology unit of the University of Oxford, who was not involved in the research, called it “a high-quality national study” that shows “there is no evidence of an increased risk of fetal death in women who have been immunized. Clinicians and women can be reassured about the safety of the vaccine in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy.”

The Norwegian health system records vaccinations of individuals and maintains linked registries to track effects and side effects. The lead author, Dr. Camilla Stoltenberg, director of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, said that there are few countries with such complete records.

“This is a great study,” said Dr. Denise J. Jamieson, an obstetrician and a medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who was not involved in the work. “It’s nicely done, with good data, and it’s additional information about the importance of the flu vaccine for pregnant women. It shows that it’s effective and might reduce the risk for fetal death.”

In Norway, the vaccine is recommended only in the second and third trimesters, so the study includes little data on vaccination in the first trimester. The C.D.C. recommends the vaccine for all pregnant women, regardless of trimester.

“We knew from other studies that the vaccine protects the woman and the newborn,” Dr. Stoltenberg said. “This study clearly indicates that it protects fetuses as well. I seriously suggest that pregnant women get vaccinated during every flu season.”

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JPMorgan, Goldman profits rise sharply

NEW YORK — Two major Wall Street banks reported a surge in profits during the last three months of 2012, but analysts cast doubt on whether that will continue this year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the country's largest bank by assets, posted $5.7 billion in earnings in the fourth quarter, a 53% increase from the same period a year ago. Investment banking giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reported earnings of $2.8 billion, nearly tripling its haul from the same period a year ago.

The results sailed past analyst projections, providing a window into Wall Street's profitability as the economy struggles to recover and as the industry grapples with new banking regulations.

"We're definitely coming out of the abyss," said Ken Leon, a banking analyst at S&P Capital IQ. But, he cautioned: "We are not anywhere near euphoria."

Investors sent both firms' shares higher Wednesday, during a week in which Citigroup, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley will also report earnings.

JPMorgan's profit was buoyed by growth tied to an improving housing market, investment banking and its own investments. The bank reported big jumps in mortgages — originations of $52 million, up 33%. Commercial loans grew 14% in the fourth quarter, to a record $128 billion.

The bank's profit also got a boost from reserves released because of borrowers' improving credit and the decreased likelihood they would default on their loans.

JPMorgan's earnings were weighed down by an approximately $700-million expense for its chunk of the so-called Independent Foreclosure Review settlement. The bank was one of 10 major financial companies that reached the $8.5-billion settlement — announced last week — with federal regulators to end their probe of alleged foreclosure abuses.

While the bank saw a 12% jump in profit overall last year thanks in large part to a decline in provisions for credit losses, revenue was essentially flat compared to 2011.

Despite JPMorgan's surge in profit, the bank's board punished Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon for management failures that led to the bank suffering about $6 billion in losses from risky derivatives bets made by a trader nicknamed the "London Whale."

JPMorgan's board of directors slashed Dimon's pay 50%, saying he "bears ultimate responsibility" for missteps by the bank's chief investment office. The losses were disclosed last May.

"This was one huge, embarrassing mistake," he said.

One of the highest-paid and most-respected figures on Wall Street, Dimon will take in $11.5 million in 2012 compensation, down from a $23-million pay package in 2011.

His 2012 salary remained flat at last year's $1.5 million, but his overall compensation includes $10 million in restricted stock units, down sharply from the previous year. Dimon said he respected the board's decision.

Charles Elson, director of the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware, said the rare docking of a major bank chief's pay made an important symbolic statement that executives should be paid based on their performance.

"It's not going to change his lifestyle," Elson said of Dimon's pay cut, "but it certainly makes the point."

Looking ahead, Dimon expressed optimism about the economy.

"Consumers, businesses, housing and small businesses — they're all in pretty good shape," he said in a call with analysts.

But sustaining growth in mortgage origination could prove challenging this year, and low interest rates make traditional banking less profitable, analysts said.

"Traditional banking is not making nearly as much money," said Lance Roberts, who heads StreetTalk Advisors, an investment advisory firm. "There's a big disconnect between the profitability of the banks and Main Street America."

While Goldman's profit in investment banking and trading surged, the bank's results were lifted by its own private-equity investments and an 11% reduction in compensation, Goldman's biggest expense. Goldman has become a profit powerhouse and its employees are among the most highly compensated on Wall Street.

JPMorgan's stock added 47 cents, or 1%, to $46.82 in trading Wednesday. Goldman gained $5.50, or 4%, to $141.09 a share.

andrew.tangel@latimes.com

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USC rolls out the unwelcome mat

Dontez Sharpley approached the entryway to USC at Jefferson Boulevard and Trousdale Parkway late at night, expecting to make his usual trek through the campus to catch a bus home after a shift at the Starbucks across the street.

But as he walked onto campus, he was stopped by a security guard, who told him he was not allowed to pass through the university unless he was a registered guest. Exasperated, Sharpley, 22, ran along the perimeter before being stopped by another guard at another checkpoint.

"This is ridiculous," he told this guard. "People getting off of work, trying to go through there and you're telling them they can't?"

This week marks the beginning of heightened security measures at USC that restrict late-night guests and require identification checks for all visitors between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. Other measures, including the use of fingerprinting scanners at dorms and license plate recognition cameras, are also being introduced this semester.

The changes come after two violent incidents last year rocked USC and prompted new calls for tighter security: The Halloween shooting on campus that left four people wounded, and the two graduate students from China who were killed in a botched robbery less than a mile from campus.

Some students said they like the extra security. Others lamented the inconvenience. But some campus neighbors said the measure goes too far and makes them feel unwelcome.

"It goes both ways for me. Yes, it's safe, but it can only sour relations with the community," said USC sophomore Connor Gustafson, who notices many people passing through on their way to the Exposition Line.

Late-night visitors must now be preregistered online by a USC student, faculty or staff member. Outside promoters are also banned from working at USC social events on campus and Fraternity Row.

Until now, people roamed freely off and on USC, with many of them taking the safe, well-lit shortcut through campus. But with the new initiatives, USC closes most of its entrances after 9 p.m., blocking all but eight entryways with iron fences and temporary gates.

USC senior Reggie Mccollumm did a double take Monday night when he walked past the red metal gates."It looks like a prison," he said, laughing. "This is a joke. I'm sorry, this is awful. Just look at it."

Some community members say the new security policy may also complicate an already strained relationship with its University Park neighbors.

The increasing number of students living off campus have driven up rents in the neighborhoods, and community leaders say a $1.2-billion expansion project at University Village threatens to gentrify the area and push out the poor.

The limited late-night access fuels the divide, said USC alumnus Hector Sanchez, 32.

"It's a place where people should be able to access," Sanchez said. "Slowly but surely, USC is creating this divide of us versus them."

As a youngster, Sanchez would bypass the liquor stores and gang violence on his way to watch the USC football team practice. He fantasized about one day joining them on the field.

"It makes you dream that you can come here," he said. "Now it seems like they are trying to do the opposite by closing its doors and making it an unreachable place."

But university officials said they have spent decades trying to foster strong ties with the community through academic programs that provide a pathway to admission for nearby underprivileged students such as Sanchez.

In an open letter announcing the new policy, USC President C.L. "Max" Nikias described the changes as "a small inconvenience" given how strongly he feels about the safety and security of the campus.

It's a difficult balancing act, said Anne Glavin, president of the International Assn. of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators.

"I think USC is responding this way because they have to," Glavin said. "They have to look at what their first priority is, and that's their students, faculty and staff."

Back at the security checkpoint at Jefferson Boulevard and Trousdale Parkway, longboarders, cyclists and commuters slowed to a stop as guards asked for USC identification. Friends were forced to part ways because some were not registered online beforehand. Others tried to make a dash around the gate, only to be promptly stopped by security.

Sharpley, the commuter, hustled to catch the 9:22 p.m. bus to his Baldwin Hills home, taking the long way around campus.

"This is a crazy situation," he said, adding that the next one wouldn't come for an hour. "This is exercise, but I pray to God I don't miss my bus."

angel.jennings@latimes.com

rosanna.xia@latimes.com

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Tablet shipments in 2013 could be lower than previously expected

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Oxygen halts controversial 'Babies' Mamas' project

NEW YORK (AP) — Oxygen Media has pulled the plug on "All My Babies' Mamas," a reality special the network was developing about a musician who has fathered 11 children with 10 different mothers.

The network offered no reason for curtailing the project. In a statement issued Tuesday, Oxygen said that, "as part of our development process, we have reviewed casting and decided not to move forward with the special."

The one-hour program would have featured Atlanta rap artist Shawty Lo, his children and their mothers. It was expected to air later this year on Oxygen, an NBCUniversal cable network owned by Comcast.

"All My Babies' Mamas" got a hostile public reception after Oxygen announced it last month. At least one petition calling for Oxygen to shut it down has collected more than 37,000 signatures.

The Parents Television Council called the program's concept "grotesquely irresponsible and exploitive" and pledged to contact advertisers of the show if it reached the air.

Previously, Oxygen denied charges that the show was meant to be "a stereotypical representation of everyday life for any one demographic or cross section of society," but rather would reveal "the complicated lives of one man, his children's mamas and their army of children."

On Tuesday, Oxygen said it will "continue to develop compelling content that resonates with our young female viewers and drives the cultural conversation."

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Online:

www.oxygen.com

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