LOS ANGELES TIMES: Talk host David Letterman said Thursday that he was the victim of a $2-million extortion attempt related to his sexual relationships with staffers on CBS’ “The Late Show.” During a taping for tonight’s broadcast, Letterman told viewers that three weeks ago he was approached by a person who claimed to have information about the host’s affairs with female staff members. This person, Letterman said, threatened to expose the relationships unless payment of $2 million was received. The CBS star approached the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which began an investigation that culminated in today’s arrest of the person, whom Letterman did not identify. Letterman, 62, said that during his grand-jury testimony he admitted to the sexual relationships. “My response to that is, yes I have,” he told his studio audience. “Would it be embarrassing if it were made public? Perhaps.” However, he added: “I need to certainly protect my family.” MORE

UPDATE: A CBS News employee is accused of trying to extort $2 million from David Letterman, forcing the late-night host to admit in an extraordinary monologue before millions of viewers that he had sexual relationships with female employees. The network said the person who was arrested works on the true-crime show “48 Hours” and has been suspended. A person with knowledge of the investigation said the suspect is Robert J. Halderman. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because authorities have not released the suspect’s name. MORE

UPDATE: New Jersey moved closer to allowing chronically ill patients to smoke marijuana to relieve symptoms of pain and nausea. The Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee approved the medical marijuana bill by an 8-1 vote with two abstentions Thursday. New Jersey would become the 14th state with such a law if it passes the Legislature and Gov. Jon Corzine signs it. Corzine has said he would. MORE

THE EXAMINER: Just when we thought that New Jersey would be the fourteenth state to ratify laws lifting the ban on medical marijuana, a new obstacle has appeared to slow it down. Incumbent Governor Jon Corzine, who said he would sign the bill into law, is facing an uphill battle against Republican candidate Chris Christie, who opposes the measure. The fate of bill S-119, it seems, rests on the November 2nd, 2009 election results. […] The bill goes to Commitee for a vote this Thursday, June 4th. If it passes, the bill will head to the governor’s desk. If Corzine is still in office this November, New Jersey will become the fourteenth state to legalize medical marijuana, another big step towards legalization and taxation on a national level. If he is ousted by Christie, however, New Jersey and the United States as a whole will have to wait a little bit longer. MORE

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REM: South Central Rain

We’re posting this because this song is from the REM’s 1984 album Reckoning and we used RECKONING in the original headline of this post — coincidences like that come around once in a lifetime and besides that’s the way bloggers roll. But also because we still love the song, and fondly remember the time when they were the Grizzly Bear of their time. But more importantly, to point out the lovable WTF-ness of both David Letterman and rock music in 1983, when a buzzed-about-but-still-jammin’-Econo rock band gets a shot at national television exposure, they elect to go with a song they haven’t even recorded yet. And the show let’s them. Now THAT’S entertainment. Enjoy.

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