60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl, who, like Liz Smith, has refashioned herself into a lady advice disher on spam-friendly WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW.COMOCOMOCOMOCOM, now finds it appropriate to go offline with her oversharing: "DID Lesley Stahl crack an inappropriate sex joke during her commencement speech at Jesuit-run Loyola College? A witness tells us the "60 Minutes" correspondent jolted the crowd of proud moms and dads last weekend by using the word "pusillanimous," adding that it "doesn't have anything to do with p - - - y." (The word means lacking in courage). Stahl claimed through a CBS spokesman she actually said "pussycat." An excerpt from her speech posted on Loyola's Web site doesn't include the contested remark. Asked to clarify what Stahl said, a Loyala rep told us, "We have no interest in commenting." She declined to release the rest of the tape." [P6]

Gruesomely, this isn't the first time we've had to hear about Stahl and sex.

CONTINUED »

Just this month, Leslie Stahl was making ink for helping launch WOWOWOW.com with some of her girlfriends. Around this time last year, however, her ink was stained red with rumors she was behind a slew of Katie Couric-bashing leaks. And now, more crimson, this time for a March 2006 60 Minutes report she bludgeoned, with misleading information, made up facts, and conspiracy theories.

In reporting on hedge fund companies who use negative press to drive down the stock price of a company they're looking to take over on the cheap, Stahl fingered SAC Capital of doing exactly that with pharmaceutical giant Biovail Corp. SAC, Stahl alleged, was having negative items about the company planted in order to convince shareholders they needed to dump their shares.

Only problem? The lawsuit filed by Biovail accusing SAC of doing just that was the real frivolous part of all this.

In fact, it was Biovail who was guilty of the misdeeds; the SEC on Monday sued the company for "repeatedly overstated earnings and hid losses in order to deceive investors" and "actively misled investors and analysts about the reasons for the company’s poor performance." (Biovail has settled for $10 million, without admitting wrongdoing.)

So all the while 60 Minutes was warning small-time shareholders about the evil SAC and its kin, it was the company whose defense CBS came to that was guilty of fleecing investors. And they should've known: When 60 Minutes ran its story, Biovail was already under SEC investigation.

Stahl refused to make herself available for comment; 60 Minutes said it stands by its story.

David Beckham's bulge increased sales of Emporio Armani underwear by 30 percent. But his foot also appeared in just five Los Angeles Galaxy soccer games, inviting reporters to speculate he's past his prime. Is he just a washed up endorsement deal? Let Anderson Cooper do what he does best: get to the bottom of things. (We're here all night!)

The CNN anchor's hyped 60 Minutes segment aired last night, and the only thing tighter than Cooper's T-shirt was Beckham's shot at the net … which Anderson volunteered to stand in front of and risk getting nailed. (Ba-duh-bum!)

CONTINUED »

Be sure to tune your TV to 60 Minutes on Sunday, when cancer survivor Anderson Cooper will drool over David Beckham as he hits the soccer field to discuss the footy's lucrative Los Angeles Galaxy contract and the option for him to buy his own Major League Soccer team.

Notes CBSNews.com: Beckham will "bend it" for Cooper. He'll also give him a full-body tour of all 15 of his tattoos. Mmmmm. That video after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Democratic FCC appointee Michael Copps will make it his personal mission to turn grey the hair on chairman Kevin Martin's head. Copps, pictured, who's held his post since 2001, wants to know why Alabama CBS affiliate WHNT dropped a broadcast of 60 Minutes last month when a segment about the prosecution of former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman aired. The news magazine "made the case that Siegelman had been wrongly convicted on the basis of a politically motivated case built by Republican prosecutors and White House political advisor Karl Rove." For its part, WHNT says the blackout wasn't intentional; an equipment failure was to blame for the lost feed. Skeptics remain, which is why Copps wants Martin to formally investigate the issue. Martin, a Republican appointee made chairman by President Bush, said only he would look into the matter. Collecting penalty fees from NYPD Blue and the Super Bowl remain significantly more important. [Reuters]

TRIPLE THREAT Mike Wallace is recovering from the triple-bypass heart surgery he had over the weekend at Lenox Hill Hospital. A ticking clock joke that referenced the 60 Minutes theme and our own morality would be inappropriate, right? [NYP]

DEMOGRAPHICS 60 Minutes had season-low ratings this weekend for its feature on Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Young people don't watch old people TV. [Silicon Alley Insider]

• Joke's over. South Carolinian democrats stubbornly refuse to allow a comedian to run for the leader of the free world as a publicity stunt.

• Tennis truly is nothing like Hollywood. Example: Martina Hingis tests positive for cocaine; she retires in disgrace. Lindsay Lohan goes to rehab for cocaine use; she comes back with a ProActiv sponsorship and a shiny new movie deal.

• 60 Minutes proves way more effective at apprehending criminals than To Catch A Predator.

• Jacob the Jeweler is sent to prison, thereby depriving hardworking celebrities of their much-needed bling. Meanwhile, being incarcerated hasn't stopped Jacob from launching his own $80 vodka, called "Bocaj" (his name spelled backwards). Which we think it truly "C-i-t-o-i-d-i."

CONTINUED »

So, yesterday we told you how Katie Couric grilled John and Elizabeth Edwards, forcing them to explain the impetus behind their decision to have Edwards remain in the presidential race. All things considered, we found Couric "tough, but fair", but not all of you agreed.

Some of you thought Katie was overly hard on the Edwardses, unfairly aggressive with her questions and not nearly sympathetic enough with regards to their predicament. Others felt Couric asked the questions on every American's mind, bringing the pivotal issues to the forefront and giving the Edwardses a chance to confront their criticism head-on.

But what did the Edwardses think? Today, John Edwards shares his reactions.

CONTINUED »

In her 60 Minutes interview with John and Elizabeth Edwards last night, Kate Couric surprised viewers by asking hard-hitting questions, and exhibiting what some considered an "overly aggressive" line of questioning.

Katie Couric on 60 MINUTES aggressively questions John and Elizabeth Edwards after announcement that Mrs. Edwards has cancer and that he will stay in the race:

"Some people wonder if you are in denial."
"Some have suggested that you're capitalizing on this."
"You're putting your work first, and your family second."
"The president can not be distracted by caring about his wife's situation."

Though, given Katie's hardball questions and no-nonsense interview style, the "callous or courageous" question can certainly be applied to her as well. So what's the final verdict?

CONTINUED »

• Breaking: Positive press bonanza ends for Barack Obama as unreliable sources report he was a 6-year-old terrorist.

• 60 Minute alums strive to follow up success of boring, news magazine show with boring, news magazine.

• World News Tonight bounces back from Peter Jennings, Bob Woodruff tragedies to bitch-slap Katie Couric in the ratings.

&bull: Related: CBS is 'absolutely thrilled' with Katie Couric and her low-ranking news broadcast.

• The Boston Globe to cut costs, save lives, by pulling its reporters out of Iraq.

• Ron Burkle, Eli Broad fly to Chicago to fight over a company no one else cares about.

• Ed2010 founder lands her dream job 3 years ahead of schedule.

• VF continues parading around sneaky Brad Pitt publicity.

• BusinessWeek runs the PR listicle PR Week should have. (Update: Oh look, they did.)

• It's not just MTV: 60 Minutes has rules about showing brands, too.

• OK! raises price, sees newsstand sales drop, remains mum on actual gauge of catastrophe.

CONTINUED »

• Comedy Central bites most generous hand. A Viacom vs. Google turf war? [NYT]

• 60 Minutes hope new flashy colors will attract younger audiences. [TVSquad]

• Cosmo may have its 50 eligible bachelors (half gay), but we're far more interested in the FICO scores of BusinessWeek's Top 50 Entrepreneuers. [BW]

• Despite an order of three more scripts, Studio 60 looks to be the next on NBC's chopping block. How 30 Rock flew under the radar is anyone's guess. [Fox 411]

• Those NBC Universal cuts, point by point. [Variety]

• Katie Couric disclosed she donated money to Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease charity so nobody could bring it up later to bash her for keeping a secret. [Public Eye]

• Demi Moore provocateur and photog Steve Sands files suit against the NYPD for stripping him of his press credentials. A public service, indeed. [Radar]

From Sunday night's 60 Minutes:

I called him a little-dick white boy," she said, laughing. "And how he couldn't get it on his own and had to pay for it. So, he was mad. And it ended with him callin' me the n-word. And it echoed, so you heard nigger once, and then you heard, nigger, nigger, nigger.

From Sunday night's 60 Minutes web story:

I called him a little [expletive] white boy," she recalls laughing. "And how he couldn't get it on his own and had to pay for it. So, he was mad. And it ended with him callin' me the n-word. And it echoed, so you heard n….. once, and then you heard, n….., n….., n….. .

Nah, it wasn't Ice-T's wife Coco reminiscing about their wedding night. That was Kim Masters, one of the dancers who performed the night of the alleged Duke lacrosse rape, speaking to Ed Bradley. So why the two renditions of the same conversation: The on-air version, filled with expletives, and the text version, filled with elipses? Says a CBS flack: Simple error on the part of a CBS employee, who assumed – incorrectly – that Masters' language would trigger CBS's censors. Or, as we like to say, "Who knew it'd take a rape allegation to get the term 'little-dick white boy' on the air?"

Why Did 60 Minutes Censor on the Web But Not on the Air? [CJR]

Yes, Katie Couric is set bring some celeb sparkle to the dull world of CBS. And joining her in this famous newscaster flight to CBS is CNN's dreamboat reporter Anderson Cooper.

While it's unconfirmed by reps as of now, Michael Starr has the exclusive on Coopster's new gig as "occasional reporter" to 60 Minutes.

Cooper will stay at CNN as the host of "Anderson Cooper 360" and will contribute occasional reports to "60 Minutes" - which will also air on Cooper's show.

It will be the second time the networks have shared on-air talent. Cooper's CNN stablemate, Christiane Amanpour, contributed to "60 Minutes" for several years.

We don't what kind of money Les Moonves is throwing around, but he sure is pulling some price strings of late. If they ever get Couric and Cooper side by side at the anchor desk we might actually have to watch CBS.

COOPER JOINS '60 MINUTES' [Michael Starr, New York Post]