Apologizes

A chagrined David Letterman apologized to his staff Monday and noted that his wife has been "horribly hurt" by the news that he slept with women who worked for him on CBS' "Late Show" in the years leading up to their marriage. "If you hurt a person and it's your responsibility, you try to fix it," he said on the program. "Let me tell you, folks, I got my work cut out for me." Letterman struck a notably more contrite tone than on Thursday, when he revealed that a man had allegedly sought to extort $2 million from him to keep quiet about the comic's affairs.

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett has apologized for any embarrassment he caused his state when he revived a widely discredited conspiracy theory about President Obama's birthplace by requesting verification that the president was born in Hawaii. The apology came on the same day that Hawaii officials finally responded to Bennett's request for “verification in lieu of” the birth certificate, which he said last week could be a precondition for placing Obama's name on the Arizona ballot.  “If I embarrassed the state, I apologize, but that certainly wasn't my intent,” Bennett said Tuesday in an interview with radio station KTAR.

Louisville men's basketball Coach Rick Pitino on Wednesday apologized for his "indiscretion" of having sex with a woman who later was charged with trying to extort him and vowed to continue coaching the Cardinals for as long as "they will have me." His comments were the first since news broke Tuesday that he told police that he and Karen Sypher had sex on a table at a Louisville restaurant six years ago. Two weeks later, the married father of five gave Sypher $3,000 after she said she needed an abortion and didn't have health insurance, according to a summary of Pitino's July 12 statement to police.

SEATTLE -- Before President Obama sat down for a television interview to announce he was now in favor of same-sex marriage, he received an apology from Vice President Joe Biden, the man whose own comments on the issue days earlier hastened the decision for Obama to go public with his long-awaited reversal. According to a source familiar with the conversation, Biden expressed his regret for getting ahead of Obama on the issue, after he told NBC's David Gregory that he was "absolutely comfortable" with gay couples being married.

The Indianapolis Star apologized to Duke on Friday after publishing in some editions of its newspaper an illustration that depicted Blue Devils Coach Mike Krzyzewski with horns. "It was kind of juvenile," Krzyzewski said. "Not kind of, it was just juvenile. You know, my seven grandkids didn't enjoy looking at it. That's not Papi. "We have great kids who go to school, they graduate. If we're going to be despised or hated by anybody because we go to school and we want to win, you know what?

I realize that an apology coming at this time may do little to change Christopher Reynolds' opinion of our hotel ("San Diego Hotels, the Best for Style and Value," April 23). However, we apologize for the inconvenience he experienced during his recent stay with us. We are in the process of planning the relocation of our laundry room; we recognize that our laundry equipment causes a tremor and this problem will be corrected very shortly. Thank you for bringing this to our attention and please accept my sincere apologies.

The Florida Democrat who said Republicans wanted sick people to "die quickly" is apologizing for a new bout of inflammatory rhetoric, in which he used a derogatory term for women. Rep. Alan Grayson said late Tuesday that it was inappropriate for him to call Federal Reserve advisor Linda Robertson a "K Street whore" during an interview last month on the "Alex Jones Show," a syndicated talk radio program. Robertson is a former top Enron lobbyist and Clinton administration advisor who was hired by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to help with congressional relations as lawmakers are seeking more oversight of the agency.

Washington Redskins rookie linebacker Robert Henson has been inactive for the team's first two games this season, which has apparently given him too much time to think. After the Redskins endured boos from their home fans during an ugly 9-7 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, Henson used his Twitter account to call the fans "dim wits." Henson wrote: "All you fake half hearted Skins fan can . . . I won't go there but I dislike you very strongly, don't come to Fed Ex to boo dim wits!

USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett has sent a letter of apology to the University of Florida and several other schools regarding allegations made by USC that the schools had made impermissible contact with running back Dillon Baxter after the NCAA announced sanctions against the Trojans. ESPN reported last month that a USC compliance official had sent a letter to Pacific 10 Conference officials alleging that Florida, Washington, Oregon, Fresno State and Alabama had contacted Baxter, a freshman who enrolled at USC in January and participated in spring practice.

A chastened Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger accepted his six-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy Monday and promised to "comply with what is asked of me — and more." In his first comments since the NFL handed down the penalty last week, Roethlisberger apologized to his teammates and fans for his behavior last month in a Georgia bar, where a 20-year-old college student accused him of sexual assault. "The commissioner's decision to suspend me speaks clearly that more is expected of me. I am accountable for the consequences of my actions.

Mitt Romney apologized Thursday after a newspaper story described bullying behavior on his part when he was an 18-year-old senior at an elite, all-boys prep school in Michigan. The Washington Post detailed a 1965 incident at Cranbrook School in which a buttoned-down Romney apparently was incensed by the dyed blond locks of a junior known for his "nonconformity and presumed homosexuality. " He led a "posse" of students in a charge against the boy, the Post reported. "He can't look like that," Romney reportedly told a close friend at the time.

A Washington Post investigation into Mitt Romney's years at the Cranbrook School in Michigan, which included a disturbing account of Romney bullying a student who later turned out to be gay, earned an unusual apology from the presumptive GOP presidential nominee Thursday morning. The incident came to light one day after President Barack Obama said he supports same-sex marriage, and Romney reiterated his opposition. “Back in high school, I did some dumb things,” Romney said during a radio interview Thursday morning.

Yahoo Inc. Chief Executive Scott Thompson apologized to employees as the fallout from a questionable resume spread to the company's board, with director Patti Hart announcing she would not seek reelection. The Sunnyvale, Calif., company also said Tuesday that it had formed a special three-person committee to conduct a thorough review of Thompson's academic credentials "as well as the facts and circumstances related to the review and disclosure of those credentials" in connection with his CEO appointment.

Talk about a bad trip. It started when Daniel Chong, a 23-year-old UC San Diego student, spent a night with friends to mark April 20, which some pot afficionados consider something of a holiday. It ended with an ordeal behind bars. The Drug Enforcement Administration apologized Wednesday to Chong, who was "accidentally" left in a holding cell for five days and reportedly drank his own urine to survive. San Diego attorney Gene Iredale said his client was "still recovering" from the ordeal.

In sheer emotion and rage, Lakers forward Metta World Peace swung his arms violently. He had just thrown down his third dunk of the game late in the first half, and the 18,997 fans at Staples Center erupted with joy. No one looked more elated than World Peace, who pounded his right fist on his chest. He then cocked his arm back and swung an elbow at Oklahoma City forward James Harden. Harden fell to the ground clutching his ear. Thunder forward Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka went toward World Peace, who squared up and appeared ready to defend himself.

A Florida judge Friday set a $150,000 bond for George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot an unarmed black teenager and touched off a firestorm of controversy about race and the American justice system. Zimmerman, 28, appeared in court in a dark suit and gray tie, and, in a surprising move, took the stand. There, in a voice verging on meek, he apologized to the family of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old he admits he shot -- but only, he says, in self-defense. "I wanted to say I am sorry for the loss of your son," he said to the parents, who attended the hearing in the central Florida city of Sanford, where the shooting took place.

Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson issued an apology Tuesday and was told to stay away from the team while the NFL and the Chiefs complete their investigation into his use of a gay slur. As Johnson was releasing his apology, a national gay rights advocacy organization called on the league and the team to take disciplinary action against the two-time Pro Bowl player. The episode began Sunday night, when Johnson questioned Coach Todd Haley's football credentials on his Twitter account.

The White House has apologized to a former USDA employee it now says was fired before the situation involving controversial videotaped comments was fully reviewed. "A disservice was done, for which we apologize," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday afternoon, saying he spoke for the entire administration. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was attempting to reach the former employee, Shirley Sherrod, to speak further about the matter, Gibbs added. Vilsack said in a statement released overnight that he would reconsider the department's decision to demand Sherrod's resignation.

ATLANTA - George Zimmerman apologized to the parents of the unarmed black teenager he fatally shot, as a Florida judge set his bail at $150,000, offering the former neighborhood watch volunteer a path to freedom after more than a week in jail. By midafternoon Friday, Zimmerman was still in custody, but his freedom was "being worked on as we speak," said Jimmy Woods, a spokesman forMark O'Mara, Zimmerman's attorney. Zimmerman, 28, appeared in the Sanford, Fla., courtroom at 9 a.m. in a dark suit and gray tie, his hair in a buzz cut, his hands bound by a chain circling his waist.