LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fox and the producers of "American Idol" say Randy Jackson is leaving the show after 13 seasons.
In a statement Tuesday, the network and producers call Jackson a key part of the singing contest and say he'll be welcomed back as a visitor.
Phone and email requests to his publicist seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Jackson, Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul made up Idol's original judging panel. Jackson served as a judge for 12 seasons, with "dawg" becoming his trademark word while assessing contestants.
Jackson moved to the role of mentor this year. His departure leaves host Ryan Seacrest as the only original cast member.
American Idol is set to return in January with judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Keith Urban.
Marilyn's love letters for auction
BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) -- It's no secret Joe DiMaggio loved Marilyn Monroe. The baseball great cried at her funeral and for 20 years had flowers placed at her crypt several times a week.
The public displays were unusual for the famously stoic and private DiMaggio. Now, his heartbreak over the break-up of their marriage will get a rare public airing when "Marilyn Monroe's Lost Archives" goes up for bid at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills next month.
"I love you and want to be with you," DiMaggio said in one pained letter to Monroe from the collection, written when she announced she was filing for divorce after a matter of months in 1954. "There is nothing I would like better than to restore your confidence in me."
The 300 items also include love letters from Monroe's third and final husband, playwright Arthur Miller. There's also a handwritten letter from Monroe to Miller in which the woman who was arguably Hollywood' s greatest sex symbol muses about her many insecurities.
DiMaggio wrote in his letter that he learned Monroe was leaving him when he saw her make the announcement on television.
"My heart split even wider seeing you cry in front of all these people," he wrote in the letter addressed to "Mrs. Joe DiMaggio" and mailed special delivery.
Other letters in the collection come from such friends as Clark Gable, Cary Grant and Jane Russell, the latter imploring Monroe in 10 neatly handwritten pages to give her marriage to DiMaggio another chance.
Freeman a free man
LONDON, England (AP) -- The City of London has given Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman the Freedom of the City award.
The time-honoured ceremony makes Freeman a freeman in the City of London.
The award is believed to have originated in the 13th century and allows Freeman to carry out his trade.
In days gone by, freemen were allowed to herd sheep over London Bridge but that privilege no longer applies.
Freeman was honoured for his acting and his charitable works.
The 77-year-old Freeman has acted in dozens of films, including The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby, Driving Miss Daisy and Unforgiven.
The ceremony was held Wednesday at London's Guildhall. It started with Morgan reading the Declaration of a Freeman.