LAS VEGAS - A 19-year-old woman was the driving force behind a youthful burglary ring that preyed on Hollywood's rich and famous, often brazenly walking into unlocked homes to make off with cash, jewels and family heirlooms, authorities said.
LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson's father is seeking an allowance from his son's estate to help cover expenses that exceed $15,000 a month, according to court documents filed Friday. The request seeking an unspecified amount for Joe Jackson was filed by lawyer Brian Oxman, who said there was no apparent reason for the administrators of the estate to not seek an allowance for the Jackson family patriarch.
HONOLULU - The Honolulu Symphony said Friday it's canceling concerts for the rest of the year and filing for bankruptcy, citing a big drop in donations.
LOS ANGELES - A judge sentenced "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis on Friday to 301 days already served and a year of probation for filing false income tax returns and bribing Nevada jail workers.
DEAR ABBY: I am a 16-year-old guy in my sophomore year of high school. I am known as a friendly, outgoing guy who gets along with girls. My problem is, I used to be one of the biggest jerks who ever was. I was involved in fighting and other things I won't go into. But I turned my life around.
NEW YORK - First it was books. Now it's DVDs.
NEW YORK - Rihanna on Friday described the horror she felt as her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown was biting and punching her during a violent argument in February, saying she saw "no soul in his eyes."
DEAR ABBY: My boss wants my cell phone number for "work purposes." He has trouble with limits, and I am reluctant to give it to him. I don't want to receive text messages, unsolicited calls or contact outside of work. My private life is just that -- private.
NEW YORK - A reality show miniseries about the Jackson family will premiere Dec. 13 on A&E, the network says. Back-to-back hour episodes will air that night at 9 p.m. EST.
NEW YORK - Some suicide prevention groups aren't laughing over a scene in "The Office" where Steve Carell's character tries to scare young children by struggling in a hangman's noose.
New York - Nine of Korea's top fashion designers presented a selection of looks from their 2010 collections at a special runway show in New York on Wednesday, Nov. 4, kicking off a two-day preview event for local buyers.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - R&B singer Rihanna broke her silence on Friday about the night her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown attacked her, saying he had bitten her, put her in a headlock and left her bleeding and swollen.
DEAR ABBY: My wife and I were visiting our children and grandson, "Rhett," age 24. Rhett is a college student who lives at home. He had his girlfriend, "Peggy," who lives in another town, at the house for the weekend.
Fox, of course, was hoping for a seven game baseball series. But the sixth, and final, World Series match-up between the Yankees and the Phillies rose to a series-high 22.66 million viewers and a 7.3 rating/20 share among adults 18-49, leading Fox to an easy Wednesday victory. Here were the network averages for Nov. 4:
DEAR ABBY: Please print this for me on behalf of myself and all the other well-intentioned folks out there who have lent money to others.
DEAR ABBY: Thank you for your response to "Alarmed in Apple Valley" (Aug. 28), who was concerned because her teenage nephew shows so much affection toward his mother.
ATLANTA - R&B singer Usher's divorce from his wife is final, according to court documents.
WARWICK, R.I. - Two-time Oscar-nominated actor James Woods has sued a Rhode Island hospital over the 2006 death of his younger brother.
"Sex and the City" star Kim Cattrall and Matthew Macfadyen, who played Mr. Darcy in the 2005 film version of "Pride and Prejudice," are to star in the West End in a new production of Noel Coward's 1930 comedy Private Lives.
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - An unseasonal gust of wind greets Alicia Keys as she steps out of a doorway behind a Beverly Hills hotel on a late October afternoon.
NEW YORK (Billboard) - For the mini-orchestra Pink Martini, taking the slow but steady independent route has paid off during its 15-year career.
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP) - An exhibition on Leon Trotsky, one of the architects of the 1917 Russian Revolution, opened in Saint Petersburg on Friday -- the eve of the uprising's 92nd anniversary.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Matthew Broderick says he's puzzled by the bashing he's received for his actions during the first New York preview of "The Starry Messenger," a new play by good friend Kenneth Lonergan.
NEW YORK (Billboard) - The emerging genre of "island pop" has enjoyed recent success with the music of Sean Kingston and Jason DeRulo, and now 22-year-old recording artist Iyaz has landed a hit single in the genre.
LOS ANGELES - Nick Counter, a longtime negotiator for Hollywood producers who led the studios through two grueling writers' strikes last year and in 1988, has died. He was 69.
LONDON (Reuters) - British singer Elton John left hospital on Thursday after being treated for a serious case of e-coli bacterial infection and influenza that forced him to cancel a string of concerts, his representative said on Thursday.
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - In the latest addition to the popular book series "Chicken Soup for the Soul," music fans can satisfy their curiosity about the origins of their favorite songs.