Reuters - Will Smith, the closest thing to a sure bet in Hollywood these days, flew to the top of the worldwide box office with his critically mauled superhero saga "Hancock," distributor Columbia Pictures said on Sunday.

Reuters - Merrill Lynch & Co may sell its 20 percent stake in financial news and data provider Bloomberg LP to a blind trust controlled by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, The New York Post reported on Friday.

Reuters - The call girl linked to the sex scandal that prompted the resignation of then-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer in March has dropped a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis.

Reuters - For years Hollywood's paparazzi have hounded celebrities, but now -- with help from local politicians, a lawyer in the Monica Lewinsky case, and even Malibu surfers -- they are the ones feeling the heat.

AP - Arlan Ettinger will never forget the response he got when he took one of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks' hats to a meeting at the Apollo Theater in New York.

Reuters - The Los Angeles Times will slash 250 jobs, including 150 in the newsroom, and trim its published pages by 15 percent in an effort to save money in the face of declining revenues, the newspaper said on Wednesday.

Reuters - The deteriorating U.S. economy and slumping stock prices will frame discussions among top media and technology executives at the 26th annual Allen & Co confab in Sun Valley, Idaho, next week.

Reuters - New EU competition rules on the collection of royalties have hit a wrong note with top songwriters such as Bee Gee Robin Gibb, who have threatened to pull their songs off the airwaves if they go ahead.

Reuters - Want to buy newspaper stocks? You should see an analyst. Trouble is there aren't many around anymore.

Reuters - Hollywood's latest labor cliffhanger will dangle unsettled for at least several more days.

AP - On-location movie shoots are on the rise in Los Angeles, despite repeated warnings from Hollywood studios that the possibility of an actors strike had stalled moviemaking, a permitting group said Wednesday.

Reuters - Elaborate DVD and Blu-ray Disc editions of "Batman Begins," "Casablanca" and "The Flintstones" top this year's slate of pricey gift sets from Warner Home Video, a category that experienced 26% growth in the past year, according to the studio.