AP - "It's a deeply personal matter. I would ask you to respect my privacy in the matter." — Christian Bale, on allegations that he assaulted his mother and sister at a London hotel.

Reuters - Rapper and hip-hop mogul 50 Cent sued Taco Bell on Wednesday, saying the restaurant chain made him the star of its hip-hop themed ad campaign without his permission and without paying him a fee.

AP - With Alison Krauss touring this summer with Robert Plant, the guys in her band, Union Station, had some time to kill, like enough to read biographies of all 43 presidents and maybe paint their houses and their neighbors' houses, too.

Reuters - Katy Perry led the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for a fifth week on Thursday with "I Kissed a Girl," while Rihanna's former chart-topper, "Take a Bow," was No. 2 for a third week.

AP - DMX rapped for reporters outside a Phoenix courtroom after pleading not guilty to felony charges of theft and identity theft.

E! Online - The ABBA-channeling Meryl Streep apparently doesn't have the same street cred as Nas and Lil Wayne.

E! Online - Mindy McCready's hope for a comeback just got pushed back, after a drug and booze binge landed the troubled country songbird first in the emergency room of a Tennessee hospital and then in an Arizona rehab center.

AP - Not every musician will make a film that features a fan facing him from a concert audience with two arms raised, middle fingers extended — more than one fan, in fact.

AP - Two 14-week-old American bald eagles named by Disney star Miley Cyrus and her country singer father, Billy Ray Cyrus, will be released into the wild Thursday at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

AP - It was more than 50 years ago but Ry Cooder remembers it like it could have been last week; he was 8 years old and Johnny Cash came on the radio singing "Hey Porter."

Reuters - Kanye West has joined forces with MTV for the documentary "Choose or Lose & Kanye West Present: Homecoming," the next installment of the "Choose or Lose" campaign, which tells the stories of war veterans and the difficulties they face once they return home.