State authorities say name of Corey Haim found on fraudulent prescription linked to drug ring

LOS ANGELES - The name of the late Toronto-born actor Corey Haim was found on a fraudulent prescription for a powerful painkiller that authorities said Friday was obtained through a major drug ring. California Attorney General Jerry Brown's office said records of the prescription in the name of the former teen heartthrob were found during an investigation of the ring that illegally obtained prescription pads and used the stolen identities of doctors to fill them out. - Read more...

The kids of 'South Park' going after Tiger Woods in 14th season opener

NEW YORK - Golf clubs in hands or not, the kids of "South Park" are ready to take on Tiger Woods. Creators of the Comedy Central cartoon have long since proven that no subject is sacred to them. So for the opening of its 14th season on Wednesday, the troubled golfer encounters Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman in their animated Colorado town. - Read more...

It's Bieber-mania on Twitter: Canadian heartthrob dominates the conversation

Canadian teen heartthrob Justin Bieber is the most talked about person on Twitter, and nearly the most talked about topic, period. Bieber-mania is growing on Twitter and is creating a deafening crescendo of chatter that is rising above virtually every other conversation on the popular social media site, which sees 50 million tweets posted daily. - Read more...

Leno's first week is ratings hit, but it's settling into a fight with Letterman

NEW YORK - After a smashing return, Jay Leno appears headed to a battle with David Letterman for late-night television supremacy. The Nielsen Co. says Leno averaged 5.6 million U.S. viewers last week, his first back at NBC's "The Tonight Show" following the ill-fated prime time experiment. Letterman had 3.7 million at CBS. Leno took advantage of curiosity over his return and a strong lineup of guests, including Olympic stars and Sarah Palin. It was a half-million more than he averaged his last season at "Tonight." - Read more...

Hong Kong festival to honour Indian screen legend Bachchan

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong International Film Festival plans to honour Indian screen legend Amitabh Bachchan with a lifetime achievement award at the event's Asian Film Awards. Organizers said in a statement late Friday the 67-year-old actor will accept the award in person at the annual prize ceremony March 22. - Read more...

Madonna offers relationship tips for laughs on 'The Marriage Ref'

NEW YORK - Madonna doesn't think a wife should withhold sex from a sloppy husband. But she believes a wife should dispose of her late husband's prosthetic leg to spare the feelings of the wife's current mate. - Read more...

The National Film Board to debut 'The 'Socalled' Movie' on YouTube in U.S.

MONTREAL - The National Film Board of Canada will debut a documentary about Montreal-based musician Socalled on YouTube in the U.S. next week. "The 'Socalled' Movie" will be available to Americans on the YouTube Video Rental Service on March 16. - Read more...

Stooges head into Rock Hall, an achievement Iggy Pop was sure wouldn't happen

DETROIT - Iggy Pop was starting to feel like the Susan Lucci of rock 'n' roll. Just as the veteran soap actress believed she might never win a Daytime Emmy, the godfather of punk was certain his groundbreaking band The Stooges wouldn't ever earn a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. - Read more...

Kate Snow leaving ABC News to join NBC this spring

NEW YORK - ABC News reporter and "Good Morning America" weekend host Kate Snow is jumping to NBC News. NBC announced Friday that Snow will begin work as a "Dateline NBC" correspondent later this spring. Snow has been with ABC since 2003 and one of its weekend morning anchors since the show launched in 2004. She covered Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, and was one of ABC's reporters in Haiti after the earthquake. - Read more...

Father of 'American Idol' judge DioGuardi to announce Senate run

The father of "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, former Republican congressman Joe DioGuardi, is set to announce he is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Kirsten Gillibrand. DioGuardi represented the suburbs north of New York City for two terms before he was defeated by Democrat Nita Lowey in 1988. - Read more...

Man pleads no contest to receiving watch stolen from actor Orlando Bloom's home

LOS ANGELES - Prosecutors say a man has pleaded no contest to receiving a Rolex watch stolen from Orlando Bloom's house during a spate of celebrity burglaries. Los Angeles County District Attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison says Jonathan Ajar entered the no contest plea Friday and will be sentenced on April 15. - Read more...

McLaren's romantic trials as a London scribe 'loosely' adapted for TV movie

TORONTO - Yes, the romantic trials of a young Canadian newspaper columnist swept up by foppish London lads in the CBC-TV movie, "Abroad," are loosely based on the experiences of Globe and Mail writer Leah McLaren. But that's all that McLaren will allow in drawing any parallels to escapades she may have embarked on as a single young woman overseas. The popular scribe insists that cinematic similarities are more "conceptual" than actual in the small-screen adaptation of an essay she wrote on failed British dates. - Read more...

Nicolas Dickner's 'Nikolski' wins CBC Radio's 'Canada Reads' competition

TORONTO - Quebec author Nicolas Dickner's first novel, "Nikolski," has won this year's "Canada Reads" competition held by CBC Radio One. Originally published in French in 2005, the book follows three young francophones who are linked in ways they're unaware of. - Read more...

Official broadcaster CTV will air Paralympic opening ceremony in B.C.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - CTV has decided to broadcast tonight's Paralympic opening ceremonies live, but only in British Columbia. The official broadcaster of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games was originally planning to air the performance across the country on tape delay Saturday morning. - Read more...

Lions Gate adopts poison pill, rejects Icahn offer to buy up to 13.2 million shares at $6 each

LOS ANGELES - Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. on Friday rejected a bid by activist shareholder Carl Icahn to boost his stake in the movie studio, and its board disclosed the adoption of a provision meant to keep him from buying more shares. The so-called poison pill, which takes effect Friday, triggers whenever any hostile buyer gets a stake in the company exceeding 20 per cent. Under a shareholders rights plan adopted by the company's board, which has been fending off Icahn's advances for a year, such investors would suddenly find the value of their shares diluted, while the value of shares held by others would not change. - Read more...

'Uncharted 2: Among Thieves' nabs 5 trophies at Game Developer Choice Awards

SAN FRANCISCO - "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves" stole the show at the Game Developers Choice Awards. The high-octane PlayStation 3 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog won five trophies at the Game Developers Conference ceremony Thursday, including game of the year. "Uncharted 2," which casts players in the role of globe-trotting treasure hunter Nathan Drake, was also honoured Thursday evening for best writing, audio, technology and visual art. - Read more...

February video game sales decline 15 per cent, software and console sales still slow

SEATTLE - U.S. retail sales of video games declined 15 per cent in February, hurt in part by an ongoing decline in sales of music games and lower sales of the Wii system. Americans spent $1.26 billion on video game systems, software and accessories during the month, down from $1.48 billion a year ago, market researcher NPD Group said Thursday. - Read more...

Custom furniture Michael Jackson planned to use during London tour up for sale

LOS ANGELES - The 22 pieces of custom-made furniture Michael Jackson commissioned for his London home are going on the auction block. Darren Julien of Julien's Auctions says a gilded red velvet sofa that seats nine, a leopard-print chair trimmed with ostrich feathers and a pair of velvet armchairs embroidered with gold eagles are among the offerings. - Read more...