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| Rick Ross's 'Mastermind' outfoxes Pharrell's 'GIRL' on Billboard 200 Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 06:49 PM PDT  By Piya Sinha-Roy LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Rick Ross beat fellow hip-hop star Pharrell Williams to the top of the Billboard 200 album chart on Wednesday, despite Pharrell's high-profile performance with leading film ladies at the Oscars. Pharrell's "G I R L" sold 112,000 copies in its first week and entered the chart at No. 2. "Happy," the lead song from Oscar-nominated animated feature "Despicable Me 2," did retain its hold at No. 1 on Billboard's Digital Songs chart this week, selling 490,000 downloads and bringing its cumulative digital sales to more than 2.6 million units. Other new entries on the top 10 of this week's Billboard 200 include "Glee" star Lea Michele's debut record "Louder" at No. 4, country music group Eli Young Band at No. 5 with "10,000 Towns," and R&B star Ashanti's "Braveheart" at No. 10. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. Senate Judiciary panel sets hearing on Comcast merger Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 03:08 PM PDT  The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Comcast's plan to merge with Time Warner Cable in April and another on retransmission issues in late March, the committee said on Wednesday. Senator Patrick Leahy, who chairs the committee, said the panel would meet on April 2 to discuss plans by Comcast, the No. 1 U.S. cable operator, to buy TWC for $45.2 billion. TWC is the No. 2 U.S. cable operator. Both companies are major broadband Internet providers. Full Story | Top |
| Comcast lobbyist Cohen meets his match in FCC's Wheeler Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 02:21 PM PDT  By Alina Selyukh and Liana B. Baker WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comcast Corp's top lobbyist David Cohen is known to be a savvy political operator, having pushed through the No. 1 U.S. cable operator's landmark acquisition of media giant NBC Universal in 2011. But when it comes to getting approval for Comcast to buy its biggest rival, Time Warner Cable Inc, Cohen must win over someone just as well versed in the ways of lobbyists and the cable industry: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler. Since taking over the FCC last November, however, he has not shied away from stances that have roiled past allies. Comcast will formally request an FCC review of the $45.2 billion Time Warner Cable deal later in March. Full Story | Top |
| Russian journalists see Kremlin censorship in editor's dismissal Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 01:20 PM PDT By Maria Tsvetkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - The longtime editor of a popular Russian internet news site was dismissed on Wednesday in what dozens of its staff members alleged was censorship and direct pressure from the Kremlin. The removal of Lenta.ru editor-in-chief Galina Timchenko deepened concerns about what many Russians see as a crackdown on independent and critical media outlets amid tension over the Ukrainian crisis during President Vladimir Putin's third term. It came after a state regulatory agency issued what Timchenko said was a warning to Lenta over an interview with a member of a Ukrainian far-right group, Right Sector, which included a link to remarks by its leader Dmytro Yarosh. Russian officials depict the ousting of Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich last month as an illegal, Western-backed power grab by "extremists". Full Story | Top |
| Comedian Joan Rivers to auction furnishings from country home Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 01:10 PM PDT  Acerbic comedian and fashion critic Joan Rivers is selling furniture, fine art, ceramics and other objects from her country home in Connecticut, Christie's auction house said on Wednesday. Rivers, 80, sold the house on the 760-acre country estate that also included a caretaker's cottage last year for $4.4 million. Full Story | Top |
| Jake Gyllenhaal explores identity in doppelganger thriller 'Enemy' Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 12:18 PM PDT  Canadian director Denis Villeneuve explores that question in the psychological thriller "Enemy," in theaters on Friday, based on Jose Saramago's 2002 novel "The Double." Jake Gyllenhaal, 33, plays both Adam Bell, a teacher struggling to commit to a relationship, and Anthony St. Claire, a married aspiring actor. Gyllenhaal, who had to maneuver special effects and act with tennis balls used to digitally place Adam and Anthony on-screen together, said the film was "the most fulfilling creative experience" for him. "I think there were places where I thought I knew what I was doing, but then as I'd watch those and do it back, it wasn't easy to work with as I thought it would be." "Enemy," billed as an erotic thriller, follows Adam as he faces an identity crisis. At times, the audience is taken into his psychological state, which Gyllenhaal described as "his anxiety, his questioning, the feelings that we feel inside of ourselves when we're faced with who we really are and who we perceive ourselves to be." "The internal journey is the most interesting one to me," he said. Full Story | Top |
| Berkshire gets TV station in swap with ex-Washington Post owner Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 09:22 AM PDT  Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc plans to shed much of its 40-year-old investment in Graham Holdings Co, the former publisher of the Washington Post, and swap most of its shares for a Miami television station and other assets. According to a Wednesday regulatory filing, Berkshire plans to turn over more than 1.61 million Graham shares worth in excess of $1.1 billion. It will receive ABC affiliate WPLG-TV in Miami, at least $400 million of Berkshire stock now owned by Graham, and cash. It values the TV station at $364 million, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows. Full Story | Top |
| Murdoch ex-editor Brooks blamed others for illegal activity, court hears Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 08:40 AM PDT  By Kate Holton LONDON (Reuters) - Rebekah Brooks, the former head of Rupert Murdoch's British newspapers, was accused in court on Wednesday of blaming all those around her when finally caught orchestrating an illegal campaign to get stories at any cost. Appearing in the witness stand for a 13th day, Brooks engaged in a tense standoff with lead prosecutor, Andrew Edis, who accused her of ordering staff to hack into phones, make illegal payments and then cover up their behavior as the police closed in. Full Story | Top |
| A Minute With: Catherine Deneuve on freedom and aging with grace Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:01 AM PDT  By Mary Milliken LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Catherine Deneuve is now in her sixth decade making films but the French actress says she is too busy working these days to grow nostalgic about her past roles or films with acclaimed directors such as Luis Bunuel and Francois Truffaut. In her latest film, "On My Way," in U.S. theaters on Friday, the 70-year-old Deneuve plays Bettie, a woman stuck in neutral who goes on a road trip to break free from the burden of her family's struggling restaurant and being dumped by her lover. ... Full Story | Top |
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