PRAGUE Otomar Krejca, a renowned theater director in the Czech Republic, has died at the age of 87.

MIAMI Poetry and music have been cut and there will be no parade to kick off the Miami Book Fair International as in years past. But one of the nation's leading literary festivals isn't giving up on readers in a bad economy.

"Loot the Moon" (Minotaur), 276 pages, $24.99, by Mark Arsenault: Billy Povich, former investigative reporter, has been reassigned to write obituaries - his newspaper's way of encouraging him to quit.

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.

LAS VEGAS Puerto Rican duo Calle 13 won all five awards it was nominated for Thursday at the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas, including two of the top awards of the night and honors in both urban and alternative categories.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. Whenever Latin pop sensation Alejandro Sanz writes music, he sets off on a "long mental journey" to find inspiration. But when Alicia Keys surprised the singer at a party in New York by joining him in an impromptu jam session, Sanz knew then that he'd found his muse.

NEW YORK First it was books. Now it's DVDs.

BERLIN The Berlin Wall's longest remaining stretch has been restored to its state of nearly two decades ago after artists repainted the colorful murals they created in the aftermath of the notorious barrier's opening.

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."

"Woodrow Wilson" (Knopf, 704 pages, $35), By John Milton Cooper Jr.: Soon after he was elected president in 1912, Woodrow Wilson told a former colleague at Princeton University that all of his preparation for office was in the domestic sphere and it would be "an irony of fate" if his administration were to be consumed by concerns over foreign policy.

LONDON Elton John has been released from a London hospital after being treated for flu and an E. coli bacterial infection.

ATLANTA Grammy-winning singer Estelle remembered when she used to strut in the living room when she was younger, singing many of soul legend Otis Redding's classic songs like "Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay."

LAS VEGAS Partial list of winners from the 2008 Latin Grammy Awards in Houston, Texas:

NEW ORLEANS Actors Tom Hanks, Patricia Clarkson and James Cromwell walked the red carpet Thursday before a private screening of the Hanks-produced war film "Beyond All Boundaries" held at the World War II Museum in New Orleans.

LOS ANGELES Rue McClanahan, who played sexy Southern belle Blanche Devereaux on "The Golden Girls," was recovering Thursday from heart bypass surgery at a New York City hospital.

LOS ANGELES Rihanna, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Green Day and Carrie Underwood will be among the diverse roster of performers planning to take the stage at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, show producers said Thursday.

BERLIN Berlin loves Beyonce.

BERLIN Winners of the 16th annual MTV Europe Music Awards, presented Thursday:

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.

Rankings for the top 15 programs on cable networks as compiled by the Nielsen Co. for the week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1. Day and start time (EST) are in parentheses:

NEW YORK Darin Riggio has a thing for older women - he dated his first "Cougar" when he was a 19-year-old college student. She was 43.

JACKSON, Miss. Morgan Freeman has settled a lawsuit related to a 2008 car accident that seriously injured him and a passenger, according to court records posted Thursday. Terms of the settlement were not released.

NEW YORK Oprah Winfrey is removing gospel singer BeBe Winans from her show's "karaoke challenge" until charges against him for allegedly pushing his ex-wife to the ground are resolved.

LAS VEGAS Bette Midler will perform her Las Vegas show "The Showgirl Must Go On" for the last time on Jan. 31.

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