YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Frank Ocean says 'no charges' against Chris Brown

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — Frank Ocean says he won't pursue criminal charges against Chris Brown, who is alleged to have punched Ocean in a recent fight.

    "As a child I thought if someone jumped me it would result in me murdering or mutilating a man," the R&B star wrote on his Tumblr page Saturday. "But as a man I am not a killer. I'm an artist and a modern person. I'll choose sanity. No criminal charges. No civil lawsuit."

    Brown remained under investigation for his role in a fight outside a West Hollywood recording studio on Jan. 27, Los Angeles County Sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore said.

    Witnesses told deputies that Brown punched Ocean during an argument over a parking space. Ocean later tweeted that he "got jumped by Chris and a couple guys" and suffered a finger cut.

    Brown has not commented on the allegation.

    Whitmore said Ocean had said he "desired prosecution." He said the investigation was continuing because Ocean has not told authorities that he's had a change of heart.

    "It's ongoing until an official statement is made to us," Whitmore said.

    Brown, 23, remains on probation for attacking Rihanna on the eve of the 2009 Grammy Awards and is due back in court on Feb. 6 to update a judge on his progress.

    Ocean is scheduled to perform at the Grammys on Feb. 10, where he's up for six awards including album of the year.

    News for You

    • NYers furious over photos taken through windows

      NEW YORK (AP) — In one photo, a woman is on all fours, presumably picking something up, her posterior pressed against a glass window. Another photo shows a couple in bathrobes, their feet touching beneath a table. And there is one of a man, in jeans and a T-shirt, lying on his side as he takes a nap.

    • 'Iron Man 3' races past $1 billion dollar mark on monster foreign take

      By Todd Cunningham LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Iron Man 3" was soaring past $1 billion at the worldwide box office Thursday, in a display of world domination that would make one of Marvel's super villains proud. The box-office bounty - roughly $700 million from abroad and $300 million domestically - is a major triumph for Disney, which bet big on comic book superheroes when it bought Marvel Studios for $4 billion in 2009. And its decision to bring aboard a Chinese partner for "Iron Man 3" and focus the Disney marketing machine on the booming foreign market looks pretty good right now, too. ...

    • Denmark favorite to win Eurovision Song Contest

      MALMO, Sweden (AP) — An ethno-inspired flute and drum tune from Denmark is the bookmakers' favorite to win this year's Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday, which also features a bizarre opera pop number from Romania and an Armenian rock song written by the guitarist of Black Sabbath.

    • NYC artist's secret photos raise privacy issues

      NEW YORK (AP) — In one photo, a woman is on all fours, presumably picking something up, her posterior pressed against a glass window. Another photo shows a couple in bathrobes, their feet touching beneath a table. And there is one of a man, in jeans and a T-shirt, lying on his side as he takes a nap.

    • 'American Idol' finale draws record low ratings

      NEW YORK (AP) — Ratings for the "American Idol" finale plunged to a record low for the 12-year-old show.

    • Swedish defenseman banned for hit on Canada's Staal

      (Reuters) - Sweden's Alexander Edler was suspended for the rest of the ice hockey world championships on Friday for a knee-on-knee hit that injured Canada captain Eric Staal. Edler collided with Staal in the first period of Thursday's quarter-final in Stockholm, leaving the Canadian forward on the ice in visible pain and clutching his right knee. Staal, captain of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Carolina Hurricanes, was helped off the ice and did not return to the game, which Sweden went on to win 3-2 in a shootout. ...