IBT Staff Reporter

American Idol returns on Wednesday for an 11th season, facing a new wolf at the door as it tries to retain its place as the No. 1 U.S. TV program -- not so much age, but competition.

Billionaire Ron Burkle -- already a high-profile guy -- is significantly increasing his profile in the entertainment industry. After buying concert promoter Artist Group International and a stake in Relativity Media, Burkle has purchased one of Hollywood's favorite hang-outs, the Soho House.

J.J. Abrams' latest offering Alcatraz was off to a good start Monday night, posting encouraging numbers with its two-hour premiere, while Two and a Half Men predictably took the night's top ratings slot, according to preliminary numbers.

From 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on February 10-11, participating Target stores will celebrate the release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1 on DVD and Blu-Ray by showing a sneak peek of the final installment in Summit's vampire romance franchise.

Courteney Cox will get a whole lot of love from ABC for Valentine's Day.

Lamar Odom failed to produce a game-swinging performance, but what he did get in his return to the Staples Center on Monday was much needed closure.

Netflix's stock has suffered a much-publicized nosedive in recent months, and now a group of shareholders is hitting the subscription service with a class action suit.

Actress Lindsay Lohan, who is on probation after being convicted for drunk driving and theft, has made good on completing her court-ordered community service and therapy on time, pleasing a judge at a progress hearing on Tuesday.

A government watchdog group is suing the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency, claiming the agencies are refusing to release details of their alleged meetings and communications with director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal.

Derek Fisher's game-winning three-pointer put a pretty ribbon on a workmanlike 73-70 victory for the Los Angeles Lakers over the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks Monday.

I'm retiring. I'm moving away from the business, from the company, from all this kind of stuff.

J.J. Abrams has started production on his Star Trek sequel as planned, Paramount Pictures announced Tuesday.

Porn stars in Los Angeles will be legally required to wear condoms during film shoots after the city council voted on Tuesday to mandate their use, despite a threat by skin flick producers to leave town over the requirement.

The co-founder of Pinkberry frozen yogurt has been charged with assault for attacking a homeless panhandler with a tire iron after the man flashed a provocative tattoo at him, authorities said on Tuesday.

Severed head found in bag under Hollywood sign, police say

Taylor Lautner is helping Facebook make history.

The Federal Reserve's latest push toward increased transparency has so far done more to muddle the outlook for interest rates than clarify it.

Japanese chipmaker Elpida Memory will seek a capital tie-up with U.S. rival Micron Technology as it struggles with a deteriorating market and stiff competition from South Korean competitors, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Wednesday.

U.S. authorities on Tuesday unsealed criminal charges accusing a father and son team, both Russian citizens, of hacking into U.S. bank accounts and illegally snatching credit card numbers and stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Taylor Swift says her new album will be about an absolute crash-and-burn heartbreak, prompting speculation in the media that the latest subject of her songwriting skills may be her short-lived 2010 crush on Jake Gyllenhaal.

Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday it was not interested in buying ailing Blackberry maker Research In Motion or licensing its operating system, refuting a tech blog report that RIM was seeking to sell itself to the South Korean technology giant.

Yahoo Inc co-founder Jerry Yang, who started the company in 1995, has quit the board of the struggling Internet company.

Global audit and consulting firm Ernst & Young has named Mark Weinberger, a longtime Washington insider, as its next chairman and chief executive, a signal that connections in the U.S. capital may be growing in importance to a profession facing greater scrutiny.

David Kotz, the tough internal watchdog at the Securities and Exchange Commission, is leaving the agency at the end of January to join a private investigative service.

The years-long delay in bringing three former Nortel Networks executives to trial for fraud has reinforced Canada's well-earned reputation as a laggard in markets enforcement, particularly when compared with the United States, its critics say.

Majesco Entertainment Co's fourth-quarter results came in below market expectations hurt by higher operating costs, and the video game publisher forecast a weak 2012.

IBM Corp is expected to report solid fourth quarter results on January 19 under new chief executive Virginia Rometty as investors look for news about the potential impact of the Eurozone crisis and currency headwinds in 2012.

Stocks advanced on Tuesday, pushing the S&P 500 to its highest since early August, but sharply pared gains late in the session as Citigroup's steep drop in profit gave investors a reason to unload bank shares.

Most U.S. airlines are poised to report profitable fourth quarters, a trend set to continue in 2012 as cost-cutting and fare hikes help the industry weather rising fuel costs and global economic uncertainty that could hamper travel demand.