LOS ANGELES

It's no secret that during Hollywood's awards season, complex character roles often get overlooked in favor of more uplifting performances. But when Martin Scorsese saw such a slight befall his Hugo star, he was not about to slink away with his tail between his legs.

Hotel companies and real estate firms are optimistic that U.S. deal transactions will pick up this year despite concerns about Europe's economy and challenges in obtaining debt financing.

CBS President and Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves testified that the network would have paid millions more than NBC for the TV rights for the Golden Globe Awards.

British chart-topper Adele will make her live comeback at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in just under two weeks, after being on vocal rest since throat surgery sidelined the singer late last year.

A former Los Angeles-area elementary school teacher has been charged with lewd acts on children, including putting cockroaches on students' faces and offering them a spoonful of what may have been semen, authorities said on Tuesday.

Liturgy is the sexless hive-geek counterpart to Lana Del Rey, 2011's most polarizing and polarized artist. Her just-dropped album Born to Die, has landed number 1, despite global critical condemnation. The Brooklyn black metallers (Liturgy) generated what seemed a comparable amount of criticism to the manufactured pseudo-pop darling (Del Rey) in 2011. Liturgy sold far fewer albums, proving that artistic merit and integrity do not always win out.

Italian actress and model Elisabetta Canalis was spotted kissing Jackass stuntman Steve-O earlier this week. Take a look at these pictures of Steve-O's hot new girlfriend and George Clooney's ex: Elisabetta Canalis.

Mark Berndt, a 61-year-old ex-schoolteacher from Los Angeles, was charged with 23 counts of child molestation after photographs surfaced showing victims with their eyes blindfolded, possibly inside a classroom.

Kenyon Martin is interested in signing with the New York Knicks.

British stage actor Ian Abercrombie died on Thursday, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from complications of kidney failure.

TSA screeners allegedly waited hours before alerting authorities about a possible pipe bomb confiscated at a security checkpoint at LaGuardia Airport.

Sometimes humor doesn’t travel well: Two British nationals were barred entry to the U.S. for jokes made on Twitter.

Blake Griffin's one-handed monster dunk over Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins is no doubt the Dunk of the Year.

Los Angeles Clippers Blake Griffin might have had the dunk of the year over Kendrick Perkins on Monday night.

Rapper and hip-hop star Machine Gun Kelly, and two members of his posse were arrested by Florida police for a misdemeanor disorderly conduct on Sunday for their role in huge brawl at Bishop Tavern, according to St. Petersburg Police.

Pinkberry co-founder Young Lee on Monday pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon, stemming from a confrontation with a panhandler that police say ended with Lee hitting the man with a tire iron.

Civil rights drama The Help got a leg up in the Oscar race on Sunday when the movie won three awards from the Screen Actors Guild, including best cast in a surprise over silent movie romance The Artist.

Ian Abercrombie, who played Elaine's boss Mr. Pitt on 'Seinfeld' from 1994 to 1998, died Thursday at the age of 77. He had recently been diagnosed with lymphoma, but the Los Angeles Cedars-Sinai Medical Center says Abercrombie died from complications of kidney failure.

British tourists Leigh Van Bryan probably did not expect his trip to the U.S. to involve handcuffs and a jail cell; but that is where he ended up. The security happened over tweets sent by Van Bryan stating they would go and destroy Americaand diggin' Marilyn Monroe up!

Automotive aftermarket retailer Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack (NYSE:PBY) said Monday it will be purchased by The Gores Group, a U.S. investment firm, for $1 billion.

Why the White House's attempts to hear from Americans is a magnet for marijuana legalization advocates.