The Boss takes over Billboard 200 chart
LOS ANGELES, May 4 (UPI) -- Bruce Springsteen's "Devils & Dust" debuted Wednesday at the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Mariah Carey's "The Emancipation of Mimi" slipped to second place and Bobby Valentino bowed at No. 3 with "Disturbing Tha Peace Presents: Bobby Valentino."
Matchbox 20 vocalist Rob Thomas' solo "Something To Be" came in fourth, ahead of Amerie's "Touch" and "The Massacre" by 50 Cent in sixth place.
Jo Dee Messina's "Delicious Surprise" landed at No. 7 as Mike Jones' "Who Is Mike Jones?" dropped to eighth and Il Divo's self-titled album declined to No. 9.
Gwen Stefani's "Love, Angel, Music, Baby" rounded out the Top 10.
Jackson called a sociopath, going broke
SANTA MARIA, Calif., May 4 (UPI) -- Two witnesses at pop singer Michael Jackson's child molestation trial described him first as a sociopath and secondly as being in dire financial straits.
Under prosecution questioning at the Santa Maria, Calif., trial Tuesday, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Sgt. Steve Robel, lead investigator in Jackson's case, testified that the singer's ex-wife Debbie Rowe was critical of Jackson during a March 2004 interview with detectives.
"She referred to Michael as a sociopath and his children as possessions," Robel said.
CNN reported later Tuesday that forensic accountant John Duross O'Bryan testified that at the time of the alleged assaults in February 2003 on a then-13-year-old boy, Jackson was deeply in debt.
The singer's roughly $130 million in assets, as valued at the time of purchase, were swamped by $415 million in liabilities, resulting in "an ongoing cash crisis," O'Bryan said.
Jackson, 46, faces 10 molestation-related charges, all of which he has pleaded innocent to since being indicted last year.
Judge tosses Bill Maher palimony suit
LOS ANGELES, May 4 (UPI) -- Lawyers for comedian Bill Maher have convinced a Los Angeles judge to toss a palimony lawsuit filed by the celebrity's former girlfriend.
Nancy "Coco" Johnsen filed her $9 million palimony suit last fall, claiming Maher promised her marriage and a mansion, E! Online reported.
Johnsen also said Maher, who hosts "Real Time with Bill Maher" on HBO, abused her physically and verbally.
Maher's lawyers responded with a motion to dismiss the suit, which was granted Monday.
Eight months of dating doesn't entitle anyone to palimony, said Maher lawyer Adam Streisand.
Drug charge against TV star dropped
DES MOINES, Iowa, May 4 (UPI) -- Jason Cook of NBC-TV's "Days of Our Lives" has escaped Iowa criminal charges because someone forgot to notarize his charge sheet.
Cook was arrested in March at the Des Moines airport and charged with public intoxication, and possession of drug paraphernalia because officers found a pipe with marijuana residue, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported Wednesday.
Cook's arrest record notes he had "bloodshot watery eyes," displayed an "inability to follow instructions, and smelled strongly of an alcoholic beverage."
The charges cannot be refiled, a Des Moines police official said.
