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CNN host Lou Dobbs shocked his viewers Wednesday when he announced that he would be leaving the network effective immediately.

Enlarge Photo

AP

Britney Spears Twitter account was hacked Oct. 12, with bogus messages going out claiming she worshipped Satan. The several unusual messages were deleted after a few hours. Her account posted a message announcing that her account had been hacked and apologized for ‘any offense the hacker's messages caused.’

The longtime host of Lou Dobbs Tonight said on his show that it would be his last and that he was ready "to pursue new opportunities."

He said CNN had allowed him to be released from his contact, which was set for the end of 2011 and that he was considering a number of options.

"I will let you know when I set my course," he said.

The longest-running anchor on CNN's air, Dobbs was one of the nation's leading financial journalists before turning his program in a more opinionated direction. His persistent advocacy against illegal immigration angered many.

"I'm the last of the original anchors here on CNN and I'm proud to have had the privilege of helping to built the world's first news network."

CNN's average prime-time audience was third behind Fox and MSNBC during October, and it was even eclipsed by sister network HLN among younger viewers, according to the Nielsen Co.

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The founder of Girls Gone Wild is set to appear again before a Florida Panhandle federal judge who witnessed a tearful, nose-blowing apology from the young multimillionaire in 2007.

Joe Francis is due in Judge Richard Smoak's court Nov. 20 for a hearing involving four women who say Francis' company filmed them when they were underage. Francis' lawyers want the case thrown out and the women's attorneys want him to pay.

In 2007, Francis sobbed and asked to be freed from a Panama City jail. Smoak jailed him for contempt of court after Francis yelled at attorneys during settlement negotiations in another case.

The Girls Gone Wild video series features women exposing themselves on camera.

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Morgan Freeman says he agreed to participate in a Canadian documentary about his Mississippi hometown because he felt that children there were being "warped" by racism.

The Oscar-winner is in the Toronto area promoting, Prom Night In Mississippi, directed by filmmaker Paul Saltzman.

It's about a high school in the southern U.S. that held segregrated proms up until 2008.

Things changed when Freeman offered to pay if students united for an integrated prom.

Prom Night In Mississippi opens in Toronto today.

The 72-year-old actor next appears in the Nelson Mandela film, Invictus, directed by Clint Eastwood.

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James Taylor and Carole King are going back to their roots.

The two singer-songwriters say they will go on a long concert tour together next year, recalling the first time they played at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles in 1970.

That gig was a milestone, marking King's debut as a solo artist. Taylor had just recorded Carolina In My Mind and Something in the Way She Moves. Both continued on to award-winning careers.

They reunited two years ago with the band they used in 1970 for a celebration of the club's 50th anniversary. They enjoyed it so much they wanted to take it on the road.

The tour begins in Australia in March and hits Los Angeles in May. They've only announced seven dates, but promise more will come.

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Sony Pictures says Michael Jackson's This Is It has passed the US$200-million mark at the box office worldwide.

The film has pulled in $61 million domestically and more than $140 million overseas. That includes $27.2 million in Japan, $14.3 million in Great Britain and $12.1 million in Germany.

Sony Pictures marketing and distribution boss Jeff Blake says the film is drawing repeat business worldwide from Jackson fans.

This Is It captures Jackson's final performances as he rehearsed for his aborted concert tour. The movie includes Jackson doing such hits as Beat It, Thriller, Human Nature and Billie Jean.

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ABC's cancellation of the comedy Hank makes it two failures in three years for star Kelsey Grammer.

Grammer, the multiple Emmy winner as the star of Frasier, also saw his Fox series Back to You with Patricia Heaton given the boot in the spring of 2008. At least it made a full season: Hank didn't make two months. The Nielsen Co. said the show averaged 6.7 million viewers each week.

Its fate seemed sealed recently when ABC announced it was ordering a full season's worth of episodes for its three other new Wednesday night comedies. They include old colleague Heaton's sitcom The Middle, ABC's biggest Wednesday hit, Modern Family and Cougar Town.

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Coaches and finalists on CBC-TV's Battle of the Blades say the show, which concludes Sunday and Monday, has been a long, draining experience with no shortage of ups, downs and surprises.

Claude Lemieux, Stephane Richer and Craig Simpson are the remaining men in the competition, which pairs former NHLers with female figure skaters.

Coach Paul Martini says he never would've guessed when the show got started that the men would be doing what they are now, including full overhead lifts with their partners.

Another coach, Olympic pairs gold medallist David Pelletier, says it was clear from the start that all eight men took the competition and their training very seriously.

Pelletier says no one wanted to get eliminated - or iced, as they say on the show - and the rivalries have grown intense.

Battle of the Blades has been a huge ratings hit for CBC.