Reuters – It was the middle of the night in Jardim Tiradentes, one of Sao Paulo’s rougher neighborhoods. A two-man crew was waiting to film a police raid when chief inspector Rafael Correa Lodi broke the bad news.

AP – A buzz preceded actor Casey Affleck’s directorial debut, “I’m Still Here”: Was the movie about brother-in-law Joaquin Phoenix’s seemingly downward spiral from actor to hip-hop musician really a no-holds-barred documentary — or was it just a set up?

A former cellist with the rock group Electric Light Orchestra was killed in southwestern England on Monday in a car crash involving a large bale of hay, local police said.

Reuters – A judge in the Bahamas on Monday dismissed the charges against two people accused of trying to extort $25 million from John Travolta over his son’s death after the Hollywood actor requested the case be dropped.

Reuters – In the battle of the box office assassins, A-lister George Clooney barely mustered more firepower with his new chart-topper “The American” than the relatively unknown star of “Machete,” as the summer moviegoing season wrapped feebly during the Labor Day holiday weekend.

AP – George Clooney’s hitman tale “The American” has captured the top spot at the box office with a $16.4 million debut over the long Labor Day weekend.

Actor John Travolta opted to sit out Monday’s court hearing in the Bahamas regarding the case of two people allegedly trying to extort money from him following the untimely death of his teenage son. According to the Associated Press , the judge dropped the charges against the two defendants after the prosecutor relayed a message from Travolta saying that he no longer wished to follow through with reaching a conviction. Travolta told ET, “I am grateful and appreciative of the dedication, hard work and support provided by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Royal Bahamas Police Force while handling matters associated with the attempted extortion that targeted my family in January of 2009.

AP – A judge in the Bahamas dismissed charges Monday against two people accused of trying to extort money from John Travolta after the actor decided he no longer wanted to face the pain of a new trial stemming from the death of his teenage son on the island chain.

Hollywood raked in a record $4.35 billion this summer, but attendance was 552 million, the lowest total since 1997.

John Travolta is opening up to ET about the “heavy emotional toll” on his family that led him to decide not to continue pursuing the case against the two Bahamas individuals accused of attempting to extort money from him following the 2009 death of his son Jett . Travolta tells ET: “I am grateful and appreciative of the dedication, hard work and support provided by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Royal Bahamas Police Force while handling matters associated with the attempted extortion that targeted my family in January of 2009.