Denise Richards pulling for Sheen comeback

U.S. actress and TV personality Denise Richards says she hopes her ex-husband, actor Charlie Sheen, makes a comeback professionally.

Sheen was fired this year from his sitcom "Two and a Half Men" after eight seasons because of his erratic behavior and substance abuse. He recently signed on to star in a comedy series based on the film "Anger Management," but it is unclear on what network the show will run.

"He's a survivor," Richards told CNN's Piers Morgan. "If anyone can pick themselves up, make a huge comeback, it's Charlie."

Asked if she could imagine circumstances under which she might reconcile with Sheen, the father of two of her three daughters, Richards replied, "I'm way too old for him now."

"I'm way past his age range," his 40-year-old ex-wife joked.

Hilton and Katzenberg break up

U.S. hotel heiress Nicky Hilton and her producer boyfriend David Katzenberg have broken up after dating for about four years, sources told the New York Post.

Hilton is the sister of model-actress Paris Hilton and Katzenberg is the son of DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg.

"They broke up quietly after four years together. The main reason was that they have been busy with their work schedules, and it has made it difficult to spend time together," one insider told the Post.

"Nicky has been back and forth traveling overseas a lot with her business. She has recently been in Asia promoting her jewelry line, and David is starting a new production company. Their schedules never seemed to match. ... There is no scandal or any third person -- they remain close friends, they have been friends since they were teenagers."

Harry Potter box office to top $1 billion Read more: http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2011/07/30/Harry-Potter-box-office-to-top-1-billion

The new Harry Potter film was expected to hit the magic $1 billion mark at the box office this weekend, The Hollywood Reporter said Saturday.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" had grossed $926 million worldwide heading into the weekend and showed no signs of slowing down.

The entertainment-industry newspaper said "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" would be the ninth movie to ever gross more than $1 billion. "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" grossed $659 million last year, and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" has led the franchise until now with a gross take of $974.8 million in 2001-2002.

"Avatar" is the only film to crack the $2 billion

Jolie wows Sarajevo Film Festival

The Bulgarian movie "Ave" won the special jury award and Angelina Jolie was given a lot of applause at the Sarajevo (Bosnia) Film Festival this weekend.

Jolie and husband Brad Pitt made a surprise appearance in Sarajevo where Jolie received an Honorary Heart of Sarajevo for her humanitarian work.

Us Magazine said Sunday the long round of applause when Jolie walked on stage nearly moved the American star to tears.

Jolie directed "The Land of Blood and Honey," the love story of a Christian-Muslim couple during the bloody Bosnian war.

Bulgaria was well represented in the awards categories. Along with director Konstantin Bojanov's "Ave," Bulgarian films received awards for best film for "Breathing."

The acting awards went to Austrian Thomas Schubert and Ada Condeescu of Romania, the Sofia News Agency reported.

Workers asking for more time off

Since the recession, U.S. workers focused on keeping their jobs, but this summer there is a shift toward family, a survey indicates.

The survey, conducted by Opinion Research Corporation on behalf of Adecco Staffing US, a workforce solutions provider, indicates the desire for time and work flexibility this summer cuts across gender lines.

Fifty-nine percent of women are choosing "extra vacation days" as one of the three workplace benefits they'd most want, while 47 percent of men say the same. Sixty percent of men show a greater interest in having the ability to leave work early.

"In the last few years, American workers have had more of a focus on keeping their jobs and perhaps less on other elements, including taking vacation and time off from work to spend with family and friends during the summer months," Joyce Russell, president and EVP of Adecco Staffing US, says in a statement.

"This summer we're seeing a bit of a shift from this way of thinking with survey respondents showing that maintaining one's personal life and a more relaxed work environment is valuable to them."

In addition to time flexibility, 42 percent of U.S. workers also want the option for casual workplace attire this summer, although 80 percent of women say mini-skirts are inappropriate at work compared to 61 percent of men, the survey says.

No survey details were provided.

Crystal Sugar workers reject contract

American Crystal Sugar said Sunday it would proceed with a lockout after union workers at five plants rejected the Minnesota-based cooperative's contract offer.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the rejection by the 1,300 employees at five plants in the Red River Valley Saturday was overwhelming.

The farmer-owned cooperative is the largest beet sugar producer in the United States.

American Crystal Vice President Brian Ingulsrud said the employee lockout would begin at midnight Sunday. The company has said it would bring in replacement workers, the Star Tribune said.

The contract offer that was turned down by members of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers Local 167A would have provided workers with a 13 percent pay hike over five years plus a $2,000 signing bonus.

Union President John Riskey said in a statement 96 percent of the union members voted against it.

Pay, he said, is not the key issue.

"The company's offer still has major loopholes allowing non-union contractors to replace union workers and makes health insurance unaffordable," he said. "Any raise is meaningless if our healthcare costs increase even more or if management can eliminate our jobs and replace us at will."

Ingulsrud said American Sugar would have to meet certain criteria before it could hire non-union workers and could not lay off union employees if it did.

The company said health costs would go up an average of about $1,000 per employee, which is significantly less than their pay increase.

U.S. budget-debt votes set with 1 day left

Congressional leaders said they hoped to pass a compromise bill by Monday night to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and cut spending $2.4 trillion, averting default.

The bill, worked out largely between Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, provides for an initial $917 billion in spending cuts over 10 years followed by another $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion in cuts that a special joint congressional committee would be charged with finding through a tax overhaul and changes to safety-net programs, the congressional leaders and White House said.

No one speaking Sunday night said they liked the bill -- in fact, virtually every politician said they would have preferred something different -- but the compromise "will allow us to avoid default and end the crisis that Washington imposed on the rest of America," President Barack Obama said.

U.S. Treasury officials have said the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling had to be raised by Tuesday or the government could run short of money to pay its bills, including payments to veterans, contractors and Social Security recipients.

"Is this the deal I would have preferred?" Obama said Sunday on national TV. "No."

But the deal also ensures "we will not face this same kind of crisis again in six months or eight months or 12 months," Obama said. "And it will begin to lift the cloud of debt and the cloud of uncertainty that hangs over our economy."

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told House Republicans in a conference call Sunday night: "If I wrote this myself, it would look different. But I wouldn't agree to it or put it on the floor if it violated our principles or would hurt the economy," Republicans who participated in the call told The Washington Post.

Boehner hailed "the courage of all of you for helping us take this giant step forward," the participants told the Post.

"It shows how much we've changed the terms of the debate in this town," The Wall Street Journal quoted him as saying.

In pressing Tea Party conservatives to support the compromise, he said voting against it would lead to a "job-killing default" that would further hurt the bleak employment picture, The New York Times reported.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Democrats might be reluctant to rally behind the bill.

"I look forward to reviewing the legislation with my caucus to see what level of support we can provide," she said in a statement.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he knew "this agreement won't make every Republican happy -- it certainly won't make every Democrat happy either."

But "the American people demanded compromise, and today they got it," he said, adding he was "relieved" leaders from both parties reached a compromise that ended "this dangerous standoff."

McConnell, R-Ky., said the measure provided a framework to "ensure significant cuts [are made] in Washington spending -- and we can assure the American people tonight that the United States of America will not for the first time in our history default on its obligations."

Asian stock markets responded favorably to the deal, with the Nikkei 225 stock index up nearly 2 percent in late-afternoon trading and the U.S. dollar rising against the Japanese yen and the euro.

McConnell and Reid said they planned for a Senate vote as soon as Monday afternoon. If the measure passes as expected, it would move to the House, which could vote as soon as Monday night, Boehner told GOP lawmakers in the conference call.

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