Musician moves forward by stepping back, Ex-4 Non Blondes member penning hits for new stars

LOS ANGELES - Linda Perry looks every bit the rock star she alwayswanted to be, wearing leather pants and denim shirt and striking ahaughty pose as she lays a guitar arpeggio into a majestic rockarrangement.

But Perry isn't playing to a packed arena. Leaning against thesoundboard in a recording studio, she has an audience of half a dozenor so, including the members of Lillix, a Canadian band whose song"Tomorrow" Perry co-wrote and produced last year. Today she's addingthis guitar part and helping the four young women redo some vocalsfor the track's release as a single.

This is how things figure to stay for Perry, who has pulled offone of recent pop's most remarkable …

Diller's IAC to Split Into Five Units

IAC/InterActiveCorp, the Internet conglomerate run by Barry Diller, said Monday it will break itself into five publicly traded businesses _ an indication that the media mogul's plan to build a multimedia empire has failed.

The announcement drove IAC's shares up more than 6 percent.

The New York-based company plans to spin off its HSN home shopping network, Ticketmaster ticketing service, Interval time-share business and LendingTree mortgage referral units.

Roughly 30 Web-only brands _ including the Ask.com search engine, Match.com, Evite, Citysearch and Excite _ would remain as part of IAC.

Diller also announced that IAC had reached a …

Mexico marks anniversary of 1847 battle with US

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Felipe Calderon on Monday criticized both Americans and Mexicans for their roles in the 1846-1848 war that cost Mexico half its territory during a ceremony commemorating the definitive battle of the conflict.

Speaking on the 163rd anniversary of the Battle of Chapultepec, Calderon called the war an "unjust military aggression motivated by clearly imperialistic interests."

Mexico lost about half its territory to the United States in the war, including much of what later became Arizona, Nevada, Utah and California.

But Calderon also said Mexicans deserved some blame.

"We lost because of the invasion and expansionist desires of our enemy, …

MobBase Gains Traction

*MobBase is an iPhone application that connects musicians with their fans, through more than 50 applications launched since the service debuted in November 2009. MobBase is the new service that makes it easy for musicians and music companies to create, launch, and manage their own custom iPhone applications. The service costs musicians about 50 cents daily and is a way for musicians to share music, photos, videos, tweets, news, …

Stocks Surge After GM Earnings

NEW YORK - Stocks surged Tuesday, lifting the Dow Jones industrials more than 120 points as strong earnings from General Motors Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc. helped Wall Street extend its recovery from last week's plunge.

Investors were also eager to buy back into the stock market after economic snapshots suggested tame inflation and rising consumer confidence.

The market seemed to be focusing on the good news and ignoring the negative. Though the Commerce Department's year-over-year core personal consumption expenditures, a closely watched inflation measure, was up 1.9 percent in June and within the Federal Reserve's comfort zone, the data also showed that personal …

Bill restricting unions advancing in US state Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — While much of the country's attention remains focused on a stalled proposal in Wisconsin to restrict collective bargaining rights for public workers, a similar measure in another Midwestern state, Ohio, is speeding toward reality.

A Senate panel and then the full chamber approved the Ohio measure Wednesday amid jeers from onlookers. The Ohio bill could go as early as next week to House committee hearings. Republicans hold a 59-40 majority in the House, where the measure is likely to receive strong support.

The Ohio measure is in some ways is tougher and broader than the one in Wisconsin. The Ohio bill would restrict the collective bargaining rights of …

Whale watching rings bell as New Zealand heavyweight

KAIKOURA, New Zealand A still-growing heavyweight in New Zealand'stourist ring is this relatively tiny town on the South Island'snortheast coast. Its prize-winning entry is a group of 40-ton-plussperm whales who make their home in the deep offshore waters of thePacific.

A visit last month sampled - and thrilled to - the "three-hourmarine adventure" of Whale Watch Kaikoura Ltd. The payoff was thesighting and closeup viewing (150 feet away) of a 60-foot whale as itcalmly rolled in the swell, "blowing" about once a minute.

Then, with a flip of its tail fluke, the leviathan sounded fora 40-minute sojourn in the mile-deep water only a mile or sooffshore. I was a second …