Awards

“Downton Abbey" is going to look quite different when it returns for a fourth season. On Friday Siobhan Finneran -- better known to fans as O'Brien, Lady Grantham's constantly scheming, severely coiffed maid -- confirmed that she is leaving the beloved costume drama. Finneran follows co-stars Dan Stevens and Jessica Brown Findlay out the door, though it seems likely her character will do so under less tragic circumstances than theirs: In the Season 3 finale, O'Brien was jockeying hard for a new job that would allow her to see more of the world.

Hours after Republican members of Congress sharply questioned Hillary Rodham Clinton and the State Department's handling of the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, the former secretary of State did not explicitly mention the controversy in an appearance Wednesday night. But she did reference partisan bickering in the nation's capital as she accepted an award in Beverly Hills. "We truly, still today - despite all of our partisan wrangling, and the gridlock that sometimes seems to take hold - we stand up for the rights and opportunities of all people," Clinton said in a speech that largely focused on U.S. policy toward Asia.

The 131-character dispatch arrived mournfully within two hours of sunrise May 4, at 7:58 a.m. to be exact. "When u give Give GIVE and they take Take TAKE at wat point do u draw a line in the sand?" Kobe Bryant wrote on his Twitter feed, adding the hashtags "hurt beyond measure," "gave me no warning," and finally, "love?" Bryant's career with the Lakers has often been pushed aside by internal family matters, the recent court battle over his memorabilia the latest in a string of cheerless events.

President Obama recently groused that no U.S. airport ranked among the world's top 25 airports. If you're a regular traveler to Los Angeles, you may be even more disappointed to learn that Los Angeles International Airport didn't even make the top 100. Obama was referring to a ranking released in April - the Skytrax World Airport Awards - that is based on a survey of 12.1 million travelers around the world. Out of 395 airports worldwide, LAX ranked 109th overall and 24th among 50 airports in North America.

It was an emotional roller-coaster at the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony Thursday night in Los Angeles, even more so than usual for the annual event. Consider disco queen Donna Summer , whose husband and three daughters accepted the award for her posthumously, 11 months after the singer and songwriter lost her battle with cancer. Or 80-year-old producer Quincy Jones -- the most nominated Grammy Award winner ever -- who said his induction into the Rock Hall made him feel “that finally, I have arrived.” Also enduring a long wait for recognition was Heart, whose founding sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson were finally admitted to what's historically been the boys' club of hard rock music after a decade of eligibility.

We were really looking forward to catching up with Joaquin Phoenix in the next few months, talking about the mysteries in his new movie, "The Master," maybe having a beer or two and singing a Johnny Cash song  ("I'll handle June's harmony; you just do what you do with The Man in Black") but cashing out the tab well before Phoenix crosses over to hip-hop . Those plans feel like pipe dreams now as Phoenix recently told Elvis Mitchell in Interview magazine that he has no desire whatsoever to make the awards circuit rounds this year, describing the process in scatological terms that we can't fully detail here.

A Superior Court jury in Los Angeles has awarded $2.5 million to a former executive of bankrupt Newport Beach home builder Baldwin Co. after finding that the owners reneged on a promise to make him a partner in the company. The jury found that brothers James and Alfred Baldwin breached their contract with Robert B. Burns, who headed their company's Los Angeles-Ventura division. However, the jury awarded damages only against James Baldwin, who directly supervised Burns' division.

The powerful narcotic popped up on the cultural grid around the turn of the millennium. A Texas producer-remixer named DJ Screw paid homage to its woozy, heavy-lidded high by dramatically slowing down beats and vocals to replicate the drug's sleepwalker euphoria. Among Southern rappers, the chemical mixture - called "sizzurp" on the street - soon became as ubiquitous as gold jewelry. This wasn't some exotic new hallucinogen. In fact, it was usually mixed with fruit soda and sipped from oversized plastic foam cups.

Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul, who has been tearing a swath through awards season with his film debut, "Searching for Sugar Man," is scheduled to attend his first-ever Oscar ceremony Sunday as a nominee for documentary feature. How has awards season been for you? You've won Writers Guild, DGA, BAFTA and other awards. How many have you won? Over 30 awards internationally. In awards season we won Writers Guild, Producers Guild, Directors Guild, the American Cinema Editors and BAFTA, the IDA - International Documentary Assn.'s award - and Critics' Choice and the National Board of Review.

Sheriff's Deputy Steven Elmore, 22, was working an afternoon shift at the central jail in November when a new inmate climbed a fence to the fourth floor and threatened to jump to his death. Screaming that his marriage and his life were falling apart, the man would not let anyone talk to him except for Elmore, who was on a landing above the fence. After nearly two hours of counseling, the deputy coaxed the inmate to climb down.

LeBron James is getting his fourth Most Valuable Player award - and the only mystery left is whether the vote was unanimous. The Miami Heat star will be introduced Sunday as the award winner, according to a person familiar with the results and who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the league has not publicly announced this year's recipient. James will become the fifth player with at least four MVP awards, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.

The Better Business Bureau wants you to know that it's cleaned up its act in Los Angeles. The organization reached out to me this week to say that a new operation is up and running after the old BBB of the Southland was expelled in March after years of reports that the branch had been awarding inflated grades to businesses in exchange for cash. Carrie Hurt, head of the national Council of Better Business Bureaus, told me that a "virtual BBB" has been launched in Southern California, enabling bureau officials from across the country to address local consumer issues via the Internet.

Janos Starker, a renowned concert cellist as well as a distinguished teacher and recording artist, died Sunday at his home in Bloomington, Ind. He was 88 and had been in declining health. Since 1958, Starker had been a professor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. The university announced his death. Starker's cello seminars attracted students from all over the world. "I personally cannot perform without teaching, and I cannot teach without performing," he told the Chicago Tribune in 1993.

Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol won his first NBA defensive player of the year award after anchoring the league's stingiest defense. Gasol received 212 points and 30 first-place votes to beat the Miami Heat's LeBron James , who had 149 points and 18 first-place votes, the NBA announced Wednesday. The 7-foot-1 Spaniard averaged 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals for a Memphis defense that gave up a league-best 88.7 points per game. The five-year veteran ranked 12th in the league in blocks.

SAN ANTONIO - The Lakers didn't have a great regular season. They're also lagging in awards attention. Dwight Howard was 14th in the voting for defensive player of the year, receiving one first-place vote and four third-place votes. Howard seemed surprised, if not mildly irritated, to finish that far behind. Memphis center Marc Gasol won the award, which was announced Wednesday by the league. "That's funny," Howard said of his distant finish. "That's OK. We've got next year and I've got a long time.

Before the Clippers played the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, Jamal Crawford found out some disappointing news: He didn't win Sixth Man of the Year. In Game 2 later that evening, he played as though he had a grudge. He had 13 points on a flawless six-for-six shooting midway through the second quarter, helping give the Clippers reserves a 19-2 first half advantage over the Grizzlies' bench. He finished with 15 points, two rebounds and three steals. After the Clippers' 93-91 win, Crawford claimed that his dominant performance had nothing to do with having a sour taste in his mouth from the morning's news.

Long laboring in obscurity, independent filmmakers are getting a chance to have their short films seen by a global audience through a new distribution agreement with YouTube. But to do so, they may sacrifice the chance of winning an Oscar. Kat Candler was delighted to learn on Thanksgiving morning that her film "Black Metal" was among 65 shorts selected for exhibition at the Sundance Film Festival and one of a dozen handpicked by Sundance's curators to be featured on YouTube, the online video site whose worldwide audience exceeds 800 million.

Question: On Aug. 1, I tried to book a round-trip flight on American Airlines between San Diego and Philadelphia for Oct. 1 using my frequent-flier miles. I thought a two-month lead would facilitate the reservation. There were no seats available for 25,000 miles for October. I paid $25 to speak to a human. She tried her best but with the same result. If I were willing to expend 50,000 miles, there were plenty of seats. How far ahead does AA release its frequent-flier seats? Is this bait and switch?

Earl Clark was not selected the league's most-improved player, The award went to Indiana Pacers guard-forward Paul George. Clark received three third-place votes to come in a five-way tie for 21st. Through his first three seasons, Clark started a single game for Orlando Magic (none for the Phoenix Suns team that drafted him). When the Lakers suffered injuries this season and temporarily moved Pau Gasol to the bench, Clark made the most of his opportunity, starting 36 games. Through 59 games, Clark averaged 7.2 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 44% from the field.