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In the summer of 2005, when she was 15 but not yet famous, Cory Kennedy went to a Blood Brothers concert at the El Rey Theatre. She remembers what she was wearing--black leg warmers, beat-up black Converse sneakers and a canary-yellow Lacoste mini-dress that she'd had to beg her mother to buy her. It was "back in the day," at the end of ninth grade, when she was still going by her full name, Cory Kennedy-Levin.

Emphasizing a major shift in strategy, News Corp. all but conceded Wednesday that its once-dominant social network MySpace is no longer competitive with rival Facebook or micro-blogging service Twitter and will seek to rebuild the site around entertainment. News Corp. said MySpace -- whose 2005 acquisition was once considered so pivotal that it landed Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch on the cover of Wired magazine -- has undergone layoffs and a massive restructuring but continues to lose revenue.

MySpace is looking to do an about-face. The once-red-hot social networking site acquired three years ago by septuagenarian mogul Rupert Murdoch, which landed him on the cover of Wired magazine and won News Corp. praise for embracing the Internet ahead of its old-media rivals, has cooled considerably. New statistics released this week show MySpace has been surpassed by rival Facebook in the U.S. market, where it once dominated, and ad revenue for the site is projected to decline.

MySpace continued its evolution from teen hangout to entertainment destination, announcing Wednesday that it would acquire ILike, one of the premier music recommendation services -- and the most popular music application on rival social network Facebook. The deal, estimated to be worth about $19 million, signals MySpace's intention to dominate the online social music scene, building on the gathering momentum behind MySpace Music, a nearly year-old joint venture with the major music labels whose number of visitors has increased nearly 200% since its launch in September.

No wonder YouTube is so popular. All the effort to boost children's self-esteem may have backfired and produced a generation of college students who are more narcissistic than their Gen X predecessors, according to a new study led by a San Diego State University psychologist. And the Internet, with all its MySpace and YouTube braggadocio, is letting that self-regard blossom even more, said the analysis, titled "Egos Inflating Over Time."

The Internet has transformed how bands interact with their fans. But that can lead to troublesome consequences. A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges that Warner Music Group, Atlantic Records and other music industry organizations helped coerce a 16-year-old girl into making pornographic rock videos when a band advertised for extras on MySpace, News Corp.'s teen-oriented social networking site. The companies and musicians' representatives deny they did anything wrong.

MySpace is getting into the book business. The online social network, an increasingly popular venue for authors, booksellers and publishers, is collaborating with a children's imprint of HarperCollins on an environmental handbook coming out April 22, Earth Day. The paperback original, to be called "MySpace/Our Planet: Change is Possible," will be written by freelance journalist Jeca Taudte with a foreword by Tom Anderson, co-founder and president of MySpace.

Kristin Helms was 14 when the ponytailed Texas man nearly twice her age began slipping through cyberspace and into the computer in her Lake Forest bedroom. When her parents found his picture on Kristin's computer, they shut down her MySpace account, pulled her Internet privileges for months and warned her about online predators. But Kiley Ryan Bowers had their daughter in his grip. Kristin, thinking this could be her first true love, used computers outside the house to stay in touch with him.

Facebook Inc., after eclipsing MySpace in global users last year, now leads its social-networking rival in the U.S. as well, according to research firm ComScore Inc. The Palo Alto, Calif., company had 70.28 million U.S. users last month, topping MySpace's 70.26 million, ComScore said. Facebook's users almost doubled from a year earlier, while MySpace lost 5%. Facebook, which became the top global social-networking site a year ago, had 307.1 million users worldwide in April, the Reston, Va.

Two Quartz Hill teenagers planned a Columbine-style attack on their old high school in February in meticulous detail, sheriff's deputies allege. Johnny Alvarez Casas, then 17, and his friend, then 15, stockpiled ammunition and bomb-making supplies in their homes, then practiced detonating improvised explosives in the Antelope Valley desert, deputies said. The younger suspect's name is being withheld because of his age.

A federal judge in Los Angeles on Thursday tentatively threw out the conviction of a Missouri woman for her role in a cruel Internet hoax on a teenage girl who ended up committing suicide. The decision by U.S. District Judge George H. Wu, which will not become final until he files a written ruling, was a blow to prosecutors who had hoped to send the message that cyber-bullying is a crime. Wu had repeatedly delayed sentencing to consider a defense motion to dismiss the entire case. U.S. Atty.

A week after cutting 30% of its U.S. workforce, social-networking giant MySpace said Tuesday that it would cut two-thirds of its international workforce and consolidate overseas operations in fewer countries. The cuts -- 420 jobs domestically and 300 overseas -- marked a further loosening of the Beverly Hills company's once-iron grip on the social-networking world. The News Corp. subsidiary has lost 3.4 million U.S. users in the last 12 months, according to Web ratings firm ComScore Inc.

MySpace is looking to do an about-face. The once-red-hot social networking site acquired three years ago by septuagenarian mogul Rupert Murdoch, which landed him on the cover of Wired magazine and won News Corp. praise for embracing the Internet ahead of its old-media rivals, has cooled considerably. New statistics released this week show MySpace has been surpassed by rival Facebook in the U.S. market, where it once dominated, and ad revenue for the site is projected to decline.

Facebook Inc., after eclipsing MySpace in global users last year, now leads its social-networking rival in the U.S. as well, according to research firm ComScore Inc. The Palo Alto, Calif., company had 70.28 million U.S. users last month, topping MySpace's 70.26 million, ComScore said. Facebook's users almost doubled from a year earlier, while MySpace lost 5%. Facebook, which became the top global social-networking site a year ago, had 307.1 million users worldwide in April, the Reston, Va.

When federal prosecutors in Los Angeles indicted a Missouri mother last year for committing an Internet hoax that apparently led to the suicide of a 13-year-old girl, they touted the novel legal approach that allowed them to file the case halfway across the country. On Monday, a U.S. district judge indicated they may have gone too far. "Using this particular statute in this particular situation is so weird," Judge George H. Wu said, calling some of the prosecution's argument "troublesome."

A Missouri mother should serve three years in prison for her role in a MySpace hoax on a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide, federal prosecutors said in court documents filed Wednesday in Los Angeles. Assistant U.S. Atty. Mark Krause outlined the government's position while requesting the maximum sentence for Lori Drew. Probation officials have recommended that Drew receive a year of probation and a $5,000 fine.

new york -- Spin Magazine's print subscriptions jumped in January at least in part for a surprising reason: Its pages were posted on the Web for free. Spin Digital, a highly interactive online version of the magazine, quietly made its debut on MySpace three weeks ago. It feels more like the print edition of the rock-music monthly than its Internet cousin, Spin.com. In fact, the digital version is the print edition.

The five members of the 88, an independent rock band from Los Angeles, thought a single on "The O.C.'s" soundtrack and a performance on late-night TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Live" would win them fans. They were right. But the fans didn't share much of that love until the 88 hit MySpace.com. The popular online hangout featured the band on its front page, where the 20 million members sign in.

MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe, the marketing guru with a laid-back, surfer-dude demeanor who took the social network from its ragtag beginnings to Internet phenomenon, is departing the company before the end of his contract. Parent company News Corp. said DeWolfe was leaving by mutual consent.

Three of MySpace's top executives, including the chief operating officer, are leaving the social network to start their own start-up. Chief Operating Officer Amit Kapur, who played a key role in the launch of the MySpace Music joint venture with the major labels, plans to depart, taking with him one of MySpace's original architects, Senior Vice President Jim Benedetto, and Steve Pearman, a senior vice president who oversaw strategy. Details of the new start-up were not available.