The Associated Press
• Singer Chris Brown was close to resolving his assault case in a deal that would have kept him out of jail, but talks fell apart Wednesday when attorneys couldn't agree on what Brown would acknowledge happened during a scuffle that led to his arrest. Brown was arrested in October and charged with misdemeanor assault after a man accused the singer of hitting him when he tried to get in a photograph Brown was taking with two women outside a Washington hotel. At the time, Brown was on probation in California for a 2009 attack on singer Rihanna, his then-girlfriend. Prosecutor Kevin Chambers said in court that Brown rejected a deal to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault and receive a sentence of time served. Brown spent the night in jail in Washington after his arrest and also served time in California after acknowledging he violated probation by committing a crime in Washington. He was released from jail in early June. In the Washington case, the singer's attorney, Mark Geragos, said defense lawyers and prosecutors couldn't agree on a statement of facts about what happened outside the W hotel. A trial for Brown was scheduled for Sept. 8.
• A former aspiring actor and model withdrew another lawsuit Wednesday that claimed an entertainment industry figure sexually abused him, a move that prompted one lawyer to say the four cases were built on lies and character smears. Without explanation, attorneys for Michael Egan III filed papers in federal court in Honolulu voluntarily dismissing the case against former network TV executive Garth Ancier. Three weeks ago, Egan withdrew a suit against David Neuman, another former TV executive. Two other lawsuits by Egan are pending against X-Men director Bryan Singer and theater producer Gary Goddard. Both men have denied the allegations. Los Angeles attorney Louise Ann Fernandez released a statement on behalf of Ancier saying the case against him was reckless and "grounded in lies." "Just as this case imploded when the facts became known, any further legal maneuvers or gimmicks will fail because unsupported statements, falsehoods and character smears have no place in any court," the statement said.
A Section on 06/27/2014