The James Bond blockbuster "Skyfall" snagged the top spot at the North American box office this weekend, beating animation adventure "Rise of the Guardians," estimates showed Sunday.

"Skyfall," the 23rd episode of the spy thriller series, now starring Daniel Craig as 007, took in $11 million in its fifth weekend in theaters, said industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

A small plane carrying Mexican-American star singer Jenni Rivera crashed in northern Mexico on Sunday, leaving no survivors and sparking an outpouring of grief among fans and fellow celebrities.

The wreckage of the Lear Jet, which was carrying six other people, was found by farmers in the state of Nuevo Leon hours after it had taken off from Monterrey on its way to Toluca, in the center of Mexico, authorities said.

Two Australian radio presenters who made a hoax call to the hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Catherine were taken off the air Saturday after the nurse who took the call was found dead in a suspected suicide.

Jacintha Saldanha answered the phone when presenters from Sydney's 2Day FM called pretending to be Queen Elizabeth II and William's father Prince Charles, before passing it onto a colleague who divulged details of Kate's condition.

The Rolling Stones will join a star-studded lineup at a December 12 concert to benefit victims of megastorm Sandy, organizers said Friday.

Proceeds from the concert, which falls on the date 12/12/12, will be donated to a foundation for those impacted by the late October storm that plowed into the U.S. northeast, including the hard-hit states of New York and New Jersey.

South Korean megastar singer Psy, famed for his runaway hit "Gangnam Style", apologized Saturday for anti-American performances a decade ago, ahead of a planned show before U.S. President Barack Obama.

In 2002 the singer smashed a model U.S. tank at a protest over the American military presence in South Korea and the death of two South Korean teenagers who were struck by a U.S. military vehicle.

Scottish hardman actor Gerard Butler, known for thrillers and action movies, has softened up for his latest role, in a romantic comedy set in smalltown America.

In "Playing for Keeps" Butler plays ex soccer player George, who has fallen on hard times and returns to live in Virginia near to his ex-wife and son, vowing to rebuild his life and relationship with at least one of them.

A nurse at the hospital which treated Prince William's pregnant wife Catherine was found dead on Friday, days after being duped by a hoax call from an Australian radio station, the hospital said.

The private King Edward VII hospital in central London named the nurse as Jacintha Saldanha, who had worked there for four years, and said it had learned of her "tragic death" with "very deep sadness".

American football player Tom Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, have announced the birth of their second child, a girl named Vivian Lake.

Bundchen announced the birth on her Facebook page, saying their "little angel" was born at home on Wednesday and is "healthy and full of life."

The brother of a former star of British soap "EastEnders" whose headless and limbless torso was found in a London canal admitted to killing her on Friday but denied murder.

The remains of Gemma McCluskie were pulled from Regent's Canal in east London on March 1, but the 29-year-old's severed head was not discovered until September.

Many fans are eagerly anticipating a return to the fictional world of Middle-earth with next week's general release of the first movie in "The Hobbit" trilogy. Director Peter Jackson and the film's stars speak to The Associated Press about making "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey":

— Jackson on shooting at 48 frames per second instead of the standard 24: "We've seen the arrival of iPhones and iPads and now there's a generation of kids — the worry that I have is that they seem to think it's OK to wait for the film to come out on DVD or be available for download. And I don't want kids to see 'The Hobbit' on their iPads, really. Not for the first time. So as a filmmaker, I feel the responsibility to say, 'This is the technology we have now, and it's different ... How can we raise the bar? Why do we have to stick with 24 frames? ...'"