Batman escapes assualt charges

Christian Bale will not face charges over an alleged assault on his mother and sister. "The Dark Knight" star was arrested and held for more than four hours at a London police station in July. He was reported to have lashed out at his family members while promoting the film in the U.K.

Speaking of Batman, is "Dark Knight's" 4-week hold on the box office ever going to end? Variety magazine predicts that this weekend's "Tropic Thunder" will bump the "Dark Knight" down a notch to number two. "Thunder," is tracking strong for its mid-week Wednesday opening and is expected to top "Knight" by Sunday.

The other major release this weekend is the animated "Star Wars: The Clone Wars." While expected to open strong, critics say its numbers won't be able to earn it a top slot.

In other box office news, "Kung Fu Panda 2" may be kicking into development soon. DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said his studio is in talks to make a sequel to the box office hit. With the original raking in $560 million, it's no wonder a sequel is on Katzenberg's mind; he says an official announcement could come within 2 months.

Fallen British rock star Gary Glitter will be deported from Vietnam to Britain on Tuesday. The glam rocker has completed a 27-month sentence there for molesting two young girls.

Finally, she may no longer be like a virgin, but Madonna is proving that 50 is fabulous. Madge will hit the big 5-0 on Saturday, but she won't have time to fret about getting older; the world's most successful female recording artist starts her "Sticky and Sweet" world tour on August 23.

lash out to hit out violently He lashed out with his fists.

Dollar regaining a foothold?

After 7 years of being in the dump - the dollar is making a bit of a resurgence.

The value of the greenback has only been down once since the month of August began. And in that same period the dollar has risen 4 percent against a basket of the world's major currencies.

The sentiment has definitely shifted in the dollar's favor, but not because of what's happening in the U.S, says Win Thin, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman. but rather, what's happening in Britain and the rest of Europe.

SOUNDBITE: Win Thin, senior currency strategist, Brown Brothers Harriman (English) saying:

"For a long time it looked like everything was in favor of the euro zone to the detriment of the U.S. and now we are seeing, you know, the U.S. is kind of surviving its crisis. It's not going to grow back to trend for a couple of quarters, but gee, the outlook for the euro zone is even worse."

Investors have responded by pushing the euro to a six-month low against the dollar. It now only takes $1.49 to buy one euro. That's down from the record above $1.60 set earlier this summer.

The dollar did see a minor pullback on Tuesday, but that is to be expected, Win says.

SOUNDBITE: Win Thin, senior currency strategist, Brown Brothers Harriman (English) saying:

"So we may see some profit taking. We may poke back-up above $1.50 for the euro. But I think that just presents a very good dollar buying opportunity. Again the market has been buying dollars on the dips and I think that will continue. So strong dollar. Period."

That strength, however, is a mixed blessing. On the positive side: a stronger dollar is one of the reasons crude oil prices have dropped $34 from their all time high. But as the dollar flexes its muscles at the same time other economies falter - America could lose what some say has been keeping an economic recession at bay - strong exports.

Conway Gittens, Reuters.

Phelps makes Olympic history

American swimmer Michael Phelps' legend grew longer Wednesday, becoming the most successful Olympian of all time with his 10th and 11th gold medals.

Phelps broke his own world record in the 200m butterfly, then won in the 200m freestyle relay, breaking his tie with Mark Spitz and Carl Lewis, who had won nine.

The 23-year-old is five-for-five in world records, but all eyes are on whether he can top Spitz' single Olympic tally of seven golds set in Munich in 1972.

The Phelps phenomenon is dominating headlines in the Beijing Games first week, as well as making the biggest splash online.

The American is the most discussed of 50 high profile athletes online message boards, according to market researcher Nielsen.

Swimmers led in overall e-volume, followed by basketball players, gymnastics and beach volleyball.

Dan Sloan reporting.