Entertainment briefs 9/23/15

New Harry Potter tale put on Rowling site

NEW YORK -- Eight years after writing the last of her "Harry Potter" novels, J.K. Rowling is adding to the boy wizard's story. The author posted new information Tuesday about the Potter family, the background provided on a "newly imagined" and mobile friendly version of the Pottermore portal (pottermore.com) Rowling established in 2012. In a brief essay titled, "The Potter Family," Rowling traces Harry's roots to "the twelfth-century wizard Linfred of Stinchcombe, a locally well-beloved and eccentric man, whose nickname, 'the Potterer,' became corrupted in time to 'Potter.'"

Brian Williams returns to TV today

NEW YORK -- The visit of Pope Francis to the United States will mark the return of Brian Williams to the airwaves today after his suspension from NBC News and demotion for misleading viewers about his role in news stories. The former NBC "Nightly News" anchor is to begin his new role today as an anchor for breaking news stories on MSNBC, covering the arrival of the pope in Washington. Williams was caught telling a false story about his coverage of the Iraq War, and lost his "Nightly News" job.

E-book service ending business

NEW YORK -- A leading e-book subscription company is going out of business. Oyster, which has touted unlimited access to more than 1 million books for $9.95 a month, announced on its blog Monday it was "taking steps to sunset the existing Oyster service over the next several months." Many in the industry have been skeptical the Netflix model works for books.

-- From wire reports