'Potter' power rules box office

Harry Potter remains a box-office charmer. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" conjured up a $77.4 million debut to lead the weekend box office, according to estimates Sunday.

That raised the movie's domestic gross to $140 million since Wednesday.

"Order of the Phoenix" also has taken in an additional $190.3 million in 44 other countries.

"Transformers," the sci-fi tale that was the previous weekend's No. 1 movie, slipped to second with $36 million.

The fifth chapter in the movie series based on J.K. Rowling's novels, "Order of the Phoenix" has Harry leading a secret society of students to prepare for the coming showdown with the evil Lord Voldemort.

The previous four "Harry Potter" flicks all had bigger first weekends, ranging from $88.4 million to $102.7 million, but those all debuted Friday. "Order of the Phoenix" was the first to open on Wednesday.

The rest of top 10 (with dollars in millions): 3. "Ratatouille," $18; 4. "Live Free or Die Hard," $10.9; 5. "License to Wed," $7.4; 6. "1408," $5.01; 7. "Evan Almighty," $5; 8. "Knocked Up," $3.7; 9. "Sicko," $2.65; 10. "Ocean's Thirteen," $1.9.

Two sisters are in the midst of an 11-day vigil in Fairbanks, Alaska, for the latest Harry Potter novel.

Chloe and Sydney Bostian started camping out Tuesday in front of Gulliver's Books to be among the first Alaskans to find out their hero's fate in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

The seventh and final installment in the series will be released at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

"It's just so addicting. You think you have it all figured out and then everything switches up on you," said Chloe, 18. "It's the big finale, and all the questions are going to be answered."

The girls are living out of their parent's camper, parked in the bookstore's parking lot. During the day their parents - who are taking turns staying with them - move it to the customer parking area, but at night it comes right up to the store entrance - the front of the line.

To help pass time, they browse the bookstore and friends bring them food so they don't have to leave the line.

"It's just really fun and people come by and talk to you," said Sydney, 11. "The excitement just builds as it gets closer."

Grammy-nominated rapper Remy Ma pleaded not guilty to attempted murder Sunday in the shooting of a woman in New York. The rapper was jailed on $250,000 bail.

Police found a woman with a gunshot wound to her lower torso early Saturday. Three blocks away, officers discovered an SUV owned by Remy Ma involved in a single-car crash and abandoned.

The victim, Makeda Barnes-Joseph, 23, was hospitalized in stable condition Sunday. Prosecutors said she and the rapper knew each other. Remy Ma turned herself. She was charged with attempted murder, assault and weapon possession.

Snoop Dogg's home and work lives will be on display in a new reality series from E! Entertainment Television. The series will show the hip-hop heavyweight trying to balance his different worlds.

"The juggling act that Snoop faces day-in, day-out between career and family is certain to resonate with our viewers," said network president Ted Harbert.

The rapper has three children, is active in community causes and is involved in a youth football league he founded. He also has court-ordered obligations on his plate. In April, he was sentenced to five years' probation and 800 hours of community service after he pleaded no contest to felony gun and drug charges.