There have been two major developments in the U.S. wholesaler/publisher story since we last reported on it.

First, on Saturday, Anderson News, which distributes books and magazines to about 40,000 retailers in the U.S., announced it was suspending "normal business activity," according to a story in Folio: In a statement, the company said it would “continue to hold discussions with publishers and retailers, trying to develop a viable model that allows it to remain in business.” CEO Charlie Anderson described the situation as “a mess for us all.”

Yesterday, Source Interlink, the wholesale and publishing company that, along with Anderson, threatened publishers with a 7-cents-per-copy price hike, filed a lawsuit in a New York court, claiming rival publishers and wholesalers are trying force it out of business.

From Reuters:

Source Interlink, controlled by billionaire Ron Burkle, said it needs emergency court intervention to stop the defendants, including publishers Time Inc and Hachette Filipacchi, distributors, and rival wholesalers from monopolizing the U.S. wholesale magazine distribution market.

Source accused the defendants of cutting off its access to People, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly, Time and other magazines, and spreading "disparaging rumors" about its financial condition to its retailer clients, the filing said.

Just when  you thought it couldn`t get any uglier...