LA Times apologizes for Tupac Shakur story

Los Angeles – The Los Angeles Times apologized for using apparently fabricated documents in a story implying that a 1994 assault on Tupac Shakur was carried out by associates of Sean “Diddy” Combs, and that he knew about it ahead of time.

The apologies followed an investigation launched by Editor Russ Stanton after The Smoking Gun Web site reported earlier in the day that the paper was conned by a prisoner who doctored the documents.

Combs denied that he had any prior knowledge of or involvement in the robbery and shooting of Shakur at a New York recording studio. He and other subjects of the story claimed they had been defamed by the newspaper.

Chicago radio pioneer Wally Phillips dies

Chicago – Wally Phillips, the most listened-to Chicago radio host for two decades, has died. He was 82.

The longtime broadcaster, whose skillful blend of information and humor made him a pioneer of talk radio, died early Thursday after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, according to WGN, where he spent 42 years.

Phillips dominated Chicago’s radio airwaves after taking over WGN’s morning show in 1965.

Mixing audience participation, public service and breaking news, his broadcast was the No. 1 morning show in Chicago from 1966 until he left to take over the afternoon program in 1986, according to WGN.

At the height of his popularity, he had an audience of nearly 1.5 million – or about half the listeners in the Chicago area.

Phillips was one of the first radio hosts to use humorous and offbeat phone calls, like one in which Phillips telephoned a pet cemetery to arrange a funeral for his mouse.

He was credited with a number of innovations now considered local radio program staples.

“It was his show and his success back in the early days : that introduced the talk format that interacted with phone listeners,” Wayne Vriesman, then WGN’s vice president and general manager, told the Tribune in 1998, when he retired from WGN.

Rapper T.I. pleads guilty to weapons charges

Atlanta – Rapper T.I. pleaded guilty Thursday to federal weapons possession charges, and will receive a sentence that includes prison time after he completes a period of community service.

In the year that he is awaiting sentencing, T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, must complete at least 1,000 hours of a total 1,500 hours of community service, talking to youth groups about the pitfalls of guns, gangs and drugs.

He will be sentenced to serve about 12 months in prison after completing the community service, officials said. His prison time could be increased or reduced, depending on his fulfillment of the terms of the deal and good behavior, they said.

Harris, 27, pleaded guilty to possession of unregistered machine guns and silencers, unlawful possession of machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

Harris is one of pop music’s most successful artists. His sixth album, “T.I. vs. T.I.P.,” was released July 3, debuting at No. 1. He appeared in the 2007 film “American Gangster,” which starred Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.

Oscar-winning writer Abby Mann dies at 80

Los Angeles – Abby Mann, writer of socially conscious scripts for movies and television and winner of the 1961 Academy Award for adapted screenplay for “Judgment at Nuremberg,” has died at 80.

Writers Guild of America spokesman Gregg Mitchell said Mann died Tuesday. The cause of death was not given.

Mann also won multiple Emmys, including one in 1973 for “The Marcus-Nelson Murders,” which created a maverick New York police detective named Theo Kojak. The film, starring Telly Savalas, was spun off into the long-running TV series “Kojak.”

In a career spanning more than 50 years as a writer, director and producer, Mann returned repeatedly to morally conscious themes, doing films for television on such subjects as Martin Luther King Jr., human rights advocate Simon Weisenthal and the Teamsters.

Rocker Patti Smith gets solo art show

Paris – A rocker, poet and activist, Patti Smith is already a Renaissance woman. With her first major solo exhibit of drawings and photographs opening in Paris this week, she earns the title of visual artist, too.

Smith, 61, calls the exhibit opening today at the Fondation Cartier “an open door welcoming people into my world.” What may surprise fans is that her visual work is apolitical. From scratchy pencil drawings to Polaroid snapshots, it’s dreamy and a touch surreal.

The exhibit, called “Land 250,” draws from art Smith created from 1967 to 2007, some of it during stays in Paris. Though Smith has had smaller gallery shows, this is her first major exhibit, and most of the art on display has never been seen by the public before, said curator Grazia Quaroni.

Smith fans will be intrigued by the insight into her music and inspirations, as well as by the videos projected on screens.