Times to take 2d look at Tupac documents

March 27, 2008

The Los Angeles Times will conduct an internal investigation concerning the authenticity of documents used in a story that implicate associates of Sean "Diddy" Combs in a 1994 assault on Tupac Shakur, the editor of the newspaper said yesterday. In a story posted on the newspaper website, editor Russ Stanton said he ordered the review after the editor of the website The Smoking Gun told the newspaper he had reason to doubt the validity of the FBI records that were supposed to back up the story. The Smoking Gun said the documents seemed phony because they appeared to be written on a typewriter instead of a computer, included blacked-out sections not typically found in such documents, and other reasons. The Smoking Gun story claims the documents were created by a convicted con man and music fan with a history of exaggerating his place in the rap music world. Combs denies that he had any prior knowledge of or involvement in the 1994 robbery and shooting of Shakur at a New York recording studio. The Times has said its March 17 story was based on FBI records, interviews with people at the scene of the shooting, and statements to the FBI by an informant. None of the sources was named. The 1994 shooting triggered the celebrated feud between East and West Coast rappers that led to the killings of Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. (AP)

After nearly 19 years of marriage, Robin Williams and his wife are getting divorced. Marsha Garces Williams filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in San Francisco Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. The two met when Garces Williams worked as a nanny for Williams's son Zachary, whom he had with his previous wife, Valerie Valardi. Robin and Garces Williams also have two children together, Zelda and Cody. (AP)

ESPN has lined up pop singer Justin Timberlake to host its annual ESPY Awards show this summer, celebrating some of the best and funniest moments in sports during the past year. The ceremony, to be held in Los Angeles on July 20, will be televised live on ESPN. Timberlake says he's a sports junkie. "I'll do my best to deliver a great show, as I do not want to be roughed up backstage by these athletes who are bigger, faster, and stronger than me," he said. (AP)

Kevin Federline says he's been on full-time daddy duty since getting custody of his two toddler sons. "I spend most of the day chasing my kids around the house," he tells In Touch Weekly magazine. "Their needs define my schedule every day." Federline has had sole custody of Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 18 months, since early this year after months of bizarre behavior by his ex-wife, Britney Spears. The couple, who wed in October 2004, divorced last July. Spears is now under the court-ordered conservatorship of her father, Jamie Spears. "It is so very important to me that my children will always know and never question, that no matter what happens, they have a mommy and daddy who love them very much," Federline, 30, tells the magazine. (AP)

Concert update
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have announced an Aug. 2 concert at Gillette Stadium, part of the second leg of the Boss's "Magic" tour. The show marks the first time in five years Springsteen has performed at the stadium in Foxborough. Tickets for the concert, which starts at 7:30 p.m., are $97.50, $77.50, and $47.50 and go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at ticketmaster.com or by calling 617-931-2000.

Can't stand the heat?
"I poke to create a reaction, but now it's like this tsunami, a barrage coming my way." - British chef Gordon Ramsay, talking about his critics on the eve of his new restaurant opening in France.