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Video After The Jump On the evening of Sept. 7, 1996, Mike Tyson, the WBC heavyweight champion, attempted to take Bruce Seldon’s WBA title at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. At this point in his career, Tyson’s fights had become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, where the ever present hype of the professional boxing scene would come face to face with the worlds of big business, Hollywood, and hip hop. Sitting ringside was controversial rapper Tupac Shakur. Shakur and Tyson were friends, a feeling of kinship linked them as each rose to stardom from poverty only to be thrown in prison. Following Tyson’s victory, Shakur and “Iron Mike” were to celebrate at an after party, but the rap star never arrived. Shakur was brutally gunned down later that night, and the scene in Las Vegas quickly turned from would-be celebratory revelry to ill fated and inopportune tragedy. Director Reggie Bythewood, with the full cooperation of Mike Tyson, will tell not only the story of that infamous night but of the remarkable friendship between Tyson and Tupac ESPN twitter-5d.gif
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At least 19 people have been killed in a stampede at the Love Parade dance music festival in the German city of Duisburg, police have said.

Police had been trying to stop people reaching the parade area because of overcrowding.

But the revellers panicked at a tunnel entrance. About 100 people were also injured, dozens seriously.

Police and city officials have launched an investigation into what sparked off the disaster.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has sent her condolences to the family and friends of the victims.

"Young people came to party. Instead, there was death and injury. I am aghast and saddened by the sorrow and the pain," she said.

Duisburg Mayor Adolf Sauerland defended security measures for the festival and vowed to hold a full inquiry.

"In the run-up to the event, we worked out a solid security plan with the organisers and everyone involved," he said.

"The investigations that have already been launched must uncover the precise course of events."

'Way too full'
More than one million people were believed to have attended the event.

The stampede occurred at about 1700 local time (1500 GMT).

Duisburg police initially reported 10 deaths but the toll later increased to 19.

At least 10 people were resuscitated at the scene.

Reuters news agency quoted police commissioner Juergen Kieskemper as saying the situation had become "very chaotic".

He said police closed the parade area due to overcrowding. Those trying to get in were told via loudhailer to turn around, but panic broke out.

A number of eyewitnesses say police were warned of a huge crowd build-up and some report seeing dozens of people piled up on one another, the BBC's Tristana Moore in Germany says.

Emergency workers reportedly had difficulty reaching those crushed.

One festival-goer, named Marius, told the Bild newspaper: "There was no escape. People were pressed into the wall. I was afraid I'd die."

Another man told local television: "The pressure from behind become so high that... we couldn't do anything any more. People were just pushed together until they fell over."

Another participant, Isabel Schloesser, told Reuters: "There were piles of injured on the ground, some being resuscitated, others dead and covered with sheets. It was way too full in the afternoon, everybody wanted to get in."

A young woman told Die Welt: "Everywhere you looked, there were people with blue faces.

"My boyfriend pulled me out over the bodies, otherwise we would both have died in there. How can I ever forget those faces? The faces of the dead."

Police closed off an elevated motorway bridge to allow helicopters to land and evacuate victims.

City officials were said to have chosen not to evacuate the grounds of the day-long festival immediately, fearing it might spark more panic.

City spokesman Frank Kopatschek said: "The crisis meeting determined not to stop the event because at the moment there are too many people on the grounds."

Many of those attending appeared unaware of what had happened.

German President Christian Wulff issued a statement saying: "It is terrible that such a catastrophe brought death, suffering and pain to a peaceful festival full of happy young people from many countries."

The event attracts music fans from all over the world, with floats from Brazil, Russia, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia among other nations.

The floats had been expected to parade through the city for 10 hours. Many top international DJs also perform.

The event began in Berlin in 1989 as a peace demonstration and developed into a huge open-air music festival.

Source: BBC

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Longtime New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died Tuesday morning, his family confirmed in a statement.

"It is with profound sadness that the family of George M. Steinbrenner III announces his passing. He passed away this morning in Tampa, Fla., at age 80," the family said in a statement.

"He was an incredible and charitable man. First and foremost he was devoted to his entire family -- his beloved wife, Joan; his sisters, Susan Norpell and Judy Kamm, his children, Hank, Jennifer Jessica and Hal; and all of his grandchildren.

"He was a visionary and a giant in the world of sports. He took a great but struggling franchise and turned it into a champion again."

The Steinbrenner family said that funeral arrangements will be private, however details about an additional public service will be announced at a later date.

The New York Daily News reported that Steinbrenner died around 6:30 a.m. ET Tuesday in Tampa, Fla.

WABC-TV in New York reported that Steinbrenner, the Yankees' owner since 1973, suffered a massive heart attack.

Steinbrenner, who celebrated his 80th birthday on July 4, was taken to a Tampa hospital after emergency crews responded to his home Monday night.

Steinbrenner gave his sons, Hal and Hank, day-to-day control of the team in late 2007.

He told The Associated Press last week that he was "feeling good" after spending a couple hours in his office at the Yankees' spring training complex.

Under his ownership, the Yankees have won 11 AL pennants and seven World Series titles.



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Source: ESPN

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Bulgarian mafia boss, Konstantin Dimitrov, was gunned down in 2003 by a lone assassin in the Netherlands

A mobile phone company has suspended the number 0888 888 888 – after every single person assigned to it died in the last 10 years.

The first owner Vladimir Grashnov – the former CEO of Bulgarian mobile phone company Mobitel which issued the number – died of cancer in 2001 aged just 48.

Despite a spotless business record there were persistent rumours that his cancer had been caused by a business rival using radioactive poisoning.

The number then passed to Bulgarian mafia boss, Konstantin Dimitrov, who was gunned down in 2003 by a lone assassin in the Netherlands during a trip to inspect his £500 million drug smuggling empire.

Dimitrov, who died aged 31, had the mobile with him when he was shot while eating out with a model.

Russian mafia bosses – jealous of his drug smuggling operation – were said to have been behind the killing.

The last owner of 0888 888 888 was Konstantin Dishliey, and estate agent who ran a cocaine trafficking operation and was gunned down at a restaurant in Sofia Bulgaria in 2005.

Dishliev, an estate agent, had secretly been running a massive cocaine trafficking operation before his assassination in 2005.

He died after £130 million of the drug was intercepted by police on its way into the country from Colombia.

Since then, the number is understood to have been dormant while police maintained an open file on Dishliev's killing and his smuggling ring.

Now phone bosses are said to have suspended the number for good. Callers now get a recorded message saying the phone is "outside network coverage."

A Mobitel spokesman would only say: "We have no comment to make. We won't discuss individual numbers."

Source: London Daily Telegraph

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Movie executives at Warner Brothers are firing back at "false, reprehensible, and defamatory" accusations levelled at them by actress BRITTANY MURPHY's widower. Producer Simon Monjack has hinted he's planning to file a wrongful-death suit against the movie studio bosses for allegedly firing the actress from Happy Feet 2 two weeks before her death. He claims she suffered a heart attack as a result of stress related to being let go from the project. Monjack recently told TheDailyBeast.com, "They killed her... She was devastated. "All she wanted to do was to make movies. She was waiting for the role that would revive her career, waiting for the call from Penny Marshall or Gary Fleder, people she had worked with before, that they might remember how talented an actress she was and call with a new magical role." But a Warner Brothers representative tells U.S. news show Access Hollywood that studio bosses aren't taking Monjack's accusations lightly: "Any claim that Warner Bros. Pictures was somehow responsible for Brittany Murphy's tragic death is demonstrably false, reprehensible, and defamatory. "Despite press reports to the contrary, Warner Bros. Pictures and Ms. Murphy never entered into any deal for Happy Feet 2." This is looking like it could get ugly. Contact Music Follow Me @Twitter.com/ChasinMoPaper
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CBC Reports Former world boxing champion Arturo Gatti, who was raised in Montreal, has been found dead in northeastern Brazil. On a second honeymoon with his wife and 10-month-old baby, Gatti's blood-stained body was found in an apartment in Porto de Galinhas, Brazilian police say. A police investigation is underway, but few details are being released. Foul play is suspected in the death. Gatti's body was found at around 6 a.m. Saturday morning. He was found in his underwear, with blood stains on his neck and the back of his head. Nicknamed "Thunder," Gatti was one of the most successful Canadian boxers in history. Beginning his professional career in 1991 at age 19, he scored a third-round knockout in his first bout. Three years later he captured the United States Boxing Association junior lightweight title and successfully defended it twice. He earned the International Boxing Federation's world junior lightweight title the following year. Born in Italy but raised in Montreal, the 37-year-old Gatti retired two years ago.
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1 dead in Madonna concert stage collapse

CNN Reports A 53-year-old French man was killed Thursday when a stage being built for a Madonna concert collapsed in Marseille, a fire department spokesman in the southern French city said. Another two people, one British and one American, were severely injured in the accident at the Stade Velodrome, and four were lightly injured, officer David Goddin told CNN. "At this point we don't know how it happened, but we are confident no one else is still under the rubble," Goddin said. About 27 fire engines and 80 firefighters responded to the emergency when the stage collapsed at 5:15 p.m. (1515 GMT). "There were a lot of open fractures, of injuries, it was a messy sight," one of the rescue workers told Agence-France Presse. The deputy mayor of Marseille, Jose Allegrini, told the agency the 50-year-old U.S. singer's concert, planned for Sunday, had been cancelled. Madonna had been due to play five concerts at the Stade Velodrome as part of her "Sticky and Sweet" tour.
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FoxSports Reports Authorities are hoping an autopsy on Wednesday can explain the death of French tennis player Mathieu Montcourt, who was found collapsed outside his Paris apartment by his girlfriend overnight. Mathieu Montcourt reached his highest ranking ever last month by making the 2nd round in the French Open. (Lionel Bonaventure/AFP / Getty Images) The 24-year-old Montcourt's girlfriend found him lying next to his bicycle in the corridor leading to his front door, the French tennis federation's technical director Patrice Dominguez told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I have seen the police report and for the moment there is no cause of death, and only the autopsy (Wednesday morning) will eventually find an explanation," Dominguez said by telephone. "She (Montcourt's girlfriend) was staying at his place, and he was coming home on his bike around quarter past midnight, or half (past) midnight." Montcourt's girlfriend, who was with a friend in the apartment, became alarmed when Montcourt failed to arrive. "She was with a friend in Mathieu Montcourt's apartment," Dominguez said. "They came out after a while, having left him (phone) messages, and noticed that he was lying on the floor next to his bike ... They called the (ambulance), but unfortunately he was already dead." Dominguez said the FFT will release a further statement on Wednesday afternoon if the autopsy proves conclusive. "(It is) totally surprising. He's a player we have been training for more than 10 years and who has always been irreproachable. He had a healthy lifestyle, he didn't drink (and) he's not someone who went out partying," Dominguez added. "For the moment it's inexplicable ... the autopsy tomorrow may reveal something we hadn't noticed." Dominguez had hopes that Montcourt, ranked 119, would eventually challenge for a place in the top 50. "He is a player we considered could get into he top 50 or 60 within the next two years," Dominguez said. "He was someone who was really well liked. He was someone who was always one of the best under 12s, best under 16s, best juniors. He was always a fighter, and was a player we liked to watch." Last month, Montcourt achieved his highest career ranking of 104 after reaching the second round at Roland Garros, where he lost to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in four sets. Four-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who grew up playing regularly against Montcourt on the junior circuit, said he was shocked by the news. "This morning I woke up with one of the worst news anyone can receive," Nadal said on his Web site. "I heard about the death of our friend Mathieu Montcourt. I am still under shock for this. I can't believe it." Recalling their junior days, the 23-year-old Nadal added: "I knew Mathieu since we were kids. We competed together at all the events at an international level there is (when) you are a kid." In May, Montcourt was handed a five-week ban and fined $12,000 for betting on other matches. That ban took effect Monday. Montcourt complained during the French Open that the punishment was too harsh, saying that he never bet more than $3 at any time, and never on his own matches — a fact confirmed by the ATP which oversees the men's Tour. The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Montcourt had wagered a total of $192 on 36 tennis events in 2005. It reduced his suspension on appeal from eight weeks to five. The issue of betting in tennis drew increased attention from the sport's governing bodies after an online bookmaker voided all wagers on a 2007 match involving Nikolay Davydenko. About $7 million was bet — 10 times the usual amount for a similar-level match — and most of the money backed Davydenko's lower-ranked opponent. Davydenko was cleared in September after a yearlong investigation
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MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - Alexis Arguello, who fought in one of boxing's most classic brawls and reigned supreme at 130 pounds (59 kilograms), was found dead at his home early Wednesday. Coroners were conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Sandanista Party's Radio Ya and other local media were reporting it appeared to be a suicide. The La Prensa newspaper reported that Arguello — elected mayor of Nicaragua's capital last year — was found with a gunshot wound to the chest. The 57-year-old Arguello retired from boxing in 1995 with a record of 82-8 with 65 knockouts and was a champion in three weight divisions. He was perhaps best known for two thrilling battles with Aaron Pryor and fights with Ray Mancini, Bobby Chacon and Ruben Olivares. "I'm kind of in a daze right now. I can't believe what I'm hearing," Pryor told The Associated Press. "Those were great fights we had. This was a great champion." Nicknamed "The Explosive Thin Man," Arguello was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992, where flags were flying at half-staff in his honor on Wednesday. In 1999, a panel of experts assembled by The AP voted Arguello the best junior lightweight and sixth-best lightweight of the 20th century. He never lost at 130 pounds (59 kilograms), and his popularity in his own country was so great that he carried the flag for Nicaragua at the Beijing Olympics. "Not only was he one of the greatest fighters I've ever seen, he was the most intelligent fighter," Bob Arum, who promoted some of his biggest fights, told The Associated Press. "He was a ring tactician. Every move was thought out. And he was a wonderful, wonderful person." Arguello turned pro in 1968 and promptly lost his first bout. He didn't lose much more, and six years later knocked out Olivares in the 13th round to win the world featherweight title. Arguello went on to win the super featherweight and lightweight titles, his 1.78-meter (5-foot-10) frame allowing him to move up in weight without losing his tremendous punching power. At the time, he was only the sixth boxer to win championships in three weight classes, and was considered for a while the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Panama's Roberto Duran, another world champion at three weights, expressed disbelief. "I can't believe it. He was my friend, my brother," Duran said. "His death is a great loss for world boxing and a much greater loss for Nicaragua." The retired Oscar De La Hoya said: "I felt sad receiving the news and still find it hard to believe. Alexis was my idol. When I was young, I heard so much about him and his fights and loved his style in the ring. In my opinion he was one of the biggest and most influential fighters boxing has ever produced." De La Hoya said Arguello attended his fight against Steve Forbes in May 2008, which was De La Hoya's last victory. "We shared some great moments together before and after the fight," he said. "Arguello was definitely a legend in the boxing world because of all the joy he brought to his fans with his unforgettable career and amazing personality." "It was a brutal, brutal fight," Arum said. "That was something I will never, ever forget as long as I live. That was one of the most memorable fights I ever did." The bout was named "Fight of the Year" and "Fight of the Decade" by Ring Magazine, but was shrouded by controversy. Pryor's trainer, Panama Lewis, gave him a water bottle after the 13th round that many believe contained an illegal substance - an accusation Pryor denied. A rematch was ordered and they met again a year later at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This time, Pryor knocked out Arguello in the 10th round. "We always talk to each other about that first fight," Pryor said. "I never went into the fight knowing I could beat Alexis, I just went into the fight to beat Alexis." Arguello announced after the fight that he would retire from boxing, but as so often happens in the sport, Arguello couldn't stay away from the ring. He returned to win two fights in 1985 and 1986, then didn't step in the ring until 1994, when he made a brief comeback. He retired for good the following year. "Alexis Arguello was a first-class fighter and a first-class gentleman," said Hall of Fame executive director Edward Brophy. "The Hall of Fame joins the boxing community in mourning the loss of a great champion and friend." Arguello fought against the Sandinista government in the 1980s after it seized his property and bank account, but later joined the party and ran for mayor of the capital last November. He defeated Eduardo Montealegre, though opponents alleged the vote was fraudulent. Arguello had returned Sunday from Puerto Rico, where he honored the late baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. His death prompted Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega to announced he was canceling a trip to Panama for the inauguration of President-elect Ricardo Martinelli. "We are upset," presidential spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said. "This is a heartbreaking announcement. He was the champion of the poor, an example of forgiveness and reconciliation." Source:FoxSports
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A Brooklyn man is accused of donning a wig, nail polish and dresses to impersonate his dead mom and collect $115,000 in Social Security and rent subsidies. For six years, Thomas Prusik-Parkin hoodwinked a stunning array of government agencies with his elaborate charade - using a cane, heavy makeup, fake ID and a phony "nephew," law enforcement sources said. The 49-year-old was busted late Monday and will be arraigned today on grand larceny, forgery and conspiracy charges linked to a deed and mortgage fraud scheme. "I held my mother when she was dying and breathed in her last breath, so I am my mother," Prusik-Parkin said when he was arrested, according to detectives.

The mother, Irene Prusik, died in 2003 at age 73. The flimflam, which the Daily News learned of during a mortgage fraud probe, began immediately. Her son allegedly gave the funeral director the wrong Social Security number and date of birth for his mother so that her death would not be registered in government databases. He began collecting $700 a month in Social Security in her name, in addition to his own disability checks, sources said. He's accused of posing as Irene to file for bankruptcy so "she" would be eligible for $39,000 in city subsidies to help pay rent on a Park Slope apartment. To help in the ruse, Prusik-Parkin allegedly enlisted a close friend, Mhilton Rimolo, 47, to pose as Irene's nephew, help the "ailing aunt" get around town, cash government checks and assist in property transactions. On April 29, for example, Rimolo was with "Irene" when she renewed a driver's license in Coney Island. Banks, courts and federal and city agencies were taken in again and again - but the Brooklyn district attorney's rackets squad wasn't fooled. When DA investigators showed up to interview Irene Prusik in May, they encountered an elderly "woman" in a red dress and dark sunglasses who answered all their questions, sources said. Rimolo, who is also being charged, was at "her" side and told investigators Irene's son couldn't speak to them because he wasn't home. The DA was tipped by the man who actually owns the home where Prusik-Parkin lives, a $2.2million brownstone building that appears to be at the center of a massive fraud. In 1996, Irene Prusik deeded the home at 492 Sixth Ave. to her son, according to city records. He took out a $200,000 mortgage to bankroll a real estate investment business that failed. He stopped making mortgage payments, the house went into foreclosure and it was bought by Samir Chopra in 2003. To hold onto the brownstone and avoid eviction, Prusik-Parkin posed as his mother to file a suit alleging that he had forged the 1996 deed transfer, investigators allege. He even filed an affidavit from a nonexistent son. In essence, investigators say, he sued himself to prove that he didn't have the title to the home and that Chopra - who also thought Irene Prusik was still alive - couldn't have legally bought it. Prusik-Parkin deeded the house back to his mother last year. Then he took out a mortgage for almost a million dollars in her name in April, collecting some $300,000 of the loan. That same month, Chopra convinced a Brooklyn judge the home really did belong to him, and the Prusik "family" was evicted in May. Source : New York Daily News
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PARIS – British actress Lucy Gordon, who appeared in "Spider-Man 3," was found dead in her Paris apartment after apparently committing suicide, French police said Thursday. She was 28. An autopsy has been ordered to determine the cause of death, though it appeared to be a suicide, said an official with the Paris police headquarters. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of police agency policy, gave no details. Gordon, who would have turned 29 on Friday, appeared in a dozen films, including as reporter Jennifer Dugan in "Spider-Man 3." She portrays British singer and actress Jane Birkin in an upcoming biopic about Serge Gainsbourg. Gordon's father said the death was a "complete shock." Speaking from the family's home in Oxford, Richard Gordon told Britain's Press Association that his daughter was "a natural actress all her life, since she was about 2." "She's always loved being on stage and in front of the camera and she has kept all her naturalness and charm all the way through. She has been the most beautiful daughter. We are obviously devastated." He said she loved her latest role, in the Gainsbourg film, and thought the cast was "wonderfully creative and supportive." He added that his daughter spent much of her childhood and her summer vacations in France and was bilingual. She recently moved to Paris after living in New York. Gordon's agents did not return phone calls seeking comment Thursday.
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