Music Producer Phil Spector Murder Trial Begins

Opening statements are due to begin in the trial of pioneering music producer Phil Spector, who is accused of murder.

Prosecutors will open the case and are expected to argue that Mr Spector, 67, shot actress Lana Clarkson in the mouth as she tried to leave his home in 2003.

Defence lawyers argue Ms Clarkson put the gun in her mouth and shot herself.

A jury of nine men and three women was sworn in last week for the case in Los Angeles, which will be televised and is expected to last up to three months.

The defence team is expected to argue that 40-year-old Ms Clarkson was depressed at the time of her death.

Both sides say forensic evidence and the autopsy support their versions of events.

Among those reported to be preparing to act as character witnesses for Phil Spector is John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono.

Mr Spector allegedly once fired a gun over Lennon's head during a recording session with the Beatles.

It is not clear whether Mr Spector, who has shunned the public eye for decades, will testify at the trial.

B-movie actress Ms Clarkson, who starred in films such as Amazon Women On the Moon and Barbarian Queen, was found at Mr Spector's Los Angeles mansion in February 2003 with a fatal gunshot wound to her face.

Police say the producer told the first officers on the scene that he had killed Ms Clarkson by accident.

Later, he told Esquire magazine that she died in a bizarre act of suicide after "kissing" the gun.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Mr Spector could be sentenced to life in prison.

Mr Spector is famed for his influential music production technique, known as the Wall of Sound, which featured soaring orchestration and multi-layered vocals.

It became a trademark of some of the most acclaimed pop hits of the 1960s, such as The Crystals' Da Doo Ron Ron and the Ronettes' Be My Baby.

Mr Spector won two Grammy awards for his work and is featured in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Ohio.

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Phil Spector Murder Trial Opens in LA
The murder trial of Phil Spector, involving the death of a woman at his hilltop mansion more than 4 years ago, opens Wednesday. (April 25)

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Phil Spector in Court With 'Subdued' Appearance
Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of legendary music producer Phil Spector. AP Correspondent Steve Fluty was at the trial in Los Angeles. (Archive March 19)

Lopez, Anthony Will Sue National Enquirer

Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Marc Anthony, are suing the National Enquirer in European courts over the tabloid's claims they were linked to a drug scandal, their Belfast lawyer said Monday.

Represented by Paul Tweed, who specializes in bringing U.S.-based celebrities libel cases to British and Irish courts, Lopez, 38, and singer Anthony, 37, were seeking "a six-figure settlement" from the Enquirer, based in Boca Raton, Fla., and its parent company, American Media Inc.

The lawsuit would be filed Tuesday in a Belfast court, and in subsequent days in courts in Dublin, London and Paris.

The lawsuit also seeks an apology and retraction for an article that appeared in different versions of the Enquirer's U.S. and international editions.

The version published March 12 in British and Irish editions alleged the couple were "caught up in a heroin scanda,l" and reprinted a 2004 picture of Anthony standing beside photographer Michael Star, who is facing charges of heroin possession and child pornography in the U.S.

The article quoted an alleged friend of Star as saying Star and Anthony were friends.

Tweed told the AP this was untrue and that Anthony didn't know Star even as an acquaintance. Anthony posed for the 2004 photograph, Tweed said, in keeping with his usual hospitality toward backstage concert fans.

There has been a growing trend in international libel suits brought by U.S. based celebrities in European courts, where libel laws favor the celebrity, not the publication.


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AP ShowBiz News: JLo, Regis, Gere, Moss

Snoop Dogg No-Contest Plea, No Jail Time

Rapper Snoop Dogg made a surprise no-contest plea to gun and drug charges today and was given a three-year suspended sentence that will spare him jail time.

The 35-year-old rap star, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was also sentenced to five years of formal probation and ordered to perform 800 hours of community service by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

Broadus was expected in court for an arraignment on charges of sale or transportation of marijuana and possession of a gun by a convicted felon, which could have landed him behind bars for up to four years if convicted at a trial.

He instead entered the no contest plea, apparently as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Broadus was arrested on October 25 last year after police at Burbank Airport, near Los Angeles, stopped him for leaving his car too long in a passenger loading area and found a gun and marijuana in his car.



Play VideoAnother Arrest for Snoop Dog
Nov. 29, 2006

Rapper Snoop Dogg's been arrested again. Police took him after he performed on 'The Tonight Show' Tuesday night, and say they found a handgun and illegal drugs in a search of his home and car. (Nov. 29)

Fire Destroys Johnny Cash's Home

The Tennessee home of the late country legend Johnny Cash has been destroyed by fire during renovations for the property's new owner, The Bee Gees' Barry Gibb.

Cash and his wife, June Carter Cash, lived in the three-story wooden house in Hendersonville, Tennessee from 1968 until they died within months of each other in 2003.

The local newspaper, The Hendersonville Star News, quoted a fire official as saying that the fire probably started when fumes from a wood preservative being used in the renovations were ignited by a spark.

The house featured in the famous video for Cash's version of the Nine Inch Nails song 'Hurt'.

Gibb bought the house in early 2006 and The Hendersonville Star News said the renovations were in the final stages; the newspaper quoted a friend of Gibbs' as saying that the singer hoped to move in during the summer.

At the time of purchase, Gibb described buying the house as an honor and spoke of his determination to preserve it in honor of its late owners.

Maybe he used to much wood preservative and not enough honor.



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'Ring of Fire' Destroys Cash Family Home