Man accused of shooting rapper Proof has died

Man accused of shootingrapper Proof has died
DETROIT -- A man who police say was shot by rapper Proof, just before Proof himself was killed, has died of his wounds, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Keith Bender had been in critical condition since being shot in the head a week ago at the CCC, a nightclub on Eight Mile Road, the boundary between Detroit and the northern suburbs.
Bender, 35, died early Tuesday, said Wende Berry, a spokeswoman for St. John Hospital and Medical Center.
Police have said witnesses told them that Proof, a hip-hop artist and friend of Eminem's, shot Bender during a dispute at the after-hours club. Bender's cousin Mario Etheridge then shot and killed Proof, whose real name was Deshaun Holton, they said.
Etheridge, 28, has pleaded innocent to charges of carrying a concealed weapon and discharge of a firearm in a building. His attorney, Randall Upshaw, said the shooting was in self-defense.
iTakei supports activists
MINNEAPOLIS -- Mr. Sulu beamed down to lend support to student gay activists who tried to visit a private Christian university.
George Takei, 68, who played the helmsman in three "Star Trek" TV seasons and six movies, made a surprise appearance Monday after a busload of Soulforce Equality Riders tried to talk about faith and gay rights with students at North Central University in downtown Minneapolis.
The 33 activists are traveling by bus to 19 U.S. colleges with religion-based policies opposed to homosexuality. They were locked out of school buildings when they arrived at North Central, which is owned and operated by the Assemblies of God.
Director pleads guilty
LOS ANGELES -- A somber "Die Hard" director John McTiernan stood before a federal judge and said he made "knowingly false" statements to an FBI agent about Anthony Pellicano, the celebrity private eye he admitted hiring to wiretap a business associate.
McTiernan, who pleaded guilty Monday to making false statements, faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced July 31.
He is the highest-profile figure yet to plead guilty in the investigation of Pellicano, who is accused of bugging phones and bribing police to get information on celebrities and others. Pellicano has pleaded innocent.
Asked by U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer on Monday if the statements he made to the FBI agent were false, McTiernan replied: "They were knowingly false, your honor."
McTiernan, director of "The Thomas Crown Affair," "The Last Action Hero" and other films, sketched out a scenario that began with a phone call to his home on Feb. 13 from a person identifying himself as an FBI agent.
He said he told the agent the only time he used Pellicano's services was in his divorce.
Today's birthdays
Actor Hugh O'Brian is 81. Actress Elinor Donahue is 69. Actor Tim Curry is 60. Tennis player Sue Barker is 50. Recording executive Suge Knight is 41. Actress Ashley Judd is 38.Actress Kate Hudson is 27. Actor Hayden Christensen is 25. Actor Courtland Mead is 19.