Dismissals

A New York judge has thrown out a $50-million lawsuit filed by an ex-girlfriend of 50 Cent who claimed the rapper promised to take care of her for life. Manhattan State Supreme Court Justice Carol Edmead dismissed Shaniqua Tompkins' claims to half of 50 Cent's assets. Tompkins and 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, have an 11-year-son. Tompkins said 50 Cent promised he would support her forever if he made it big. The judge said the case was "an unfortunate tale of a love relationship gone sour."

A lawsuit brought by the family of a husband and wife who were fatally shot by police during a confrontation at a Laguna Beach resort two years ago has been dismissed, city officials said. Joni Park, 48, waved a gun at Laguna Beach police officers while staying at a luxury bungalow at the Montage Laguna Beach in April 2007, authorities said. She refused to drop the weapon when ordered and was wounded by police. Her husband Kevin Park, 49, picked up the gun, aimed it at officers and was shot, authorities said.

Fifteen hospital workers have been fired for looking at medical records of octuplet mother Nadya Suleman without permission. Kaiser Permanente spokesman Jim Anderson said Monday the violations of privacy laws were reported to the state Department of Public Health. He said an additional eight employees were disciplined for accessing the files at Kaiser's hospital in Bellflower, where Suleman gave birth to the octuplets Jan. 26. Hospital officials do not think any information was shared with the media.

When one of the young film agents at the William Morris Agency left a lunch meeting the other day, he bumped into agency chief Jim Wiatt out in the hallway. As the story is told around the agency, when he asked Wiatt if he wanted to step inside and say hello to the troops, Wiatt quipped: "Why should I? You guys are all going to be fired anyway." It was clearly meant as a joke, and Wiatt denies he ever said it at all. But judging from the funereal atmosphere at William Morris in the days following last week's formal announcement that Hollywood's oldest talent agency was merging with Endeavor, there is little doubt about who'll be the winner and who'll be the loser as the new company establishes itself as a new entity.

Prodded by angry parents demanding a change of leadership for the district, the school board on Monday fired Chief Financial Officer Terry Bustillos. In a brief statement following a 2-hour closed meeting and a unanimous vote, the board said the action was the result of an investigation that began in June. The board concluded "that the chief financial officer breached material terms of his employment contract with the district."

The Riverside County Sheriff's Department fired Deputy Tracy Watson on Wednesday for his role in the notorious baton beating of two illegal immigrants April 1 in South El Monte after a high-speed chase. A sheriff's spokesman said Watson was no longer employed by the department at 5 p.m., but declined to elaborate, citing employee privacy laws.

Running back Russell White, from Crespi High in Encino, was waived Wednesday by the San Francisco 49ers, who signed running back Reynard Rutherford. Rutherford was in the Kansas City Chiefs' camp until his release two days ago. White, nephew of former Heisman Trophy winner Charles White, was waived by Green Bay at the end of camp last year and saw only limited duty with the Rams before being cut in 1994. White came to camp two weeks ago when injuries depleted the team's running backs.

Former White House Chief of Staff Thomas "Mack" McLarty said in a deposition released Monday that he felt pressured to take action on the White House travel office but First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton did not tell him to fire its staff. And Hollywood producer Harry Thomason, who has emerged as a central figure in the firings, told the same House investigators the first lady had said to him the workers "ought to be gotten out."

In a rare public display of temper, President Clinton angrily declared Thursday that the government should not pay the legal bills of fired White House travel office employees when so many administration officials have been burdened with legal expenses from the Whitewater controversy. Contradicting earlier statements by his aides, the president said that legal costs incurred by former travel office boss Billy R.

Lawyers for the Spelling Entertainment Group call it her "material change." Hunter Tylo calls it her baby. Tylo, a 33-year-old up-and-coming actress, is pregnant. And because her pregnancy is not in the script, neither is the actress. According to producers of Aaron Spelling's steamiest prime-time series, "Melrose Place," there is no place in the show for Tylo until she is back to the state she was in when they offered her a role--that is, the unpregnant state.