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On Sunday, the Times ran a disconcertently glowing story about shaken-down billionaire Ron Burkle's friendship with Bill Clinton. One of the fuzzy details included was how Clinton and Burkle had met; according to the Times, the two were introduced after Clinton had heard that Burkle's supermarkets were spared in the LA riots because he was so good to his employees. After Slate's Mickey Kaus pointed out that Burkle's properties weren't so much spared as torched, the Times has put its tail between its legs:

Correction: April 25, 2006
 A front-page article on Sunday about former President Bill Clinton's friendship with Ronald Burkle, the California financier and grocery chain operator, referred incompletely to the fate of Mr. Burkle's supermarkets during the Los Angeles riots of 1992 (an event that led Mr. Clinton to seek out the businessman after being told that rioters had spared some of his markets because of his reputation for fairness). Although some of Mr. Burkle's markets were spared, others were burned or otherwise damaged by rioters.

Hopefully, the Gray Lady has learned her lesson: Always fact-check a sketchy billionaire's story. Meanwhile, we'd like to know how Burkle and Clinton really did meet — and, more importantly, what lovely young lady brought these two together.

How a Billionaire Friend of Bill Helps Him Do Good, and Well (Correction Appended) [NYT]
Earlier: Payola Six: Burkle Charms the Pants Off the 'NYT'