Heather Mills, the former wife of Paul McCartney, and her sister have received an apology and a settlement from Britain's defunct News of the World tabloid for hacking their phones.
Heather and sister Fiona Mills both received a formal apology in Britain's High Court on Monday. Outside the court, she said she felt "joy and vindication" at the settlement. "My motivation to win this decadelong fight stemmed from a desire to obtain justice, not only for my family, my charities and myself, but for the thousands of innocent members of the public who, like me, have suffered similar ignominious, criminal treatment at the hands of one of the world's most powerful media groups," she said.
Mills is among several celebrities who have received settlements in the prolonged phone hacking scandal, which closed the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World in 2011. The paper was found to have hacked into the voice mail of many prominent Britons.
A tabloid representative said it apologized to the Mills sisters for "the distress caused to them by the invasion of their privacy by individuals working for or on behalf of the News of the World." The size of what was called a "substantial settlement" hasn't been revealed. Attorney David Sherborne said the sisters had been subjected to "sustained and repeated invasions of privacy" by people working for the newspaper.
Ex-NFL star says he's better after stroke
Former New England Patriots linebacker and ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi says he's doing "much better" after suffering a second stroke. In an Instagram post on Monday, Bruschi said that he knew what was happening immediately last Thursday when he lost use of his left arm, began slurring his speech and his wife noticed his face was drooping. An ambulance took Bruschi to a hospital in Attleboro, Mass. Bruschi, 46, had a stroke in February 2005, days after the Patriots' third Super Bowl win and learned he had a congenital defect that produced a hole in his heart. He retired after surgery but later returned and played three more seasons for the team.
standing by their mermaid: A Disney-owned cable network has taken aim at critics who disagreed with the decision to cast Halle Bailey as Ariel in the upcoming adaptation of "The Little Mermaid." Freeform posted an open letter on Sunday in support of Bailey after some on social media used the hashtag #NotMyAriel to object to a black woman portraying the redheaded mermaid princess of the animated film. But the network says, "Danish mermaids can be black because Danish people can be black." Bailey is half of the sister duo Chloe x Halle. She will star in the live-action version that will include songs from the 1989 animated Disney hit as well as new tunes from original composer Alan Menken and "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Associated Press
