Here is a news article: The new privacy policy for Samsung’s smart TVs allows the company and its partners to listen in on everything their users say.

 The policy has drawn the ire of internet users, who compared it with George Orwell’s dystopian fiction 1984.

 While voice recognition software almost always transmits data on what users are saying — so that the job of decoding it can be done by quicker computers elsewhere — the combination of sending the data to third-parties and the comparison with Orwell has meant that the Samsung policy has drawn particular attention.

 The policy states: “Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition.”

 It makes clear that the tool can be turned off through settings, though that will stop the voice recognition working entirely and Samsung will still continue to collect data about how people use the TV.

 “While Samsung will not collect your spoken word, Samsung may still collect associated texts and other usage data so that we can evaluate the performance of the feature and improve it,” the policy states.

 It bears similarities to the telescreens used in 1984, as pointed out by Twitter user and Electronic Frontier Foundation activist Parker Higgins.

 In that book, Orwell writes: “Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by [the screen], moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard.

 “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork.”

 A Samsung statement said that data is encrypted to keep it safe, and that owners can disconnect the TV from wifi if they want to keep their data safe. Users can tell when the feature is activated because a microphone appears on screen.

 Many saw the policy as a warning about the internet of things — the new trend towards internet-enabled devices in the home — which some say could allow companies to collect more data on its users than ever before. ||||| Samsung’s SmartTV service offers a set of features that provide enhanced video content, customised TV, movie, and other content recommendations, connections to social networking services, and the ability to control and interact with your SmartTV with gestures and voice commands. We collect, use, share, and store information through your SmartTV in the ways described in the Samsung Privacy Policy. This Supplement provides additional details about the privacy practices of some SmartTV features.

 Recommendations and Customised Content

 Device Information

 The SmartTV is designed to enable you to easily find and access video programming and other content. For example, you may access information about live television programs distributed to you by your cable or satellite operator and on-demand video content offerings distributed by third-party content providers through searchable guides displayed on your SmartTV.

 In the case of live television programs, we determine what content is available to you based in part on your post code. In addition, the SmartTV helps make the searchable guides and other SmartTV content more relevant to you by highlighting programming and content that is likely to interest you, such as episodes of programs that you may have missed and new programs, applications and other content that we believe you will find of interest. We base these recommendations on:

 Information about content that you have watched, purchased, downloaded, or streamed through Samsung applications on your SmartTV or other devices;

 Information about applications you have accessed through the SmartTV panels;

 Information about your clicks on the “Like,” “Dislike,” “Watch Now,” and other buttons on your SmartTV;

 The query terms you enter into SmartTV search features, including when you search for particular video content; and

 Other SmartTV usage and device information, including, but not limited to, IP address, information stored in cookies and similar technologies, information that identifies your hardware or software configuration, browser information, and the page(s) you request.

 In addition, if you enable the collection of information about video streams viewed on your SmartTV, we may collect that information and additional information about the network, channels, and programs that you view through the SmartTV. We will use such information to improve the recommendations that we deliver to you on the SmartTV.

 Please visit the “settings” menu of your SmartTV for choices that may be available to you if you do not wish to continue to receive personalised recommendations on your SmartTV. If you disable personalised recommendations, then the information and content displayed on your SmartTV may not be as relevant to you. Samsung may still collect information about your usage of the SmartTV for the purposes described in this Samsung Privacy Policy.

 Voice Recognition

 You can control your Smart TV, and use many of its features, with voice commands.

 If you enable Voice Recognition, you can interact with your Smart TV using your voice. To provide you the Voice Recognition feature, some interactive voice commands may be transmitted (along with information about your device, including device identifiers) to a third-party service provider (currently, Nuance Communications, Inc.) that converts your interactive voice commands to text and to the extent necessary to provide the Voice Recognition features to you. In addition, Samsung may collect and your device may capture voice commands and associated texts so that we can provide you with Voice Recognition features and evaluate and improve the features. Samsung will collect your interactive voice commands only when you make a specific search request to the Smart TV by clicking the activation button either on the remote control or on your screen and speaking into the microphone on the remote control.

 If you do not enable Voice Recognition, you will not be able to use interactive voice recognition features, although you may be able to control your TV using certain predefined voice commands.

 You may disable Voice Recognition data collection at any time by visiting the “settings” menu. However, this may prevent you from using some of the Voice Recognition features.

 Gesture Controls and Facial Recognition

 Your SmartTV is equipped with a camera that enables certain advanced features, including the ability to control and interact with your TV with gestures and to use facial recognition technology to authenticate your Samsung Account on your TV. The camera can be covered and disabled at any time, but be aware that these advanced services will not be available if the camera is disabled.

 Gesture Control.

 To provide you with the ability to control your SmartTV through gestures, the camera mounted on the top of your SmartTV can recognise your movements. This enables you, for example, to move between panels and zoom in or zoom out. We record information about when and how users use gesture controls so that we can evaluate the performance of these controls and improve them.

 Facial Recognition.

 The camera situated on the SmartTV also enables you to authenticate your Samsung Account or to log into certain services using facial recognition technology. You can use facial recognition instead of, or as a supplementary security measure in addition to, manually inputting your password. Once you complete the steps required to set up facial recognition, an image of your face is stored locally on your TV; it is not transmitted to Samsung. If you cancel your Samsung Account or no longer desire to use facial recognition, please visit the applicable settings menu to delete the stored image. While your image will be stored locally, Samsung may take note of the fact that you have set up the feature and collect information about when and how the feature is used so that we can evaluate the performance of this feature and improve it.

 Fitness Services

 To provide you with personalised fitness recommendations, SmartTV services enable you to create a profile that contains certain basic information about yourself, including your height, weight and date of birth. You can delete such a profile at any time by following the directions in the service’s preferences [or settings] screen.

 Kids Services

 SmartTV services may make available educational videos and other content appropriate for children, but we do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13) without parental consent, unless permitted by law. If we learn that a child under the age of thirteen (13) has provided us with personal information, we will delete it in accordance with applicable law.

 Third Parties

 Please note that when you watch a video or access applications or content provided by a third-party, that provider may collect or receive information about your SmartTV (e.g., its IP address and device identifiers), the requested transaction (e.g., your request to buy or rent the video), and your use of the application or service. Samsung is not responsible for these providers’ privacy or security practices. You should exercise caution and review the privacy statements applicable to the third-party websites and services you use. ||||| In its hour-long Xbox One presentation, Microsoft blazed through announcements for its new next-generation console, including one ostensibly important feature that may raise some eyebrows: the new Xbox will always be listening to you, even when it's turned off.

 The reason for always-on listening mode is simple; Microsoft wants the new Xbox to respond quickly and naturally to you, whenever you need it. To fulfill that goal, the company will ship the new Kinect — its motion-sensing and listening peripheral — with every Xbox One. The new console uses the new Kinect for just about everything: switching between games, movies, web browsing, and live television, all of which can be done with voice commands. (In fact, the new console needs the Kinect to operate at all — it's not an optional add-on like with the Xbox 360.) Even when the console's turned off, users can simply say "Xbox On" to power up — which means the new Kinect will be listening to you in your living room at all times.

 I think it's creepy that you can say "Xbox on" and it will turn on. It means it's always listening to you. — Jack Lloyd (@RedDeadLloyd) May 21, 2013

 Kinect on the Xbox One is always listening/watching and has a constant connection to the Internet. 1984 anyone? — James Philippon (@jamesphilippon) May 21, 2013

 In fact, the new camera and microphone system is so sensitive to your presence, that Microsoft says the new Kinect can even read your heartbeat while you're exercising, and recognize and process audio that's personalized to specific individuals. "This is rocket science level stuff," Xbox's Marc Whitten said during today's reveal.

 Microsoft claims the new Kinect is so sensitive that it can read your heartbeat and recognize individual voices

 Of course, that's not necessarily a gloom-and-doom situation, and listening doesn't mean recording. Still, compared to privacy concerns over a device like Google Glass, which doesn't actively listen to its surroundings at all times, the new Xbox could pose greater privacy implications — especially if the system, which many users will connect to the internet, is compromised remotely by a malicious actor. "If I'm recording you, I have to stare at you — as a human being," Google Glass engineer Charles Mendis told The Verge when asked about Glass' privacy concerns. "And when someone is staring at you, you have to notice." But will you notice a fixed camera in your living room that's always listening?

 This isn't the first time Kinect has faced privacy concerns

 This isn't the first time Microsoft has dealt with privacy issues related to Kinect. When the first iteration of Kinect headed to the market in 2010, Microsoft's Dennis Durken suggested to investors that the peripheral might pass data to advertisers about how you look, play, and speak. "We can cater what content gets presented to you based on who you are," he said, sparking privacy concerns. (Microsoft later denied that the Kinect would use information for targeted advertising.) But even then, the first Kinect was only enabled in specific situations, and didn't have an always-on listening mode.

 Microsoft provided few additional details on how the new Kinect will work, but the company did mention that the system will run in an extremely low-power state for listening mode, meaning that the device's operating system and certain hardware features could be disabled in that state.

 We've asked Microsoft to clarify the technical specifics of how the system operates in listening mode, and if the company has considered any safeguards against potential privacy threats.

 Update: A Microsoft spokesperson responded to our inquiry with the following statement.

 The new Kinect is listening for a specific cue, like ‘Xbox on.’ We know our customers want and expect strong privacy protections to be built into our products, devices and services, and for companies to be responsible stewards of their data. Microsoft has more than ten years of experience making privacy a top priority. Kinect for Xbox 360 was designed and built with strong privacy protections in place and the new Kinect will continue this commitment.

 Update 2: Microsoft CVP Phil Harrison told Eurogamer that the company has no plans to spy on you: |||||
A summary of this is?

– Own a Samsung smart TV? Then take note: Your television is not only listening, it's sending your data to a third party, the Independent reports. The TV's voice-recognition software lets you give it orders, but the product's privacy policy warns that "personal or other sensitive information ... will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition." Samsung tells the BBC that the third party is Nuance, the company that does Samsung's speech-to-text conversion. But intellectual property lawyer Corynne McSherry says it would be nice to see that clarified in Samsung's policy, the Daily Beast reports. "And I’d definitely like to know whether my words were being transmitted in a secure form," she says. An activist tweets that Samsung's policy sounds a lot like the description of "telescreens" in George Orwell's dystopian novel, 1984—which reads in part, "Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by [the screen]." Unnervingly, it wasn't clear how often "the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork." Samsung, however, says it doesn't keep voice data, and customers can opt to turn off voice-recognition or even unplug the TV from Wi-Fi. And Samsung isn't alone: the Verge reports that XBoxes already use voice recognition while being connected to the Internet. "Samsung's privacy policy is not unique; its rhetoric just happens to be similar to that of a well-known sci-fi novel," the Verge says.


News article:

When asked if the Republican Party - which some predict will win control of the House of Representatives next week - will win a majority in the Senate, the GOP's 2008 presidential nominee declined to foresee success.

 Appearing on CBS' "The Early Show" this morning, Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., said, "I'm a little worried about some of my Republican friends who are taking a victory lap about a week ahead of time.

 "And indications are that, as always, the Democrats have a very sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation. We've got to get our vote out.

 "If I had to predict," McCain told anchor Harry Smith, "and I'm very hesitant to do so, I think we will be up late, or even after election night, waiting to see what happens in California and the state of Washington. I think the election will probably depend on that, as far as Senate majority."

 Special Report: Campaign 2010

 As a co-sponsor of campaign finance legislation that was all but gutted by the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, which allowed unfettered spending of money from anonymous donors (including corporations, industry groups, unions and non-profits), McCain said the current glut of spending by House and Senate (according to the Washington Post, nearly $2 billion for this midterm) and by outside groups (an additional nearly half-billion dollars, much from hidden sources), was feared.

 "Yeah, we were worried about that," said McCain (who alone spent about $20 million to defeat his primary opponent J.D. Hayworth), "especially money that comes from sources that are not really known. Or money like the unions that spend without the permission of union members - obviously many union members who don't agree with the far left agenda of the union leadership.

 "So, it is what it is, and we're in for an interesting election."

 Looking ahead, McCain was asked about the prospect of compromise in Congress over the Bush era tax cuts, which are due to expire at the end of this year. While most agree that tax cuts for middle class Americans should be extended, battle lines have been drawn against whether the richest two percent of Americans should also have their tax cuts continued.

 Doing so, Democrats argue, would increase the federal deficit by $700 billion over the next decade.

 Though a recent CBS news poll shows a majority of Americans say tax cuts for those making $250,000 a year should not continue, Republicans are fighting for them.

 "Democrats are floating the idea of moving that ceiling up to $1 million a year," said Smith. "If the Bush tax cuts, which are up for renewal, come up again and they say, 'You know what, we'll just only tax people who make $1 million or more,' is that something you might be able to stomach?"

 "Look, let's just extend them all for a couple of years and then worry about it, and see what happens a couple years from now," McCain replied. "We're not going to get into a bidding war with the Democrats over what level [of] rich people we hate.

 "Look, we don't need to raise anybody's taxes at this time. Let's extend them for a couple of years, as 45 Democrats in the House said that they were committed to [doing], and let's start attacking the real problem, and that's spending.

 "Taxes isn't the problem; it's spending that's the problem. And so that's what we need to do." ||||| Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks to supporters at a Republican National Committee rally in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010.(AP Photo/John Raoux) (Associated Press)

 Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks to supporters at a Republican National Committee rally in Orlando, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010.(AP Photo/John Raoux) (Associated Press)

 Sen. John McCain is calling Sarah Palin an "outstanding candidate" for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, but says it's too early to endorse her.

 McCain told CBS's "The Early Show" Tuesday that "I don't think Sarah would want me to, before she's even able to make a decision" about running.

 The Arizona Republican said "it's very early to start picking winners and losers." He said he still holds his 2008 running mate "in high regard" and said he's been amused by the former Alaska governor's confrontations with "the liberal media."

 Palin has been active in the campaign, raising money, throwing her support behind a host of tea party-backed conservative Republicans and giving speeches around the country. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– John McCain thinks a lot of people are getting ahead of themselves. Asked on CBS’ Early Show if he’d endorse Sarah Palin for president in 2012, he said she’d make an “outstanding candidate,” but that it was too early to say he’d endorse her. “I don’t think Sarah would want me to, before she’s even able to make a decision” about running, he said, according to the AP, adding “It’s very early to start picking winners and losers.” For that matter, McCain thinks it’s too early to call the midterms. “I'm a little worried about some of my Republican friends who are taking a victory lap about a week ahead of time,” he said. “Indications are that, as always, the Democrats have a very sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation. We've got to get our vote out.”


Write a summary based on this article:

The remaining half of the screen culinary duo Two Fat Ladies has died in hospital in Edinburgh aged 66

 She was a brilliant cook, an erudite food historian and a champion of hunting and shooting once convicted of attending an illegal hare coursing event. She had no time for rudeness and little for those whose philosophies she could not understand, including Labour politicians and "manky" vegetarians.

 But most of all, Clarissa Dickson Wright, who has died aged 66, was a great British eccentric who became a most unlikely television star as one half of the BBC's Two Fat Ladies partnership.

 The worlds of food and television paid tribute to Dickson Wright on Monday following her death in hospital in Edinburgh, where she had been undergoing treatment since the start of the year.

 Producer Patricia Llewellyn, who teamed her up with Jennifer Paterson for the Fat Ladies show – in which they toured the UK in a motorcycle-sidecar – first met Dickson Wright when the cook decided to launch a one-woman campaign to get the cardoon back on to British dining tables.

 "The cardoon is a prickly vegetable – an edible thistle – and not immediately lovable, but wonderful when you get to know it – it couldn't have found a better champion", said Llewellyn.

 "Clarissa was a marvellous cook and hugely knowledgeable about food and food history. She was possessed of a formidable intelligence, and held strong opinions, a powerful combination that made her a commanding presence on television."

 Jennifer Paterson (left) and Clarissa Dickson Wright filming Two Fat Ladies in 1996. Photograph: Tim Walsh/PA

 She also had a fiery temper. "We called her 'Krakatoa' because if you didn't notice the rumbling you could find yourself in trouble. She was a force of nature."

 Dickson Wright's agents, Heather Holden-Brown and Elly James, said her fun, laughter and intelligence would be missed: "Clarissa was utterly non-PC and fought for what she believed in, always, with no thought to her own personal cost."

 The Observer's restaurant critic Jay Rayner tweeted: "Goodbye Clarissa. A truly fabulous woman. Worked with her many times and it was always fun, at least for me. She had a towering intellect." Television chef Jamie Oliver added: "She was always entertaining to watch and was of course a passionate foodie."

 Baptised Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda, Dickson Wright grew up in north London. Her father, Arthur, was a brilliant surgeon and food lover – pigeons were flown in from Cairo for the Dickson Wright table and caviar was frequently on the menu. But he was also a violent alcoholic who beat Dickson Wright and her mother.

 She became a barrister but after herself descending into alcoholism quit law and began working as a cook in grand homes.

 Dickson Wright was running a culinary bookshop when she was discovered by Llewellyn. She would joke that she had put on her weight without the help of junk food. "It was all good quality," she said. But the Two Fat Ladies programmes attracted some criticism for the high-fat ingredients the pair loved.

 Following her screen partner's death in 1999 aged 71, Dickson Wright appeared in other television programmes including Clarissa and the Countryman with presenter, naturalist and baronet Sir John (Johnny) Scott.

 She was a champion of countryside pursuits, claiming she was prepared to go to prisonto support people's right to hunt. In 2009 she was convicted of attending hare coursing.

 In more recent years she joined the debate over the badger cull to suggest the mammals ought to be eaten. "It would solve the problem. There's going to be a cull, so rather than just throw them in the landfill site, why not eat them?" she said.

 Dickson Wright said she had enjoyed a "fantastic life". "I've done everything I could have wanted to do and more." In 2011 she told the Guardian she did not worry about ageing. "I am oriented to country matters; you are born and eventually you die." ||||| Clarissa Dickson Wright, who rose to middle-aged fame as the co-star and co-chef of “Two Fat Ladies,” a popular British television show known as much for the hosts’ irreverence and eccentricity as for their indulgent and sometimes confounding recipes, died on Saturday in Edinburgh. She was 66.

 She had been ill for several months, according to Heather Holden-Brown and Elly James, her literary agents in London, who announced the death.

 Ms. Dickson Wright grew up in an affluent family, became a lawyer at 21 and an alcoholic not long after. Sobered up, she got serious about cooking in her 40s.

 She was writing a cooking column and running a store called Books for Cooks in London when a television producer recruited her to collude with another culinary rebel, Jennifer Paterson, on a cooking show unlike any other. “Two Fat Ladies” made its debut in 1996 on the BBC and was picked up in the United States the next year by the Food Network.

 Each episode opened with the pair heading to a new location to cook, Ms. Paterson steering a motorcycle while Ms. Dickson Wright rode in a sidecar, sometimes beneath the carcass of an animal bound for the dinner table. They spoke approvingly of royal mistresses, less so of vegetarians. They enjoyed imitating profound flatulence.

 Photo

 In an era of health-conscious cooking, Ms. Dickson Wright and Ms. Paterson just said no.

 On lard: “Just in case you think it’s unhealthy,” Ms. Dickson Wright said, “don’t be put off by that.”

 On bacon: “I’m told that more vegetarians relapse on bacon than any other substance.”

 On a lofty legume: “Always get rid of all the lentils. You would have no idea how randy it makes all the vegetarians.”

 On tongue: “It’s wonderful stuff, tongue. Everybody forgets about tongue.”

 On flavorful Indian tea: “Yes, I quite like a strong Indian myself now and again.”

 On the proper application of butter to a cake pan: “You really want to get it well greased. Did you see ‘Last Tango in Paris’? Something like that.”

 The show led to a book in 1998, “Cooking With the Two Fat Ladies.” Reviewing it in The New York Times, Suzanne Hamlin found many of the recipes impossible to follow — at least if one wanted the promised results.

 “On camera, the two hefty middle-aged women do nothing — including cooking — by the book,” Ms. Hamlin wrote. While acknowledging their appeal, she added, “Eccentricity and farce fail to be compelling in a cookbook that purports to be useful.”

 The show ran until 1999, when Ms. Paterson died shortly after learning she had lung cancer.

 Clarissa Dickson Wright was born Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright on June 24, 1947, in the St. John’s Wood section of London. In her 2007 memoir, “Spilling the Beans,” she recalled the inspirations for her numerous given names, including her mother’s favorite saint, Philomena, and a woman who cooked for her family, Louise.

 She was the youngest child of Dr. Arthur Dickson Wright, a prominent surgeon who treated members of the royal family — and who was also, she said, abusive and an alcoholic. Her mother, the former Molly Bath, came from a wealthy Australian family. When both her parents died, Ms. Dickson received an inheritance that, she later admitted, she spent much of during her years of alcohol abuse. She quit drinking on her 40th birthday.

 Ms. Dickson Wright lived in Edinburgh. Her survivors include two sisters, Heather and June.

 Despite her television persona, Ms. Dickson Wright was not all puns and off-color jokes. In 2011, she published a well-received book, “A History of English Food.” ||||| Image caption Clarissa Dickson Wright went on to front several TV shows solo, including Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in 2012

 Clarissa Dickson Wright, one half of TV cookery duo Two Fat Ladies with the late Jennifer Paterson, has died in Edinburgh aged 66.

 The former barrister filmed four series of the BBC Two programme before Paterson's death in 1999.

 "Her fun and laughter, extraordinary learning and intelligence, will be missed always, by so many of us," said a statement from her agent.

 Dickson Wright died on Saturday at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary.

 "Loved dearly by her friends and many fans all over the world, Clarissa was utterly non-PC and fought for what she believed in, always, with no thought to her own personal cost," said agent Heather Holden-Brown.

 She and Paterson were brought together for Two Fat Ladies by TV director Patricia Llewellyn in 1996, during which they were often seen travelling the UK together in their motorbike and sidecar in search of good British grub.

 Image caption Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson-Wright on their famous motorbike and sidecar in series one of Two Fat Ladies

 Speaking on Desert Island Discs in 1999, following the death of her cooking partner Paterson from cancer, she said:

 "She died magnificently, she was an example to all of us, if I can die that well I should be very happy."

 During the same interview Dickson Wright also explained her "pathological" hatred of the humble carrot.

 "My father used to pull them out of the ground and dust them off and feed them to me with the slugs on them so I think I got put off them. Now of course I would quite readily eat the slug but I still have this thing against the carrot," she said.

 'Very intelligent'

 Dickson Wright's former career as a young barrister at Gray's Inn was brought to "an abrupt end" by her well-documented battle with alcohol, which she wrote about in her autobiography Spilling the Beans.

 Her forthcoming birthday on 24 June would have marked her 27th anniversary of abstinence, a birthday her agent said "meant much more to her than another year on the clock".

 During an interview with The Guardian in 2009, she said of her AA meetings: "You'd go there and you'd know they would be pleased to see you without wanting anything from you.

 "And that you could talk about the stresses in your life. To me it's very important to go to AA. It helps with the serenity levels."

 She added: "I don't mind people drinking. I keep a very good cellar for my friends in my house - it's only me who doesn't drink."

 Celebrity chef Brian Turner called Dickson Wright a "very intelligent lady".

 "She was very outgoing," he told BBC News. "She knew what good service was all about… she did her own thing."

 After leaving law, she worked as a cook at St James's club in the capital and in private houses before managing the Books for Cooks shop in London's Notting Hill, then the Cooks Book Shop in Edinburgh.

 Image caption Clarissa and the Countryman saw Dickson Wright travel the country with tenant farmer John Scott

 During her cooking career, Clarissa ran her own catering business, worked on a yacht in the Caribbean and served 60 meals a day at her London luncheon club.

 She also became one of only two women in England to become a guild butcher.

 She recently said: "I've had a fantastic life and I've done everything I could have wanted to do and more".

 Countryside campaigner

 Dickson Wright was also an outspoken campaigner for rural life and a keen supporter of the Countryside Alliance and after Paterson's death, she made the controversial series Clarissa and the Countryman, which ran until 2003.

 During an interview with The Telegraph in 2012, to promote her book Clarissa's England, she accused the BBC of dropping her and the show because she went too far in praise of hunting, angering then-Prime Minister Tony Blair.

 "Those were glorious years," she said of the time. "There we were, fighting the war against them on the same BBC that the leader considered his own personal mouthpiece."

 She also caused a storm by declaring people should eat the meat of badgers that had been culled - and even suggested ways to cook the animal.

 Dickson Wright was particularly proud of her time working with students as the Rector of the University of Aberdeen between 1998-2004.

 A spokesman for the university said it was "saddened" by her death, adding on Twitter that she had "brought her individualism and style to many University of Aberdeen events."

 After being raised as a Catholic "her faith remained with her, in her own personal way, for the rest of her life, a life lived fearlessly and with conviction," according to her agent.

 Image caption Paterson, right, died during filming of the fourth series of Two Fat Ladies

 When asked during an interview if she wished the show that propelled her to fame had been called something other than Two Fat Ladies, she replied "no".

 "If you're fat you're fat. I hate this modern-day political correctness, that you don't call things by their proper name," she told The Guardian.

 'Privileged upbringing'

 She was christened Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright.

 In her autobiography, she talked of "a well-to-do, privileged upbringing", that was overshadowed by her surgeon father's drinking.

 "It was like having a wild animal in the house, never knowing when it is going to roar. The only time we felt safe was when my father was abroad or, in my case, when I was at boarding school," she wrote.

 Born in 1947, she was the youngest of four children, with her closest sibling, brother Anthony 13 years her senior.

 Image caption Dickson Wright played a gamekeeper in an episode of sitcom Absolutely Fabulous, which saw Patsy and Eddy join the country set

 She said the years that followed her father leaving the family were happy and, at 21, she became the country's youngest female barrister. But she took to drinking after the death of her mother.

 "The beginning of my drinking career was rather enjoyable. I was rich, good-looking and kept the pain at bay on a wave of champagne and gin," she said.

 She never married but while working at St James Club met Clive, "the man I was to love more than any other in my life".

 "Like me, Clive was a dedicated alcoholic," she wrote. He died in 1982 after his kidneys failed.

 She has been declared bankrupt several times, having spent her £2.8 million inheritance on "drinking and debauchery".

 "[It was] my own stupid fault. I've always been bad with finance," she told The Telegraph.

 "It's from not having to worry about it. If you grow up with money, you never really learn that it doesn't grow on trees." |||||

– Both of TV's "Fat Ladies" have sung. Clarissa Dickson Wright, one half of the BBC's "Two Fat Ladies" cooking duo, died in Edinburgh Saturday at age 66, the BBC reports. Wright was a former lawyer who filmed four of the "Fat Ladies" series, going on food-related road trips across the UK in a motorbike and sidecar with Jennifer Paterson, before Paterson died in 1999 from cancer. The New York Times describes Wright as a "rebel," both hosts as "irreverent and eccentric," and the recipes as "sometimes confounding." Wright's eclectic working life also included stints as a cook, an author, and a cookbook shop manager; she also ran a catering business, was a guild butcher, and once worked on a yacht in the Caribbean. In fact, she recently said, "I've had a fantastic life and I've done everything I could have wanted to do and more." It wasn't until her 40s, after she'd recovered from alcoholism, that she got into cooking seriously. As for the perhaps-controversial title of the show that brought her fame? "If you're fat you're fat," she once said. "I hate this modern-day political correctness, that you don't call things by their proper name." Her agent remembers Wright similarly in a statement: "Loved dearly by her friends and many fans all over the world, Clarissa was utterly non-PC and fought for what she believed in, always, with no thought to her own personal cost." There's no word on Wright's cause of death, but the Guardian reports that she had been undergoing treatment at a hospital since the beginning of the year.


Here is a news article: Abstract

 Background—Americans have a shorter life expectancy compared with residents of almost all other high-income countries. We aim to estimate the impact of lifestyle factors on premature mortality and life expectancy in the US population.

 Methods—Using data from the Nurses' Health Study (1980-2014; n=78 865) and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-2014, n=44 354), we defined 5 low-risk lifestyle factors as never smoking, body mass index of 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m2, ≥30 min/d of moderate to vigorous physical activity, moderate alcohol intake, and a high diet quality score (upper 40%), and estimated hazard ratios for the association of total lifestyle score (0-5 scale) with mortality. We used data from the NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys; 2013-2014) to estimate the distribution of the lifestyle score and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER database to derive the agespecific death rates of Americans. We applied the life table method to estimate life expectancy by levels of the lifestyle score.

 Results—During up to 34 years of follow-up, we documented 42 167 deaths. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios for mortality in adults with 5 compared with zero low-risk factors were 0.26 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.22-0.31) for all-cause mortality, 0.35 (95% CI, 0.27-0.45) for cancer mortality, and 0.18 (95% CI, 0.12-0.26) for cardiovascular disease mortality. The population-attributable risk of nonadherence to 5 low-risk factors was 60.7% (95% CI, 53.6-66.7) for all-cause mortality, 51.7% (95% CI, 37.1-62.9) for cancer mortality, and 71.7% (95% CI, 58.1-81.0) for cardiovascular disease mortality. We estimated that the life expectancy at age 50 years was 29.0 years (95% CI, 28.3-29.8) for women and 25.5 years (95% CI, 24.7-26.2) for men who adopted zero low-risk lifestyle factors. In contrast, for those who adopted all 5 low-risk factors, we projected a life expectancy at age 50 years of 43.1 years (95% CI, 41.3-44.9) for women and 37.6 years (95% CI, 35.8-39.4) for men. The projected life expectancy at age 50 years was on average 14.0 years (95% CI, 11.8-16.2) longer among female Americans with 5 lowrisk factors compared with those with zero low-risk factors; for men, the difference was 12.2 years (95% CI, 10.1-14.2).

 Conclusions—Adopting a healthy lifestyle could substantially reduce premature mortality and prolong life expectancy in US adults. ||||| This crawl of online resources of the 115th US Congress was performed on behalf of The United States National Archives & Records ||||| (CNN) Want to prolong your life expectancy by more than a decade? A new study suggests that you can do just that by following these five healthy habits: never smoke, maintain a healthy body-mass index, keep up moderate to vigorous exercise, don't drink too much alcohol, and eat a healthy diet.

 Adhering to those five lifestyle factors at age 50, compared with not adhering to any of them, was associated with 14 additional years of life expectancy among women and 12.2 additional years among men in the study, published in the journal Circulation on Monday.

 Each of those factors is significantly associated with a reduced risk of dying from the top two killers in the United States, cardiovascular disease and cancer , according to the study.

 About 610,000 people die of heart disease in the US each year, which is about one in every four deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 About 609,640 Americans are expected to die of cancer this year, according to the American Cancer Society

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 "These are some of the leading causes of premature death, so by preventing or reducing the incidence of those diseases, it promotes longevity, and it also improves survival after diagnosis of those diseases," said Dr. Meir Stampfer, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health , who was a co-author of the study.

 "We can do so much better for having a long healthy life by pretty simple minimal changes in our behavior, and only 8% of adults in our country are adhering to these," he said. "The main take-home message is that there's huge gains in health and longevity to be had just by simple changes in our behavior pattern, and as a country, I think we need to make it easier for ourselves to do this by promoting tobacco cessation, by providing better environments for physical activity and so on."

 Photos: The countries where people live longest Photos: The countries where people live longest Italy – The Italian diet, combined with a climate that promotes outdoor activity, is thought to play an important role in healthy aging among Italians. Hide Caption 1 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest Japan – Japan has the longest-living population in the world, with the average 60-year-old going on to live until age 86. Experts say this is due to good diets, active lifestyles and supportive family structure. Hide Caption 2 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest Spain – Spain's version of the Mediterranean diet combined with strong family networks is believed to enhance life expectancy among its population. In Spain, average life expectancy at age 60 is 85. Hide Caption 3 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest France – France also tied second with the other countries in southern Europe with, those over 60 living to the age of 85, on average. Pictured, a couple sit on a bench in Cannes. Hide Caption 4 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest Andorra – Diet and outdoor lifestyle in Andorra help to keep the country's elderly population healthy. Hide Caption 5 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest Australia – The universal health care system in Australia, combined with Australians' outdoor lifestyle, help people live longer, according to experts. Pictured, a war veteran during ANZAC Day. Hide Caption 6 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest New Zealand – The outdoor lifestyle and health infrastructure are credited with keeping New Zealanders healthy and living longer. Hide Caption 7 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest Switzerland – Switzerland's wealth and health care system are credited with boosting the nation's longevity. Hide Caption 8 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest Singapore – After Japan, Singapore has Asia's highest life expectancy at age 60. Hide Caption 9 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest Monaco – The extensive wealth of the residents of Monaco is likely to be the main factor supporting health in the elderly. Hide Caption 10 of 11 Photos: The countries where people live longest San Marino – Like many of the other long-lived countries, San Marino's strong economy and infrastructure are thought to be the reason for its long-lived residents. Hide Caption 11 of 11

 Globally, the US ranks 43rd when it comes to life expectancy at birth, with an average life expectancy of 80, according to 2017 data from the Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook

 The three countries ranked highest for life expectancy at birth are Monaco , with 89.4 years; Japan , with 85.3 years; and Singapore , with 85.2 years, according to those data.

 The countries with the lowest life expectancy at birth, based on that data, are Chad , with 50.6 years; Guinea-Bissau , with 51 years; and Afghanistan , with 51.7 years.

 The 'surprising' impact of behaviors on longevity

 For the new study, researchers measured the association between those five lifestyle factors and premature death using data from the national Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study . The data came from 1980 to 2014 and included more than 122,000 people combined.

 Then, the researchers used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys to estimate the distribution of those modifiable lifestyle factors among adults in the United States. Those data, from 2013 to 2014, consisted of 2,128 adults, 50 to 80 years old.

 The researchers also derived death rates of US adults using the CDC's Wide-Ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research database.

 After analyzing the data, the researchers found that, in 2014, the overall projected life expectancy at age 50 was to live 33.3 more years for women and 29.8 more years for men.

 Yet among the adults who reported that they adopted all five healthy lifestyle factors, the researchers found, they lived 43.1 more years among women and 37.6 more years among men.

 Among those adults who reported that they adhered to none of the five healthy lifestyle factors, the researchers found that they lived only 29 additional years among women and 25.5 additional years among men.

 "To me, the surprising outcome was how strong it was: what a big impact these simple behaviors could have on life expectancy," Stampfer said. "I was surprised that it was that pronounced."

 Among the women, on average, about 30.8% of the life expectancy at age 50 that they gained from adopting five, versus zero, of those lifestyle factors was attributed to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease death; 21.2% was attributed to a reduced risk of cancer and 48% to other causes of death.

 Among the men, those percentages were 34.1% attributed to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease death, 22.8% attributed to a reduced risk of cancer and 43.1% to other causes.

 The study had some limitations, including that the data on adherence to the five lifestyle factors were all self-reported, making outcome vulnerable to measurement errors.

 Also, the data analysis did not include measures of certain health conditions that are risk factors for a shorter life expectancy, such as diabetes or high blood pressure.

 That limitation, however, "is both a strength and a limitation, in a way ... because what we're estimating here is the prolongation of life expectancy just based on behaviors," Stampfer said.

 "Obviously, it's much better to do these healthy behaviors from childhood, really, but if you're beyond age 50, beyond age 60, beyond age 70, it's not too late," he added.

 The factor that was seen as more 'powerful'

 The findings should encourage and motivate people to adopt a healthier lifestyle, said Dr. Douglas Vaughan, chairman of the department of medicine in Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine , who was not involved in the study.

 Though the study highlighted how the combination of all five lifestyle factors could help prolong life expectancy, Vaughan pointed out how each individual factor also was tied to a reduced risk of premature death.

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 "It looks like cigarette smoking has a more powerful effect than the other lifestyle changes or behaviors. Certainly, maintaining a reasonable body-mass index is a great way to protect oneself against the development of diabetes," Vaughan said.

 Body-mass index, a calculation derived from a person's weight and height, is used as a screening tool for body fatness. A normal or healthy body-mass index is typically said to be between 18.5 and 24.9.

 "So, in aggregate, we see the effect on longevity, but you can imagine it's largely through effects on cardiovascular risk and metabolic risk," Vaughan said. "It suggests potentially at a defined point in life, say age 50, if you adhere to a healthy paradigm like this, you can have an impact on your longevity and on your health span."

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 Dr. Jack Der-Sarkissian, a family medicine physician and assistant area medical director of Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center , called smoking "the least-debated health risk factor."

 "Beyond cancer risk, smoking contributes to lung disease, heart disease and diabetes. The study shows that even minimal smoking -- from one to 14 cigarettes a day -- is associated with increased death due to cancer and heart disease," said Der-Sarkissian, who was not involved in the new study.

 As for some of the other lifestyle factors, "getting weight below a BMI of 30 appears to help considerably, according to the study. A higher body weight is linked to increased risk of diabetes and cancer, among other obesity-related conditions," he said. "The study suggests physical activity of at least 30 minutes a day of moderate or vigorous activities, including brisk walking." |||||
A summary of this is?

– Harvard researchers say five things will help you live longer, and the list isn't all that surprising: exercise, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy body weight, don't drink too much, and don't smoke. More surprising is just how much of an effect those five combined factors have on longevity—an extra 14 years for women and 12 for men, according to the study in Circulation. Researchers looked at about 30 years of data on more than 78,000 women and 44,000 men and found that those who were five-for-five on the aforementioned list had a significantly better life expectancy at age 50 than those who didn't abide by any of the healthy habits. For women, it meant an additional 43 years for the healthiest group, compared to 29 years. For men, it meant an additional 37.6 years, compared to 25.5 years. “When we embarked on this study, I thought, of course, that people who adopted these habits would live longer," says co-author Meir Stampfer, per the Guardian. "But the surprising thing was how huge the effect was." The two big factors: Those with the healthiest lifestyles were less likely to get cancer or heart disease, notes CNN. The Harvard Gazette provides some specifics: Researchers defined regular exercise as 30 minutes or more per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity; moderate drinking is roughly one 5-ounce glass of wine per day for women and up to two for men; and the target body-mass index is between 18.5 and 24.9. Scientists say they undertook the study to better understand why the US has a shorter life expectancy (79.3 years) than most high-income countries. (Another study says it's all about eating smaller portions.)


Penelope Scotland Disick isn't the only baby girl with famous parents who made her debut this past weekend!

 As Us Weekly reported on Sunday, Sienna Miller and her fiance Tom Sturridge welcomed their first child over the weekend in London — and a source now confirms to Us that the bundle of joy is a girl! The British actors have been dating for over a year and debuted signs of their engagement — Miller's dazzling diamond engagement ring — in mid-February.

 PHOTOS: Sienna's chic bump style

 After remaining mum about her pregnancy for several months, the G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra actress, 30, finally opened up to British Vogue in April.

 "Even though I'm under strict instructions not to say anything as it would completely defeat the point of everything I've tried to achieve in the last eight years," the resolutely private Miller (who famously dated Jude Law) expressed to the mag. "I'm feeling fine…It's all progressing nicely and it's very exciting."

 PHOTOS: More pregnant celebrities

 Despite the couple's silence about their new addition to their family, Miller and Sturridge, 26, made no hesitation in stepping out in public on several celebratory occasions.

 PHOTOS: Incredible post-baby bods

 In May, the couple stole some time away in Portofino, Italy for a babymoon. A week later, they got decked out to celebrate Sturridge's BFF Robert Pattinson's 26th birthday at Gordon Ramsey's restaurant in London, England.

 Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox!

 Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now! ||||| With the arrival of their second child,andmust certainly be over the moon with joy. New additionmay be second in line to older brother, but she is the famous couple’s first little girl.

 Given daddy Disick’s affection for his little man, it stands to reason that his new baby girl will be showered with love.

 Take a look back at some of his best daddy moments with Mason and Scott in the gallery.

 In fact, the the 29-year-old restauranteur has made such an impression on his son that he’s even passed on his impeccable fashion sense.

 He may be only 2-years-old, but tiny tyke has a wardrobe that rivals even the best dressed celebs. See some of Mason’s styles below.

 Mom Kourtney is quite the fashionista herself, of course.

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 No changes are to be made to this player ||||| Let's say hello to Penelope Scotland Disick.

 "Scott and I are overjoyed to welcome our precious angel Penelope Scotland Disick into our lives. We are forever blessed. Mommy and baby are resting comfortably," Kourtney tells E! News.

 The 33-year-old E! star had an all-natural birth, and her new mini-me tipped the scales at 7 pounds, 14 ounces.

 "It was a great. She had an easy delivery," matriarch Kris Jenner tells us. "[Penelope] is so cute. She looks just like Mason. She's so beautiful. We are so happy."

 As it happens, this has been one highly anticipated birth (complete with a headline-grabbing false alarm), and not just among the fans.

 Kourtney and Scott announced the news of the impending stork delivery last November, and revealed that they were expecting their first daughter in February of this year (son Mason turned the big 0-2 in December). |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Oh joy: The world finds itself with yet another Kardashian. The daughter of Kourtney and partner Scott Disick arrived yesterday, and the couple is "overjoyed" and feels "forever blessed," Kourtney says in a statement to E!. Penelope Scotland Disick joins older brother Mason, 2, after an all-natural birth that Kardashian mom Kris Jenner says was "easy." Need more? Though we find it hard to believe anything Scott Disick does can accurately be described as "cute," feel free to click on to some of his allegedly adorable daddy moments. Kardashian wasn't the only celeb mommy giving birth this weekend: Sienna Miller also welcomed a baby girl, her first child with fiancé Tom Sturridge, Us reports.


Summarize this article:

The episode entitled "Fraudcast News" on Sky 1, caused a Twitter sensation with hundreds of tweets per minute from people saying its screening was more than a coincidence.

 It begins with Lisa Simpson publishing the first issue of her newspaper in which she labels power plant tycoon Montgomery Burns ‘a hateful man nobody likes’.

 Mr Burns retaliates by purchasing every media outlet in Springfield, however the inhabitants of Springfield respond by creating a newspaper of their own.

 Mr Burns is forced to acknowledge that "it’s impossible to control all the media, well unless of course you’re Rupert Murdoch”.

 Viewers last night tweeted “the most excellent episode of the Simpsons today on Sky” and “Haha the Simpsons taking a dig at Rupert Murdoch, absolute brilliance! Kudos to the writers!”

 “Anyone see "Fraudcast News" on Sky News just now? Ha! Hilarious! Complete coincidence I'm sure!” and “hahaha! Sky One broadcasting Fraudcast News, one of the best Simpson episodes ever tonight!”

 Anyone see "Fraudcast News" ep of Simpsons on Sky News just now? Ha! Complete coincidence I'm sure! Allan Cavanagh

 AllanCavanagh

 “The Simpsons’ "Fraudcast news" is all about Monty Burns corruptly buying up the free press.... Oh the irony!” and “Rupert Murdoch: a real-life Mr. Burns’!”

 A spokesman for Sky insisted the timing of the screening of the episode was purely a coincidence and had no relevance to Murdoch bid for BSkyB.

 Read the latest on the phone hacking scandal. ||||| Rupert and James Murdoch on Tuesday were called to appear before British Parliament next week to anwer questions about the actions of their newspapers in the phone hacking scandal.

 A spokesperson for News International, News Corp.’s British newspaper arm, issued a statement saying the company will cooperate, according to a reporter from Murdoch-controlled Sky News.

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 “We have been made aware of the request from the CMS Committee to interview senior executives and will cooperate,” the company said.

 The summoning from Parliament’s Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which was also extended to Rebekah Brooks, the CEO of News International, is not binding on the Murdochs — because they are not British citizens — the but will increase the growing public pressure on the company. Brooks is a British citizen and can be compelled to appear, wrote the Telegraph.

 After first declaring the Murdochs and Brooks would appear, the committee’s chairman, John Whittingdale, told the BBC that there is “some confusion reigning” about if they will show. News Corp. said it awaits an official request.

 The Murdochs and Brooks have been asked to appear before the committee July 19. ||||| LONDON — Shortly after Scotland Yard began its initial criminal inquiry of phone hacking by The News of the World in 2006, five senior police investigators discovered that their own cellphone messages had been targeted by the tabloid and had most likely been listened to.

 The disclosure, based on interviews with current and former officials, raises the question of whether senior investigators feared that if they aggressively investigated, The News of the World would punish them with splashy articles about their private lives. Some of their secrets, tabloid-ready, eventually emerged in other news outlets.

 Those damaging allegations, about two of the senior officers’ private lives, involved charges that one had padded his expense reports and was involved in extramarital affairs and that the other used frequent flier miles accrued on the job for personal vacations.

 “If it is true that police officers knew their phones had been hacked, it is a serious matter that requires immediate investigation,” said John Whittingdale, the chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, which investigated phone hacking. “It would be shocking.”

 The lead police investigator on the phone-hacking case, Andy Hayman, left the Metropolitan Police in December 2007 after questions were raised in the news media about business expenses he had filed and the nature of his relationship with a woman who worked for the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

 At the time, Channel 4 News reported details of 400 text messages and phone calls that Mr. Hayman had sent to her.

 John Yates, the assistant commissioner who has become a lightning rod for the police’s handling of the phone-hacking case, had reportedly used frequent flier miles earned in the line of duty to pay for flights for his relatives.

 The outlets that reported these allegations have not been implicated in the hacking.

 Members of Parliament will question Mr. Hayman, Mr. Yates and several other senior police officials at a hearing on Tuesday of the Home Affairs Select Committee to try to determine why the Metropolitan Police decided to strictly limit the initial phone-hacking inquiry in 2006.

 One area of inquiry is whether the fact that the officials’ phones had been hacked had any impact on the scope of their initial investigation, according to two members of the committee. They are also concerned about whether the investigators had a conflict of interest because they themselves were victims of the people they were investigating.

 Among the 11,000 pages of documents seized from the home of The News of the World’s phone-hacking specialist, Glenn Mulcaire, in August 2007, the investigators also found the names of Sir Ian Blair, then the Metropolitan Police commissioner, and at least two other senior police officials involved in the inquiry, according to several former senior Scotland Yard officials. The officials declined to reveal the names of the other investigators.

 Sir Ian declined to comment on Monday.

 In the autumn of 2006, the police notified only a handful of victims that their cellphone messages had been hacked, even though there was evidence that News of the World journalists might have gained access to the messages of nearly 4,000 people. The top police officials learned they had been hacked after an 8-to-10-page list of potential victims was assembled that fall for Mr. Hayman, several former Scotland Yard officials said.

 In January 2007, Mr. Mulcaire and Clive Goodman, the paper’s royalty reporter, pleaded guilty to gaining access to the messages of aides to the royal family and were sentenced to prison. The inquiry was then concluded. For years after that, Scotland Yard officials, including Mr. Yates, insisted that there was no evidence of further hacking, a claim he repeated in 2009.

 A Scotland Yard spokesman declined to discuss whether any senior officials’ phones had been hacked. “We will not comment on media speculation or give a running commentary on our investigation,” the spokesman said.

 In an interview published by The Telegraph on Sunday, Mr. Yates apologized for the initial Scotland Yard inquiry, acknowledging that it was lax and ineffectual. “I have regrettably said the initial inquiry was a success,” Mr. Yates said. “Clearly now that looks very different.”

 In Parliament on Monday, two Labour Party lawmakers, Chris Bryant and Tom Watson, accused Mr. Yates of lying and renewed calls for his resignation. |||||

– Rupert Murdoch, son James, and News International CEO Rebekah Brooks have been asked to appear before British Parliament. The trio will answer questions about the News of the World phone hacking scandal should they show up one week from today; the summoning is not binding but does ramp up pressure on News Corp, Politico reports. More: The hacking scandal continues to widen. Five senior police investigators discovered their voicemail had likely been hacked in 2006, soon after Scotland Yard began its initial investigation into the matter, the New York Times reports. And the revelation raises some sticky questions, like: Could this have caused investigators to ease up on the tabloid out of fear their private lives would be exposed? Members of Parliament will question several police officials today to determine whether the hacking impacted the police inquiry, which was initially very limited, and whether those hacked experienced a conflict of interest. Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown today accused Murdoch's media empire, specifically the Sunday Times, of hiring "known criminals" to gather personal details about his bank account, legal files, and taxes, the New York Times reports. Brown also believes the paper somehow got access to his son's medical records and passed it along to the Sun, a source says. Meanwhile, more reports are emerging that police officers were bribed for information on Brown, the royal family, and others, and that money was spent to secure a copy of the Green Book, which details the queen and Prince Charles' activities. In somewhat lighter Murdoch-related news, the Telegraph reports that the Simpsons episode that aired on Sky1 last night spoofed the scandal. In "Fraudcast News," tycoon Montgomery Burns buys up every media outlet in the town, leading Twitter users to note the parallels between the plot and Murdoch's plan to take over BSkyB.


Summarize this article:

Tweet with a location

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– Katy Perry is dismissing rumors that she is getting sued for using part of the Beach Boys' "California Girls" in her song "California Gurls". "No one is suing anyone," Perry tweeted, calling the reports "once again" an example of the media's tendency to "fabricate & exaggerate stories to get hits or sell papers." Although she isn't getting sued, Beach Boys published Rondor Music isn't too happy about "California Gurls," Billboard reports. "Using the words or melody in a new song taken from an original work is not appropriate under any circumstances, particularly from one as well known and iconic as 'California Girls,'" a Rondor rep says. The company is not planning to sue Perry, but it has has filed a warning in the form of a diminutive claim. "It is up to the six writers and various publishers of 'California Gurls' to decide whether they honor the claim or not," the rep continues. Check out the video—which features Snoop Dogg, who's the one actually paraphrasing the Beach Boys—on YouTube.


Add a location to your Tweets

 When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| Sources say Wendi Deng Murdoch was caught off-guard Thursday when served with divorce papers by husband Rupert Murdoch, even though the couple had grown apart.

 Related Topics • Rupert Murdoch

 Shortly after news broke that the News Corp. mogul is seeking to end his marriage of 14 years, rumors began to circulate of possible reasons for the split. While sources familiar with both Rupert, 82, and Wendi, 44, say they have lived increasingly separate lives, especially in recent months, a precise reason for the split was not apparent. News Corp. is set to divide into two separate companies June 28, though sources say the coming business move was not the primary impetus.

 PHOTOS: Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng Through the Years

 Another theory floated by several sources is that the marriage was strained by Wendi’s socializing and friendships with a series of men over a number of years, including MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe as well as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt. A spokesman for the Murdochs declined to comment. A call to Wendi's attorney was not returned.

 A New York Times profile in June 2012 noted that Rupert rarely accompanies Wendi to the many charitable functions she attends and that her social circle has grown to include Blair, David Geffen, Bono and Nicole Kidman.

 Rumors of a romantic affair with DeWolfe made their way into media reports in 2008, a few years after Murdoch’s News Corp. bought MySpace for $580 million. At the time, both Wendi Murdoch and DeWolfe declined to comment. Wendi was “chief of strategy” for MySpace.

 PHOTOS: Hollywood's 16 Biggest Divorces Ever

 More recently, there have been hints of a special relationship with Blair, who is said to be a godfather to at least one of Wendi and Rupert's daughters. In an article titled "Tony Blair and the Murdochs: A Family Affair" in The Guardian last year, author Michael Wolff described Blair as one of Wendi’s “first official social conquests” and suggested that she and Blair had joined forces to “handle” Rupert. Wolfe tweeted in May 2012, “Wendi Murdoch and Tony Blair: you heard it here first,” prompting journalist Jacob Weisberg to tweet, “Are you suggesting what I think?” A source close to Blair categorically denies any romantic relationship.

 Schmidt, said to be friends with Wendi Murdoch, was mentioned in 2010 press reports as having invested with her in the New York-based startup Art.sy, meant to match art with prospective buyers. He has been estranged from his wife, Wendy, and according to media accounts has been linked to other women. The New York Times questioned Schmidt about such relationships in August 2012. His response: "I don’t think that is an appropriate question. We don’t comment on that -- rumors.” A Schmidt friend says it's "doubtful" the Google exec would be romantically linked to Wendi Murdoch.

 PHOTOS: Rupert Murdoch's Family Photos

 Rupert Murdoch met Wendi Deng in 1998 when she was an employee of News Corp.'s Star TV in Hong Kong. They married in 1999 and have two daughters, Grace, 11, and Chloe, 9. In recent years, China-born Wendi has played an increasing role in News Corp.'s business in China, as well as producing the Fox Searchlight release Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. Sources say she has acted as an intermediary to Chinese officials for several Hollywood executives. Wendi gained national attention in 2011 when she came to her husband's defense after an assailant attempted to hit him with a pie during a hearing in connection with the News of the World phone-hacking scandal.

 The Times reported that the Murdochs were both in New York on Thursday when Rupert filed for divorce in New York State Supreme Court. The filing said that the “relationship between husband and wife has broken down irretrievably.”

 Rupert is represented by divorce lawyer Ira E. Garr. Pamela Sloan will represent Wendi. Murdoch’s divorce in 1998 from his second wife, Anna Maria Torv, cost him $1.7 billion, though he and Wendi are said to have a prenuptial agreement.

 E-mail: Kim.Masters@thr.com

 Twitter: @KimMasters ||||| Is there a bombshell behind Rupert Murdoch’s divorce? A BBC reporter suggests there’s more to come.

 The Murdoch divorce is fast turning into the kind of saga that could sell a million newspapers a day, and in the latest bit of pot-stirring, Robert Peston, the BBC's usually sober and buttoned-down financial correspondent, sent out an extraordinary tweet last night: “‘Am also told that the undisclosed reasons for Murdoch divorcing Deng are jaw-dropping—& hate myself for wanting to know what they are.”

 What could he mean? The incendiary comment is being taken particularly seriously as Peston is said by Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff to be good friends with key Murdoch lieutenant Will Lewis.

 Wolff says: “We can only speculate about what he might mean. However, a year ago, she gave an interview to The New York Times suggesting that they were living independent lives. And Wendi’s emails go through News Corp., so the company surely knows who she is talking to and what she is up to.”

 Wolff’s remark chimes with The Daily Beast’s report yesterday that the couple have been sleeping in separate bedrooms for some time.

 Wolff, added on his Twitter account: "I'm hearing the WHY, the big reveal, the scandal details, could come tomorrow."

 In another tweet he wrote: “Murdoch threatened to do bad things to me (some he did) if I revealed affair w/Wendi started before he left his wife.”

 Peston’s tweet, which slyly suggests he has off-the-record info despite its claim of ignorance, has triggered a predictable guessing game on Twitter as punters attempt to unearth the real reasons behind the split.

 Here are some of the (nonlibelous) ones:

 @asbarboz The reason is money honey.

 @woodoo79 Feels like the press all know the “shocking” reason Murdoch divorce is happening but too scared of the News Corps legal cartel to say it.

 @PTwalnut How ironic would it be if the reason for Rupert Murdoch’s divorce is that the wife doesn’t listen.

  ||||| When Rupert Murdoch in 1998 announced his abrupt separation from Anna Murdoch, his wife of 31 years, almost nobody at the time, including Anna, had any idea, or could reasonably speculate, that Murdoch, then an old 67, might have a girlfriend.

 But he did. And his divorce and remarriage, and the effect it had on his children, social life and executives, would shape the next generation of his company – a romance for our time, as it were.

 With the curt, and blistering, announcement of his decision to file for divorce from Wendi Murdoch, the young woman he met when she was 28 and working for Star TV, his company in Hong Kong, another upheaval begins.

 It was two summers ago that Wendi burst into the news and transformed her public self from harridan to heroine by, with lightning-fast reflexes, blocking a pie attack on her frail-looking husband in the midst of a difficult testimony in Britain before a committee of parliament investigating the hacking scandal.

 This was to many people in the wider Rupert-Wendi orbit an unexpected turnaround. The informed gossip, always pretty granular in detail, had put them on the outs for sometime. She hadn't even diverted from a promotional tour for a movie she'd produced – until the last minute – to be in London with her up-against-it husband.

 Murdoch had told his oldest son, Lachlan, that he'd concluded that marrying Wendi was a "mistake" – or so Lachlan, along with his siblings never a fan of his father's remarriage, was telling people. And during the many months that I was interviewing Murdoch in 2008 for my book about him, we would sometimes meet on weekend mornings at his apartment where it quite appeared he had not slept the night – but, rather, had arrived minutes before me with clothes bundled in his briefcase.

 Indeed, if you imagined two opposite people, save only for their evident mutual ambition, it might be Rupert and Wendi.

 Rupert, the cold, cryptic, scowling, impersonal, rock-hard conservative Australian aristocrat, with his four adult children unable to get over his marriage to the woman 39 years his junior. And Wendi, the energetic, ebullient, social creature, with natural liberal tendencies, whose first job in the US was at a Chinese restaurant and who had given him – "from the fridge", after his prostate cancer – two young Chinese children (and moved her parents to New York).

 And yet, something seemed to work, too.

 There was the orange hair dye; the workout regimes; his protestations that he had finally learned how to be a good father; and his new friendship with, gasp, liberals. David Geffen, via Wendi, became one of Rupert's closest confidants.

 Certainly, business seemed to energize them. I often heard them, like teenagers in love, talking on the phone – albeit about business deals and, more than not, from different cities. I even saw them holding hands.

 But his children continued to dislike her. Even when they made every effort to tolerate her, it was with clenched teeth. And his mother, who died this past year, always refused to meet Wendi.

 For her part, Wendi remained ever-furious with him for not standing up to his children – which included locking their children out of full participation in the trust that controls all the Murdoch assets.

 She led a glamorous social life. In effect, she was the center of the jet set. It followed her: Hollywood, the art world, international super stars. She rejuvenated the jet set.

 Rumors about their relationship dogged them. When the LA Times threatened to go public with a supposed story of infidelity, News Corp had lawyers debrief both husband and wife and convinced the paper to kill its story.

 Robert Peston, the BBC's financial correspondent, who is said to be a close friend of Will Lewis, a key Murdoch lieutenant, tweeted that the real facts of the break-up are "jaw-dropping":

 Am also told that undisclosed reasons for Murdoch divorcing Deng are jaw-dropping - & hate myself for wanting to know what they are — Robert Peston (@Peston) June 13, 2013

 We can only speculate about what he might mean. However, a year ago, she gave an interview to the New York Times suggesting that they were living independent lives. And Wendi's emails go through News Corp, so the company surely knows who she is talking to and what she is up to.

 And yet, during the past year, what people have most noticed is their closeness. She had seemed to become his key adviser, close enough that there has been speculation she would go on the board of the newspaper company being split from the larger entertainment company.

 She had also become, to his children's ever-greater consternation, his gatekeeper. Outsiders did not get to Rupert without going through Wendi.

 But now the split is dramatic. As harsh as the split from Anna.

 And in the fashion that Rupert does things – peremptorily, wrathfully, implacably – it would seem to leave Wendi far out in the cold. There is her 1999 pre-nup, and, to boot, two post-nups. What's more, it is a fearsome thing when News Corp and the Murdoch family close their ranks against you. Indeed, it is not that easy to hire a law firm not conflicted out by its work for News Corp, or the promise of work. Her PR aide, Steven Rubenstein, is on Rupert's payroll – so his help disappears.

 Except, of course, that Wendi knows all Murdoch's secrets. All of them.

 • This article was amended on 17 June 2013 to correct "lightening" to "lightning". |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– The gossip mill is churning in the wake of the Rupert Murdoch-Wendi Deng divorce filing. As the Hollywood Reporter notes, Deng's friendships with prominent males from Tony Blair to Eric Schmidt are being poked at (Blair's rep firmly denies the former British PM and Deng "are having an affair"). But sources say Deng was surprised to be served with divorce papers, even though she and Murdoch have been growing distant in recent months (and have been sleeping in separate bedrooms for a while, according to the Daily Beast). The BBC's business editor, Robert Peston, (who, the Daily Beast notes, is "usually sober and buttoned-down") tweeted last night, "Am told that undisclosed reasons for Murdoch divorcing Deng are jaw-dropping - & hate myself for wanting to know what they are." Writes Newser founder Michael Wolff in the Guardian, "We can only speculate about what he might mean." But, he notes, Peston is close with "key Murdoch lieutenant" Will Lewis. And we could be hearing more soon: Wolff tweeted last night, "I'm hearing the WHY, the big reveal, the scandal details, could come tomorrow."