Newspaper prints divorce allegations

Newspaper printsdivorce allegations
LONDON -- Lawyers for Paul McCartney said Wednesday that the former Beatle will "vigorously" defend himself against allegations made by his estranged wife, Heather Mills McCartney.
Britain's Daily Mail newspaper on Wednesday reported details of an alleged court document containing accounts of acrimony and mistreatment during their four-year marriage.
"Our client will be defending these allegations vigorously and appropriately," the law firm Payne Hicks Beach said in a statement.
The 64-year-old rocker and 38-year-old anti-land mine campaigner announced their separation in May and have begun divorce proceedings in an increasingly acrimonious split. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice.
The Daily Mail published extracts from what it said was a court document filed by Mills McCartney in response to the former Beatle's July divorce petition.
The alleged document contains a litany of allegations against the musician.
Mills McCartney's spokesman, Phil Hall, described the divorce proceedings as "highly confidential" and said he could not confirm whether the document was genuine.
Award for Wonder
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Stevie Wonder received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Civil Rights Museum, then segued from his acceptance speech into a medley of his songs that included "My Cherie Amour" and "I Wish."
Wonder, 56, received the honor Tuesday night. The museum also awarded civil rights pioneer Dr. Joseph Lowery the National Freedom Award and Doctors Without Borders co-founder Bernard Kouchner the International Freedom Award.
Playing an electronic keyboard, Wonder told an audience of about 5,000 that music is a gift he can share, challenging Memphis and the world to "use the gifts God has given us to help those less fortunate."
Probation for Perelman
NORWALK, Conn. -- A movie director charged with groping two women in a city bar has been granted probation on criminal charges.
Vadim Perelman, 43, of Venice, Calif., was placed on accelerated rehabilitation Monday during an appearance in Superior Court.
Perelman, who directed the 2003 film "House of Sand and Fog," will have the charges dropped and his record cleansed if he stays out of trouble for two years. Accelerated rehabilitation is a form of probation that requires no guilty plea and is designed for first-time offenders facing minor charges.
Perelman's upcoming film, "In Bloom," stars Uma Thurman and was shot partly in Norwalk. He was arrested on July 22, shortly after he left Rain Ultralounge & amp; Sushi Bar, where two women said he touched their buttocks.
Prosecutors said that one of the women's boyfriends confronted Perelman, who threw a punch that missed the boyfriend and struck his date. Police found Perelman walking a short distance away after the club's manager flagged down a patrol officer.
Today's birthdays
Author John le Carre is 75. Artist Peter Max is 69. Actor John Lithgow is 61. Former National Organization for Women President Patricia Ireland is 61. TV host Ty Pennington ("Extreme Makeover: Home Edition") is 42. Rock singer-musician Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 41. Amy Carter is 39. "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker is 37. Comedian Chris Kattan is 36. Rock singer Pras Michel (The Fugees) is 34. Country singer Cyndi Thomson is 30.