Mark Wahlberg has issued a formal apology for his comments on the 9/11 attacks. The actor had insinuated that he would have saved one of the highjacked planes had he been on it. A victim's widow called his comments "disrespectful." Wahlberg issued a statement saying, "to suggest I would have done anything differently than the passengers on that plane was irresponsible."
Bruce Springsteen will release a new album on March 6. "Wrecking Ball" will be the rocker's 17th album and the first release since the E Street Band's saxophonist Clarence Clemons died last year.
Rupert Murdoch's tabloid press has agreed to pay out 37 people, including actor Jude Law, for harassment, email spying and phone hacking. The cash payouts for 15 of the claims total more than 1 million dollars. Law alone received about 200,000 dollars from Murdoch's defunct tabloid, "News of the World" and its still-running sister paper, "The Sun."
Civil-rights film "The Help" leads the NAACP's Image Awards with eight nominations, including the category of outstanding motion picture. The awards ceremony will be presented February 17 on NBC.
Finally, the Sundance Film Festival opened with four films and a fresh dusting of snow. The Park City, Utah independent film festival was founded by actor Robert Redford in 1978. This year the festival selected 200 films from more than 9,000 submissions to showcase over its 11-day run.
Bob Mezan, Reuters.