"FBI INVESTIGATES MURDOCH AND NEWS CORPORATION"

In light of, and in response to, the tabloid "News of the World" bribery, and telephone hacking scandal in the United Kingdom (U.K.), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now investigating billionaire publisher Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation, parent of the now-defunct tabloid "News of the World."

The official FBI statement in the matter is that it is investigating whether "News of the World" has hacked into telephones of 9/11 victims here in the United States.

Apologies and Resignations from New Corporation continue as a result of the scandal:

The Wall Street Journal
July 16-17, 2011

Friday's Developments

• Two top News Corp. executives resign: Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton, former head of the News International unit, News International, and the unit's head, Rebekah Brooks.
• News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch meets with the family of a murdered girl whose phone was allegedly hacked, and apologizes.
• News Corp. planned to run a full-page advertisement in U.K. papers Saturday, in which Mr. Murdoch apologizes for 'the serious wrongdoing that occurred' at the weekly News of the World, and expresses regret for not acting sooner to address the issue.

The News That Shook the World

July 4: A lawyer for murdered teen Milly Dowler's family says he learned from police that her voice-mail messages had been hacked, possibly by a News of the World investigator.
July 6: U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron says he is 'revolted' by allegations that private investigators from the paper eavesdropped on the voice mails of victims of crime.
July 7: News Corp. announces it will close down the News of the World. The July 10 edition of the weekly paper was the last.
July 8: Mr. Cameron announces two inquiries, one on the hacking scandal, another focusing on press regulations. Former News of the World editor and ex-Cameron aide Andy Coulson is arrested in connection with the scandal.
July 10: Mr. Murdoch flies into London to handle the crisis.
July 12: Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown accuses News International of employing criminals to obtain confidential information about his family. News International defends its journalism.
July 13: Under U.K. political pressure, News Corp. withdraws its bid to buy the 60.9% of British Sky Broadcasting that it doesn't already own.
July 14: Rupert Murdoch and son James Murdoch agree to testify at a parliamentary hearing to answer questions about the company's phone-hacking scandal. In the U.S., the FBI said it would open a probe into whether News of the World might have hacked into phones of 9/11 victims.