People talk 10/15/02

Judges uphold appeal of London tabloid

LONDON -- Three appeal court judges ruled Monday that a British newspaper was justified in publishing a photo of Naomi Campbell leaving a drug addiction center, as the model had lied to the news media about her drug problems.

Earlier this year, a High Court judge ordered the Daily Mirror tabloid to pay Campbell $5,425 in damages and meet her court costs, reportedly $310,000, after he ruled the newspaper had breached her right to confidentiality by running the story in February 2001.

Three judges sitting at the Court of Appeal in London on Monday upheld the newspaper's appeal and said the report was justified in the public interest.

Lord Phillips, the senior civil judge in England, said Campbell had gone out of her way to tell the news media that she, unlike other models, did not take stimulants or tranquilizers.

"This was untrue. She had, in fact, become addicted to drugs," Phillips said. "Where a public figure chooses to make untrue pronouncements about his, or her, private life, the press will normally be entitled to put the record straight."

Campbell, who was not in court Monday, said in a statement that she'd sued the Mirror to establish her right to privacy and to ensure that she and others could receive therapy without media intrusion.

"I do not think it so terrible or extraordinary to want to keep private the fact that you have problems and are seeking treatment," the 32-year-old said.

Life back to normal for Nobel Prize winner

PLAINS, Ga. -- After having won the Nobel Peace Prize, former President Carter spent Sunday morning like any other -- teaching Sunday school in his southwest Georgia hometown.

"Today, we will be studying justice," Carter told a larger-than-usual crowd of about 500, some from as far away as Canada, California and India.

The former president, who won the prize Friday for his peacemaking and humanitarian work, has been a member of Maranatha Baptist Church since he returned from the White House in 1981. Parishioners and visitors lined up at 7 a.m. to hear him speak.

"The greatest challenge that the world faces is the growing chasm between rich people and poor people," the 78-year-old said. "The division between those of us who have everything and the others is very wide and increasing every year, not only among individuals and families, but among countries."

Folk singer earns well-deserved break

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Lis Harvey can rest her voice now.

The folk singer reached her goal of performing in all 50 states in 60 days with a performance Sunday at Ginkgo Coffeehouse in St. Paul.

Harvey is trying to enter the Guinness Book of Records for the fastest 50-state tour by a solo female musician. She toured America in a borrowed station wagon, putting 17,000 miles on the car in two months.

Harvey said she often would read the Guinness Book of Records as a fourth grader, and that she knew she would have to tour to promote her new CD, "Topography," on independent Erlendahle Records.

"So I joke that I knew I couldn't beat the man with the longest fingernails, so I have to make up my own record," she said Monday. She said she'd receive a certificate if her record is verified.

The Madison, Wis.-based singer-songwriter, who was born in Boston, celebrated her 25th birthday on the 25th state of her tour. She said making the record book would "satisfy that little kid inside."

"If you peel back all the layers to my 11-year-old self, I think she would be beaming," Harvey said.

Queen ElizabethII continues Canadian visit

OTTAWA -- Hundreds braved the wind and rain to serenade Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in Ottawa -- though the crowd was missing one politician who isn't a fan of the monarchy.

The queen, along with Prime Minister Jean Chretien and other dignitaries, watched a musical celebration Sunday that included gospel singers and African dancers.

Later the royal couple and the prime minister joined hundreds of veterans and others at the National War Memorial in downtown Ottawa to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, who greeted the queen upon her arrival to Ottawa, was absent from the festivities. At the beginning of the queen's tour of Canada, Manley caused a stir when he repeated his long-held view that Canada could do without the monarchy.

He was criticized for a lack respect for the monarch, and for poor timing in making the comment while the Queen was visiting the country.

Monarchists demanded that he be removed as her companion while in Ottawa.

The visit is part of the queen's Golden Jubilee celebrations, which have taken the 76-year-old to 50 counties.

Actress knows Aussies' secret for success

NEW YORK -- Naomi Watts thinks she knows why Australians seem to do so well in Hollywood: They aren't uptight.

"Australians don't take themselves too seriously," Watts told the Daily News on Sunday. "There's a really good sense of humor about them."

The 34-year-old actress is the latest star to emerge from Down Under, joining a list of recent arrivals that includes her close friend, Nicole Kidman, Heath Ledger, Guy Pearce and Hugh Jackman.

Watts appeared in small movies including "Tank Girl" and "Children of the Corn IV" before winning rave reviews last year for starring as two different characters in David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive." Her latest film is "The Ring," opening Friday.

"The choices I make now are all informed by whatever it is I went through," she said. "I didn't know what I wanted or who I was in my early 20s. Now I do."