People in the news

Eddie Murphy acknowledged he is the father of Melanie Brown's young daughter Friday, a day after the former Spice Girl took legal action to establish him as the child's parent. Murphy, 46, "always has and will continue to honor his responsibilities as a father," according to a statement released through his publicist, Arnold Robinson. Brown, aka Scary Spice, filed a petition Thursday that seeks to legally establish Murphy as the father.

Malawian rights organizations say their government needs help monitoring Madonna's planned adoption of David Banda. Madonna and her husband, film director Guy Ritchie, took custody of David, then 14 months old, last October. His father had placed David in an orphanage. Malawi's Child Welfare Services is expected to file a report on the couple's suitability as adoptive parents after two trips to their London residence this year. But welfare services has already missed one visit, which was set for May.