Brooks Cleared of One Charge

Former editor of News of the World Rebekah Brooks was acquitted Thursday of one charge of authorizing an illegal payment for a picture of Prince William at a fancy dress party in a bikini (the picture was never published). The decision was made after a judge overseeing the trial instructed the court to return a verdict of not guilty on one of two conspiracy charges. Brooks, the former editor of Rupert Murdoch's shuttered tabloid, still faces four other charges relating to conspiracy to hack voicemail messages on mobile phones, authorizing illegal payments to public officials, and then plotting to hinder a subsequent police investigation.