People in the News

From The Associated Press

Britney Spears was taken from her home by ambulance early Thursday and escorted to UCLA Medical Center by more than a dozen police officers in cars, on motorcycles and in helicopters.

The 26-year-old pop star was being taken to “get help,” said a Los Angeles police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.

The Los Angeles Times cited unidentified authorities who said Spears was being placed on a “mental evaluation hold.”

Paul McCartney says recent media reports that he had a heart procedure last year are “entirely untrue.” “People are ringing and texting me saying, ‘Are you OK?’” he writes in a posting on his newly redesigned Web site. “I hadn’t seen the report so I was puzzled by so many enquiries about my health. So I think it’s a good time to put this rumor to rest.”

The 65-year-old ex-Beatle says that during a routine medical examination over a year ago, “there was a minor irregularity which I needed to have tests for and which I have now been assured is completely fine.”

McCartney, who is nominated for a Grammy Award for his latest album, “Memory Almost Full,” says he wants to assure friends and family that he’s in good health. He adds: “I have secretly been enjoying all the sympathy I’ve been getting!”