FBI To Probe News Corp. 9/11 Hacking Allegations

Embattled media tycoon Rupert Murdoch

Reports say the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched an investigation into allegations that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation tried to hack into the phone records of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

The move comes after a British newspaper reported on July 11 that "News of the World" journalists offered to pay a New York police officer to retrieve the private phone records of victims of the terrorist attacks.

Murdoch last week shut down the "News of the World," Britain's top-selling tabloid, amid allegations that its journalists had illegally accessed the voicemails of thousands of people, from child murder victims to the families of Britain's war dead.

On July 14, Murdoch caved in to pressure from Britain's parliament as he and his son first refused, then agreed, to appear next week before lawmakers investigating phone hacking at the tabloid.

Also on June 14, Scotland Yard said it had made its seventh arrest related to the inquiry.

compiled from agency reports