McCartney, Mills settle at $48.6 mill

Money may not buy her love, but Paul McCartney's ex sure has a lot more of it now.

One of Britain's bitterest divorces reached a settlement Monday when Heather Mills was awarded $48.6 million -- just a fraction of what she sought and a sliver of the former Beatle's $800 million fortune. McCartney also was ordered to pay $70,000 a year for his 4-year-old daughter Beatrice, and to pay for the child's nanny and school fees.

Mills declared herself "very, very, very pleased" with a payout that amounted to about $34,000 for each day of her four-year marriage. But some legal experts were surprised the former model, who has been widely portrayed in the British media as a gold-digger, did not get more.

"In the scheme of things, it's quite surprisingly low," said Patricia Hollings, a divorce specialist with London law firm Finers Stephens Innocent. "It is only offering her about six percent of his assets. In terms of high-wealth cases it's very low."

A Family Court judge awarded Mills a lump sum of $33 million, plus the assets she currently holds, worth $15.6 million. Mills had sought almost $250 million, according to a summary of the ruling; McCartney had offered $31.6 million, including Mills' own assets.

Mills, 40, raised eyebrows by firing her legal team late last year and representing herself in court, but legal experts said that was unlikely to have been a factor in the award.

"I don't regret representing myself," Mills said outside court. McCartney, 65, left after the ruling without saying a word.

BRITNEY TO PAY SOME OF K-FED'S LEGAL FEES

Britney Spears was ordered by a court commissioner Monday to pay ex-husband Kevin Federline $375,000 to cover his attorney fees in their child-custody dispute.

Mark Vincent Kaplan, Federline's lead attorney, had asked for nearly $500,000. Commissioner Scott Gordon issued the order in response to arguments presented last week.

Spears' attorney Stacy Phillips argued that Kaplan was overbilling and that Federline could pay his own legal bills, but Gordon wrote that Spears' actions led to a great majority of the litigation and delays in the case.

COMBS DENIES MURDER PLOT

Sean "Diddy" Combs has denied a report by the Los Angeles Times that his associates were responsible for the 1994 robbery and shooting of Tupac Shakur at a New York recording studio, and that he knew about the attack in advance.

"The story is a lie," the hip-hop mogul said in a statement Monday. "It is beyond ridiculous and completely false. Neither (the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.) nor I had any knowledge of any attack before, during or after it happened. ... I am shocked that the Los Angeles Times would be so irresponsible as to publish such a baseless and completely untrue story."

The 1994 shooting triggered the celebrated feud between East and West Coast rappers that led to the killings of Shakur and B.I.G. The Times said its story was based on FBI records, interviews with people at the scene of the 1994 shooting, and statements to the FBI by an informant. The story said that Combs and others lured Shakur to the studio because of his disrespect of them.

IS CAREY A REAL TALENT OR A 'DITZY MORON'?

Mariah Carey knows her indisputable talent clashes with her sexed-up image as a "ditz."

"It's a dichotomy, I understand," the 37-year-old Grammy winner tells Allure magazine. "I understand that people think I am a ditzy moron."

The singer -- who was treated for exhaustion in 2001 after a public meltdown -- says she still struggles with her confidence. "I've always had really low self-esteem, and I still do," she says. "What's weird about that is being onstage, and the love that you get, and the adoration that you feel from your real fans. It's hard for a partner to compete -- just imagine."

Carey and ex-husband Tommy Mottola, the former chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, divorced in 1997. She has described that relationship as controlling and says: "I had to make a decision: either lose myself completely or learn to stand up for myself."

OSMONDS TO HOST PAGEANT

Donnie and Marie Osmond will host the upcoming Miss USA pageant. The Miss Universe Organization says the brother-and-sister stars will perform on the NBC Universal show April 11 from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The network owns the pageant with real estate mogul Donald Trump.

POP!