Today, Ms. Mackris lives with her cats in an art-filled condo in her hometown, St. Louis, where she keeps bowls of colorful gumballs on tabletops. Her family is close by. She has traveled the world, volunteered, returned to school, discovered prayer and meditation, and started writing. 
 
 She is working on a book she researched and wrote over the past four years about a woman who fled Romania during World War II. 
 
 “A few years ago, I heard about a pair of natural pearl earrings forgotten in a drawer for 35 years that had just sold for millions at auction,” Ms. Mackris said. “They’d been given to a woman named Elena Lupescu by the king of Romania who ruled up until World War II, and I was immediately and completely taken by her story.” 
 
 “She lived in exile,” Ms. Mackris continued. “She lived in silence. And I got really curious about three things: How did she live with it all? Did she forgive them? And was she free?” 
 
 At Fox News, Mr. O’Reilly has continued his dominance. In the months since the presidential election, as the network has pulled in record ratings, his show has averaged 3.9 million viewers a night, according to Nielsen. Since September, he has released three books, including one for children, adding to his growing publishing empire. And in February, Mr. O’Reilly landed a coveted interview with President Trump before the Super Bowl. 
 
 Mr. O’Reilly was an early defender of Mr. Ailes and Fox News during that sexual harassment scandal last summer. His support remained resolute into the fall, after the company had reached agreements to settle the harassment claims from Ms. Huddy and Ms. Dhue. In November, he chided Megyn Kelly, his colleague at the time, after she described being sexually harassed by Mr. Ailes in her memoir. 
 
 “If somebody is paying you a wage, you owe that person or company allegiance,” he said on his nightly show, without mentioning Ms. Kelly by name. “You don’t like what’s happening in the workplace, go to human resources or leave.” ||||| FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2015 file photo, Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel program "The O'Reilly Factor," poses for photos in New York. O’Reilly says in a statement posted to his website that he is... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this Oct. 1, 2015 file photo, Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel program "The O'Reilly Factor," poses for photos in New York. O’Reilly says in a statement posted to his website that he is... (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said Saturday that he is "vulnerable to lawsuits" because of his high-profile job, in response to a New York Times report detailing payouts made to settle accusations of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior. 
 
 O'Reilly posted the statement to his website after the Times report Saturday, and Fox News' parent company 21st Century Fox backed him in a statement. 
 
 The newspaper reported (http://nyti.ms/2nHTteJ ) that O'Reilly or 21st Century Fox have paid $13 million to five women since 2002 over these complaints "in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations against him." 
 
 The story said more than 60 people were interviewed, including current and former employees of Fox News or its parent company and people who know the women behind the complaints or are close to O'Reilly. Most demanded anonymity. 
 
 21st Century Fox, which is still dealing with the legal fallout from sexual harassment charges against former Fox News head Roger Ailes, did not reply to questions about the O'Reilly payouts or whether any disciplinary action was taken against O'Reilly. But the company said in a statement that it had looked into "these matters" in the past few months and discussed them with O'Reilly. 
 
 The company said O'Reilly denied the merits of "these claims" but has "resolved those he regarded as his personal responsibility." 
 
 The company said it "takes matters of workplace behavior very seriously" and that "Mr. O'Reilly is fully committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment for all our employees at Fox News." 
 
 O'Reilly's statement did not deny the payments. "Just like other prominent and controversial people, I'm vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity," it said. Requests for comments sent to a lawyer and a spokesman for O'Reilly were not immediately answered. 
 
 Ailes left last summer amid sexual harassment charges, which he has denied. Fox also reportedly fired an executive, Francisco Cortes, after a sexual assault complaint and paid his accuser more than $2.5 million in a settlement. 
 
 News of the settlements capped a difficult few days for O'Reilly, who was criticized earlier this week for saying he had a hard time concentrating on California Rep. Maxine Waters during a speech because he was distracted by her "James Brown wig." O'Reilly later said that his comment about her hair was dumb and apologized.
– Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said Saturday that he is "vulnerable to lawsuits" because of his high-profile job, in response to a New York Times report detailing payouts made to settle accusations of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior, the AP reports. O'Reilly posted the statement to his website after the Times report Saturday, and Fox News' parent company 21st Century Fox backed him in a statement. The newspaper reported that O'Reilly or 21st Century Fox have paid $13 million to five women since 2002 over these complaints "in exchange for agreeing to not pursue litigation or speak about their accusations against him." The story said more than 60 people were interviewed, including current and former employees of Fox News or its parent company and people who know the women behind the complaints or are close to O'Reilly. Most demanded anonymity. 21st Century Fox, which is still dealing with the legal fallout from sexual harassment charges against former Fox News head Roger Ailes, did not reply to questions about the O'Reilly payouts or whether any disciplinary action was taken against O'Reilly. But the company said in a statement that it had looked into "these matters" in the past few months and discussed them with O'Reilly. The company said O'Reilly denied the merits of "these claims" but has "resolved those he regarded as his personal responsibility." The company said it "takes matters of workplace behavior very seriously" and that "Mr. O'Reilly is fully committed to supporting our efforts to improve the environment for all our employees at Fox News." O'Reilly's statement did not deny the payments. "Just like other prominent and controversial people, I'm vulnerable to lawsuits from individuals who want me to pay them to avoid negative publicity," it said.