A call for Jolie

A leftist farmers' group has asked the United Nations to send Angelina Jolie to visit the Philippines to check on the rising number of people displaced by army offensives in the countryside. Since the late '60s, the Philippine Army has been fighting communists and Muslim separatists in twin insurgencies that have killed 160,000 people, displaced more than 2 million, and stunted economic growth in the country. (Reuters)

After knocking "Knocked Up" in a recent interview, Katherine Heigl says it was the "best filming experience of my career" and that "every person that was a part of making 'Knocked Up' helped to encourage, support and inspire me." In her earlier remarks, Heigl said the film "paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys." (People.com)

Vivica A. Fox yesterday became the latest celebrity to enter a plea deal with prosecutors to settle a drunken driving case, authorities in Los Angeles said. The actress and former "Dancing With the Stars" contestant pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit of .08, city attorney's spokesman Frank Mateljan said. A Superior Court judge sentenced Fox to three years probation and ordered her to enter a 90-day alcohol education program. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but means the defendant will not fight the charges. (AP)

Elton John has received a bird-feather cloak for his visits to Maori communities. "It's the Maori equivalent to an Academy Award" and means the 60-year-old British singer is an honored member of the Ngati Te Whiti sub-tribe, group chairman Peter Love said yesterday in a statement. The cloak was "gifted as recognition of the enjoyment Sir Elton John's music has given to Maori," he said. (AP)

An Irish magazine apologized to Tiger Woods's wife, Elin Nordegren Woods, yesterday and agreed to pay the former model "substantial" damages after it published fake nude pictures during the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club. "The false and deeply offensive article in The Dubliner magazine, with the accompanying photograph of another woman wrongly claimed to be me, caused great personal distress to me and my family," Nordegren Woods said in a statement. (Reuters)

A San Francisco lawyer says he will represent Phil Spector in his retrial on a murder charge and that he could not be ready to proceed for months. Doron Weinberg told a Superior Court Judge yesterday he needs five months to review material from Spector's first trial. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler told attorneys to return May 22 to discuss when they will be ready for trial. (AP)

Two days after he died in a Los Angeles hotel, rapper Chad "Pimp C" Butler received a Grammy nod Thursday. He and partner Bernard "Bun B" Freeman, who performed as UGK, were nominated for their collaboration with OutKast on "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)." (Reuters)

"We were trying to teach her some Amy Winehouse the other day - just the 'No, no, no' part."- Jeff Richmond, Tina Fey's husband, referring to their 2-year-old daughter, Alice.