'Today' cohost's n-ice gesture

If you've ever wanted Meredith Vieira to go jump in a lake, you're in luck. She did. And you can watch it on TV. Vieira, cohost of the "Today" show, braved the ice-cold waters of Lake Champlain in Vermont for a charity benefit plunge yesterday. Her dip into the 32-degree lake was filmed for broadcast today, when "Today" airs in a remote "winter break" broadcast from Sugarbush Ski Resort in nearby Warren. (AP)

PETA thinks Aretha Franklin is no queen of soul when it comes to wearing fur. Franklin was crowned this year's worst-dressed celebrity by the animal rights organization. Her crime: wearing "yet another vulgar fur" at the Grammy Awards. ". . . [Y]ou looked as if you were going to perform 'I Am the Walrus' by the Beatles," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said yesterday of Franklin's appearance. The other offenders are Marilyn Manson, Eva Longoria, Lindsay Lohan, Kate Moss, and Kylie Minogue. Christina Ricci, Martha Stewart, and Alicia Keys have said they've given up wearing fur since previously being singled out by PETA. (AP)

A judge put the brakes on Britney Spears's driving-without-a-license case yesterday after her lawyers said they don't believe the troubled pop star is capable of resolving the matter. Superior Court Judge T.K. Herman continued the misdemeanor case until March 20. Spears's conservatorship attorneys "do not think she is qualified or capable of entering into a binding agreement" at this time. The attorneys also don't believe Spears, 26, is capable of giving a deposition or signed declaration.A judge has placed Spears under the conservatorship of her father and an attorney after more than a year of bizarre behavior by the singer. (AP)

"If you feel you have to have a car, you feel trapped." - Chrissie Hynde, lead singer of the Pretenders, riding the bus in her hometown of Akron, Ohio, to show her support of a tax increase that would fund public transportation.