London -- British comedian Eddie Izzard has performed a stand-up comedy routine at a London hospital for a victim of the Mumbai terror attacks, the victim's father says.

Nigel Pike said he initially had written Izzard on behalf of his son, Will, to ask the stand-up comedian if he could write a personal note to his son, an Izzard fan, The Times of London said Thursday.

Pike explained to the comedian that Will had been forced to miss an Izzard show after breaking his pelvis, three vertebrae and both his arms while attempting to flee the site of one of the deadly Mumbai attacks.

Rather than simply send a note to the injured 28-year-old, Izzard stopped at the London hospital housing the younger Pike and performed his entire 90-minute stand-up routine, The Times reported.

Los Angeles, California, January 1: A blond Ohio woman, who was allegedly used as a decoy for saving Britney Spears’ sister Jamie Lynn from the shutterbugs and fervent paparazzi, is planning to sue the L.A. Airport Police and the City of Los Angeles.

Phoenix, Alabama, December 31: Rap artist DMX has pleaded guilty to multiple drug possession, theft and animal cruelty charges. He faces at least 90 days in jail, when he returns to an Arizona court for sentencing in a month.

Los Angeles, California, December 31: Arnold Schwarzenegger's ‘The Terminator’ has been selected for preservation by the U.S. Library of Congress. The 1984 classic is among the 25 movies, chosen to be preserved and protected from deterioration, by the library. The films, annually selected for their cultural, historic or aesthetic significance, may not be the ‘best’ American films of all time, but are chosen for their long-term significance to American culture.

Washington, United States, December 31: United States Bankruptcy Court judge, Burton Lifland, presiding over the liquidation of Bernard Madoff investment firm, has approved the transfer of $28.1 million to the Securities Investor Protection Corp. (SIPC) trustee, Irvin Picard.

Los Angeles -- British actor Robert Pattinson booed and yelled at a comedian who poked fun of Australian actor Heath Ledger's death, a source told Usmagazine.com.

Ledger died in January of an accidental prescription drug overdose at the age of 28.

Usmagazine.com said Pattinson, the star of the vampire blockbuster "Twilight," was in the audience of a show at The ­Improv in Hollywood Dec. 16, when a performer reportedly said, "Here's my impression of Heath Ledger," then collapsed into pretend convulsions.

"Robert and his friend went nuts yelling at him," a source told the magazine, adding that Pattinson screamed: "(Expletive) you! You suck!"

"The comic didn't know who it was, but I'm sure he found out later!" the insider said.

The magazine did not offer the name of the performer.

New York -- Hip-hop icon Sean "Diddy" Combs says he is helping arrange free taxi rides home for New Year's Eve revelers in New York City.

In partnership with the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission and E! Entertainment, Combs and the makers of CIROC Ultra Premium Vodka will distribute thousands of debit cards, valued up to $15, in high-traffic New York City locations for use in one of the city's 13,000-plus taxicabs on New Year's Eve, so adult revelers can get home safely.

CIROC and E! Entertainment are further supporting the initiative with a message from Combs currently running on taxicab televisions in New York City through Jan. 1.

"As the 'Official Vodka of New Year's Eve,' we have a responsibility to remind everyone to get home safely on this most celebratory of nights,"

Sioux Falls, S.D. -- British actor and former professional soccer player Vinnie Jones has pleaded not guilty to assault charges stemming from a bar brawl in South Dakota, TMZ said.

Jones is accused of assaulting a fellow patron at Wiley's Tavern in Sioux Falls Dec. 5, reportedly after he was hit in the face with a beer mug.

The "Snatch" and "X-Men: The Last Stand" star could face up to a year in jail if convicted, TMZ said Tuesday.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.

Chicago -- William Balfour was formally indicted Tuesday for the slayings of three members of singer-actress Jennifer Hudson's family in Chicago.

Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were shot and killed in October.

E! News said Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson's sister, Julia, was indicted Tuesday on murder and home invasion charges following a brief court hearing.

Balfour and his attorney have insisted Balfour did not commit the triple homicide.

The suspect is being held without bond on a parole violation at Illinois' Stateville Correctional Center.

Hudson is best known for her Oscar-winning performance in the big-screen musical "Dreamgirls." Her other screen credits include the movies "Sex and the City" and "The Secret Life of Bees."

London -- Trustees of Britain's HBOS bank's pension fund said they are considering a legal challenge to the bank's merger with Lloyds TSB to protect their pension plan.

"We want some underpinning comfort for the scheme's members that they will get their pensions," the trustee's chairman Roger Boyes said, the Daily Telegraph reported Tuesday.

Under the current arrangement, the pension fund remains a liability of HBOS, although Lloyds is ultimately providing backing for its subsidiary.

HBOS and Lloyds stockholders have both approved the merger, which was arranged with $17.1 billion in government assistance.

But, the Lloyds Banking Group has kept the two banks' pension funds separate in case it decides to sell all or part of HBOS in the future, the newspaper said.