Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt visit poverty-stricken Haiti

Port-Au-Prince, Haiti – Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt brought a rare dose of Hollywood glamour to this beleaguered Caribbean nation during a visit Friday.

The couple, who recently announced they are expecting a baby this summer, flew to Haiti from the neighboring Dominican Republic, where Jolie is filming the movie “The Good Shepherd,” directed by Robert De Niro.

They traveled in a convoy through the capital of Port-au-Prince, protected by police and U.N. peacekeepers as crowds cheered them along the way.

“You hear so much just about the danger and the fear and then you come here and you meet just an amazing people,” said Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations. “Given just a little chance, and given a little help, this is going to be a great country.”

Jolie, 30, and Pitt, 42, visited a school supported by Yele Haiti, a charity founded by Haitian-born hip-hop musician Wyclef Jean, where they watched children dance and recite poetry.

Jean praised the actors for visiting during a time of insecurity.

“To have these people grace our country is a beautiful thing,” he said.

Paltrow confirms pregnancy

Los Angeles – After months of rumors about a pregnancy, Gwyneth Paltrow has confirmed she’s expecting her second child with Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin.

In an interview following a screening of her movie “Proof” late Thursday, the 33-year-old actress was introduced as a pregnant woman, according to the syndicated entertainment television show “The Insider.”

Moderator Lou Diamond Phillips asked Paltrow, “How far along are you?”

“Far enough along to feel very cumbersome,” she answered.

Paltrow’s publicist, Stephen Huvane, would not comment.

A spokesman for the Screen Actors Guild, which sponsored the screening, referred callers to Huvane.

Paltrow and Martin already have a 20-month-old daughter named Apple. They tied the knot in December 2003.

Paltrow won an Academy Award for her role in 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love.” She plays the daughter of a mentally unstable math genius in “Proof,” an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning play.

Rapper Mystikal sentenced to year in prison in tax case

Baton Rouge, La. – Grammy-nominated rapper Mystikal has been sentenced to a year in prison for trying to cheat the federal government out of $271,000 in taxes.

U.S. District Judge James Brady said Thursday that he would allow Mystikal, whose real name is Michael L. Tyler, to serve the sentence at the same time he serves a state sentence for sexual battery against his former hairstylist.

Tyler is serving a six-year sentence for the videotaped attack on the woman. He pleaded guilty in June 2003 to forcing her to perform oral sex after accusing her of stealing $80,000 worth of his checks.

In the tax case, Tyler pleaded guilty in August to two misdemeanor counts of failing to file tax returns on $824,916 he earned in 1998 and $930,953 in 1999. The judge ordered him to pay back taxes and penalties in addition to the one-year sentence.

Mystikal’s record “Tarantula” was nominated for a best rap album Grammy in 2003.