Bono adds British knight title

Dublin, Ireland – Irish rock star and global humanitarian Bono became a knight of the British empire Thursday – and joked that his youngest son thought he was about to become a Jedi instead.

Bono, 46, was named a Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in an informal, laugh-filled ceremony in the Dublin home of British Ambassador David Reddaway.

“You have permission to call me anything you want – except sir, all right? Lord of lords, your demigodness, that’ll do,” he told reporters afterward.

Reddaway paid tribute to Bono’s work as a campaigner against poverty and disease in Africa – but first asked whether he was disappointed that becoming a knight no longer involves a sword or kneeling.

“Please, I wasn’t expecting you to kneel,” said Bono, his hand on the ambassador’s shoulder.

Roker uses personal experience for youth obesity documentary

New York – As a youngster, Al Roker shopped for clothes in the “husky” section of the department store, “like someone was going to strap me to a dog sled.”

The phrase may be out of style, but the need for children’s plus-sized clothes has only increased. The 52-year-old NBC personality kept his own experiences with weight control in mind while producing a documentary on childhood obesity for the Food Network.

“Childhood Obesity: Danger Zone” premieres at 8 p.m. Saturday on the cable network.

The documentary explores why more than 12 million children and teenagers have serious weight problems and the health risks they face. It profiles young people who have successfully turned things around.

“If you run the numbers out, this would be the first generation that has a shorter life span than their parents,” Roker said. “That’s scary.

Clapton plans benefit concert for Crossroads rehab center

Los Angeles – Eric Clapton is having a jam session with more than a dozen of his favorite guitar-playing pals, and everyone is invited.

Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, scheduled July 28 in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Ill., will benefit Crossroads Centre, the drug-rehab facility he founded in Antigua a decade ago. Tickets go on sale Saturday.

Scheduled performers include B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, Jeff Beck and John Mayer, among others – and Clapton already is excited about spontaneous collaborations.

“Some of it’s mapped and some of it isn’t,” he said Wednesday by phone from Winnipeg, Canada, where he is on tour. “We have to leave a little bit of it to chance.”

This will be the second concert Clapton has organized to raise funds for the Caribbean rehab facility, which now includes a halfway house and community-education program. The first concert was in 2004 in Dallas.