"I liked Vlad The Impaler. I had probably every book on him (as a child)." Angelina Jolie had a macabre interest in the historical mass murderer as a young girl.

Backstreet Boys star Nick Carter has blamed his massive weight gain last year on depression following his family's reality TV show, The House Of Carters. The singer ballooned to 224 pounds in 2006, and claims watching the "shocking" playback of the series on America's E! network triggered his weight gain.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Nick Carter of the pop band Backstreet Boys has been appointed as a U.N. special ambassador of the Year of the Dolphin. ''I was shocked. And happy at the exact same time because I really felt like it was an honor,'' he told AP Radio News on Thursday.