LEGAL MATTERS

S. Victor Whitmill, the St. Louis-area tattoo artist who inked Mike Tyson's face with an original design in 2003, has sued Warner Bros., the studio behind the upcoming film The Hangover 2, for copyright infringement. Whitmill and his attorney are arguing that the tattoo design is his property and that he did not give permission for it to be duplicated in the film. A trailer for the movie depicts actor Ed Helms with seemingly identical facial art. Warner Bros. had no comment. • On April 28 Phillip Garrido, 60, and his wife Nancy, 55, pleaded guilty to kidnapping Jaycee Dugard in 1991. During plea discussions, they both confessed to holding Dugard, now 31, against her will on their property in Antioch, Calif., and sexually assaulting her, resulting in the birth of two daughters by Phillip. On June 2 Phillip is expected to be sentenced to 431 years in prison, and his wife is expected to get 36 years to life. Both waived their right to appeal.

CAREER MOVES

Ending weeks of speculation, Today cohost Meredith Vieira, 57 (inset), is leaving the show, an NBC source tells PEOPLE. She will likely be replaced by her colleague, news anchor Ann Curry, 54. "This isn't about tending to her family," the source says. "Meredith has decided she simply does not want to continue with the grind of a daily morning show."

ENGAGED

He got his TV start on The Bachelor, but The Doctors cohost Dr. Travis Stork is officially off the market. While on vacation in Hawaii recently, the ER physician, 39, proposed to his girlfriend of two years, pediatrician Dr. Charlotte Brown, 28. While they haven't picked a wedding date yet, friends of the couple say they couldn't be happier.

TIME OFF

Guitarist Richie Sambora, 51, is taking a temporary leave from the Bon Jovi tour amid reports he's entering treatment for exhaustion and to maintain his sobriety. "Our support for Richie is absolute," the band said. "We very much look forward to his healthy return."

DEATHS

Phoebe Snow, the singer-songwriter who shot to fame with the release of her hit "Poetry Man," died April 26 in Edison, N.J., of complications from a stroke she suffered last year. She was 60. Discovered while performing at a Manhattan nightclub in 1972, Snow was nominated for the best new artist Grammy two years later. In 1975 she put her career on hold to focus on her daughter Valerie Laub, who was born with severe brain damage. Laub passed away in 2007 at age 31.

THE FIGHTER'S ALICE WARD DIES

Alice Ward, the mother of boxers Micky Ward and Dicky Eklund, portrayed in an Oscar-winning performance by Melissa Leo in The Fighter, died April 27 at age 79. Her health had been failing since January, when she suffered a heart attack and a stroke and was pronounced dead before she began breathing again on her own. But recently the mother of nine lapsed into another coma and died one day after being taken off of life support. Said her son Micky, whom she also managed: "She was a pioneer of her time."

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