WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court on Monday handed a victory to New Hampshire writer Dan Brown – author of the “The Da Vinci Code” – refusing to consider a case alleging copyright infringement.

Author Lewis Perdue contends that Brown’s megathriller is substantially similar to his book, written years before the 2003 publication of “The Da Vinci Code.

Some 60.5 million copies of “The Da Vinci Code” are in print worldwide.

Perdue argues that affidavits detailing similarities between his book, “Daughter of God,” and Brown’s book should have been considered by a federal judge, who rejected them. The judge ruled that no reasonable juror could find parts of Perdue’s work substantially similar to “The Da Vinci Code.” An appeals court upheld the ruling.

In one of the rejected affidavits, a literary expert found the evidence of infringement overwhelming. In another affidavit, a foreign linguistics expert found the similarities to be “striking.”

Perdue had alleged that Brown, of Rye, copied the basic premise of “Daughter of God,” including notions that history is controlled by victors, not losers, and the importance of the Roman Emperor Constantine in requiring a transition from a female to a male-dominated religion, the judge said.

NEW YORK (AP) – “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo and her boyfriend, record producer Chris Ivery, are engaged, Pompeo’s publicist confirmed Monday.

Ivery, 38, proposed to the actress on Friday, her 37th birthday, after breakfast at home, publicist Jennifer Allen told The Associated Press. The Boston-area natives, who have been dating for three years, have not yet set a wedding date, Allen said.

Pompeo juggles work and a dramatic love life as Dr. Meredith Grey on the ABC show. Her movie credits include “Old School,” “Daredevil” and “Catch Me If You Can.”

The engagement was first reported by Us Weekly on the magazine’s Web site.

ROME (AP) – Tom Cruise flew into a Rome airport on a private jet, airport officials said, setting off a frenzy among media and fans anticipating the star’s high-profile wedding to Katie Holmes.

Cruise arrived at Rome’s small Ciampino airport from Los Angeles on Monday with about 10 people, including his mother and his three children, airport officials said.

The 44-year-old actor and Holmes, 27, are set to marry at an undisclosed Italian location Saturday. Speculation on the location has focused on Odescalchi Castle on Lake Bracciano, near the capital. The romantic, 15th-century castle, with its halls and gardens, can host up to 1,400 guests.

Local officials and residents remain tight-lipped, and Bracciano’s mayor has only acknowledged that authorities received a request to clear the square in front of the castle.

Some 100 fans mingled with photographers and camera crews in front of the Hassler, the luxury Rome hotel on top of the Spanish Steps where Cruise was said by airport officials to be staying. An employee at the hotel’s front desk, who refused to give her name, denied that Cruise was staying there.

Traffic police managed the crowd at the Hassler and bodyguards stood at the ready next to limousines parked in front of the hotel.

Holmes and Cruise became engaged in June 2005. Their daughter, Suri, was born April 18.

LILONGWE, Malawi (AP) – Malawi’s High Court said it will rule next week on whether a coalition of human rights and child advocacy groups should help decide whether Madonna is fit to adopt a 13-month-old boy.

Justice Andrew Nyirenda said Monday he will rule Nov. 20 on whether to admit the 67-member coalition, which includes the state-run Malawi Human Rights Commission, as a party in the adoption proceedings. The coalition maintains the proceedings have been irregular.

Madonna says she has met all the country’s requirements for adopting the toddler, and David’s father, Yohane Banda, has said the human rights group’s lawsuit threatens his son’s future.

The 48-year-old pop singer and her husband, British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, were granted interim custody of David Banda by a High Court judge on Oct. 12.

Malawi regulations stipulate an 18- to 24-month assessment period be spent in Malawi, but the couple were allowed to take David to their London home.

“Basically what we are asking the court is that we want to be joined as a party to the assessment because we have a lot of legal issues we want to raise,” Justin Dzonzi, chairman of the coalition known as the Human Rights Consultative Committee, told journalists after a 90-minute closed hearing Monday.

Dzonzi has said his coalition wasn’t trying to block the adoption, but wanted to be a party to the process to make sure Malawian laws were respected.

“Over 1,000 Malawian children are being adopted illegally every year and yet the laws say international adoption are not permissible,” Dzonzi, who is a lawyer, said Monday. “There is no system to monitor how these adopted children are being treated, wherever they are.”

“We want to use the Madonna case to make sure that the rights of children in Malawi are effectively protected.”

On the eve of the hearing, Yohane Banda reiterated his appeal for the human rights activists “to back off and leave my son alone.”

“As David’s father I consented. I see no reason why I should change my mind now,” said the 32-year-old peasant, who ekes a living from a modest onion and tomato garden.

Madonna’s Malawian lawyer, Alan Chinula, told journalists that as far as the singer is concerned, all Malawian adoption laws have been followed.

Chinula said Madonna and Ritchie, 38, were also complying with Britain’s adoption laws.

Malawi’s Department of Gender and Child Welfare Development said a team of child welfare officers would fly to London to make the first assessment in May 2007 and one more assessment would be done by December 2007 before a report is filed on the couple’s suitability as adoptive parents.

MUMBAI, India (AP) – Angelina Jolie hopped onto a crowded Mumbai commuter train to film a scene for a movie about slain journalist Daniel Pearl, who lived and worked in India’s financial and entertainment capital.

Dan Futterman portrays Pearl and Jolie plays his wife, Mariane, in “A Mighty Heart.” The movie is based on an adaptation of Mariane Pearl’s book, “A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl.”

Jolie, 31, had been in the western Indian city of Pune since early October filming the movie. Pune was chosen because of its resemblance to Karachi, Pakistan’s financial center, where Pearl was abducted and killed in 2002 while researching a story on Islamic militancy.

Jolie and Pitt, 42, accompanied by their three children – 5-year-old Maddox, 18-month-old Zahara and 5-month-old Shiloh Nouvel – arrived in Mumbai on Saturday.

On Monday, Jolie, wearing a pale blue T-shirt and khaki trousers, stood in a line to purchase a train ticket. Then Jolie and Futterman, wearing jeans and a white shirt, boarded a train.

They were escorted by bodyguards who held back young students yelling Jolie’s name. Curious onlookers collected outside the train station to catch a glimpse of the actress.

Street scenes were also filmed of Jolie and Futterman, 39, walking near the Gateway of India, a popular tourist destination in downtown Mumbai. They also filmed scenes inside a hair salon and a restaurant.