Wonder to pay for funerals of children killed in house fire

Philadelphia – Stevie Wonder has arranged to pay the funeral expenses for five children who were killed in a city row house fire, his publicist said.

Wonder was heartbroken after hearing about the blaze and wanted to do something to help the family, said his publicist, Ira Tucker.

“I don’t think he’s ever done anything like this before,” Tucker said. “It’s just good that something can be lifted from them.”

The June 12 blaze in the city’s Kensington neighborhood killed three sisters, Summer Cooke, 5; Samantha Bowers, 4; and Sabrina Dickson, 22 months; and two of their cousins who lived nearby, Amber Johnson, 3; and Reginald Ringgold, 1.

Destiny’s Child, Linkin Park added to Live 8 in Philly

Paris – Versailles Palace will be the backdrop for the Live 8 concert in Paris, one of eight concerts scheduled July 2 worldwide to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.

The goal of the free concerts, also to be held in Berlin, London, Philadelphia, Rome, Tokyo, Toronto and Johannesburg, South Africa, is to push for a political solution for African poverty ahead of a summit of Group of Eight industrialized countries next month.

Destiny’s Child and Linkin Park have been added to the lineup for the Philadelphia concert. The additions were announced Thursday, one day after organizers said rapper 50 Cent wouldn’t be able to perform because of a scheduling conflict involving his new movie.

Lewis divorce settled

Hernando, Miss. – A Mississippi judge has approved a divorce settlement between Jerry Lee Lewis and his sixth wife, Kerrie Lynn McCarver Lewis.

The settlement was reached Wednesday, the same day the case was to go to trial. The judge promptly sealed the court records.

“It’s been a long day and it’s been an expensive day,” Lewis, 69, said outside the courthouse.

Lawyers declined comment, citing the judge’s order sealing the records.

Lewis, whose hits include “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On,” married McCarver in 1984. They have an 18-year-old son, Jerry Lee Lewis III.

Bice happy he’s not ‘American Idol’

New York – Three weeks after being defeated by Carrie Underwood in the finals of “American Idol,” Bo Bice says he’s happy he lost.

“People ask me, ‘What were you thinking while you stood there waiting for them to announce the winner?”‘ Bice says in the issue of Rolling Stone magazine on newsstands Friday.

The answer?

“Please, God, don’t let me win this thing.”

Bice claims he never wanted the “Idol” crown to tarnish his Southern rock reputation.

“The label ‘American Idol’ was not for me. I’m not a pop person. It would have been harder to play my kind of music if I had won,” says the 29-year-old Alabama native.

“I just came in (to ‘American Idol’) being myself,” he says. “And for some crazy reason, that’s what people were wanting. Which is why I am truly the guy who’s the most freaked out about everything that’s happened.”

Birthdays

Rock singer-composer-musician Sir Paul McCartney is 63. Movie critic Roger Ebert is 63. Actress Isabella Rossellini is 53. Actress Carol Kane is 53. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nathan Morris (Boyz II Men) is 34.