R&B singer Gerald Levert dies at Ohio home at age 40

New York – Gerald Levert, the fiery singer of passionate R&B love songs and the son of O’Jays singer Eddie Levert, died on Friday. He was 40.

His label, Atlantic Records, confirmed that Levert died at his home in Cleveland, Ohio.

“All of us at Atlantic are shocked and deeply saddened by his untimely death. He was one of the greatest voices of our time, who sang with unmatched soulfulness and power, as well as a tremendously gifted composer and an accomplished producer,” the statement read.

Dan Bomeli, public relations manager at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center in suburban Cleveland, said Levert had been brought to the hospital. Bomeli said Levert had died but he had no further details.

Over his two-decade music career, Levert sold millions of albums and had numerous R&B hits.

Levert first gained fame in 1986 as a member of the R&B trio LeVert, which also included his brother, Sean, and childhood friend Marc Gordon. They quickly racked up hits like “(Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind,” “Casanova” and “Baby I’m Ready.”

But Gerald Levert’s voice – powerful and soulful, almost a carbon copy of his father’s – was always the focal point, and in 1991, he made his solo debut with the album “Private Line,” which included a hit duet with his dad, “Baby Hold on to Me.” His father also recorded the successful album “Father & Son.”

Levert had four children.

Rumors abound over location of Cruise, Holmes wedding

Rome – From George Clooney’s estate on Lake Como to Mussolini’s former residence on Garda Lake, media speculation on where in Italy Hollywood’s most high-profile betrothed couple will tie the knot has only one consistent element: A lake.

The likely site of the wedding of Tom Cruise to Katie Holmes, who are set to marry in an undisclosed Italian location on Nov. 18, now appears to have been narrowed down to the Odescalchi Castle on Lake Bracciano, near Rome.

The romantic, 15th-century castle can host up to 1,400 guests and has become the focus of the latest speculation.

As international media began gathering in the quiet town on Friday, local officials and residents remained tightlipped.

“The only thing we have received in the past days is a request to clear the square in front of the castle,” Bracciano Mayor Patrizia Riccioni told Associated Press Television News.

Holmes, 27, and Cruise, 44, became engaged in June 2005. Their daughter, Suri, was born on April 18.

Pamela Anderson confirms she had a miscarriage

New York – Pamela Anderson has confirmed that she suffered a miscarriage, Us Weekly reports.

A spokesman for the 39-year-old actress told Us Weekly that Anderson, who is married to Kid Rock, suffered a miscarriage late last week. She is currently shooting “Blonde and Blonder,” a film costarring Denise Richards, in Vancouver, Canada.

Anderson’s representative, Tracy Nguyen, asked the magazine that “Pamela’s privacy be respected at this time.”

The pregnancy wasn’t believed to be far along. Responding to rumors in September, Anderson wrote on her Web site that she wasn’t pregnant, but that she and Kid Rock, whose real name is Robert Ritchie, had consummated the marriage.

Also on Friday, police said that Richards won’t face charges for throwing two laptop computers over a balcony in tussle with paparazzi.