Britain's Prince George celebrates his second birthday Wednesday, when the royals are planning a small family gathering for the future king with his baby sister Charlotte as he embarks on the so-called "terrible twos".

George, Charlotte and their parents Prince William and his wife Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are to spend the day together at their country home.

Taylor Swift on Tuesday topped the nominations for the MTV Video Music Awards with a pair of elaborate videos from her blockbuster album "1989."

The pop superstar will be in the running for nine awards at the August 30 gala, topping English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who was tapped for six.

Miley Cyrus is twerking back to the MTV Video Music Awards as the show's host.

The 25-year-old singer-actress revealed on her social media accounts Monday that she's helming the Aug. 30 ceremony.

Dieter Moebius, a pioneer of electronic music whose art background led him to develop ambient soundscapes, died Monday. He was 71.

Michael Rother, his partner in the band Harmonia, announced Moebius's death on Facebook.

Wayne Carson, a prolific songwriter whose hits for other stars included the Elvis Presley classic "Always On My Mind," died Monday. He was 72.

Carson suffered numerous health issues including diabetes and heart and gallstone problems, his wife, Wyndi Harp Head, told the Springfield News-Leader newspaper in Missouri, where they lived.

Jon Stewart enters the home stretch of his 16 years on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" on Monday, with 12 more nights of jokes at the expense of those who make and report the news before he signs off for good on August 6.

Stewart's exit, the latest in a year of upheaval in late-night television, will be felt most acutely over the next 15 months as the U.S. approaches its first presidential election since 1996 without his comic take.

Paul McCartney will forever be identified with The Beatles, but jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli has attempted on a new album to revive some of the legend's lesser known solo tracks.

Pizzarelli, a popular guitarist known both for his own songs and collaborations with other artists, said the ex-Beatle himself came up with the idea for the album, "Midnight McCartney," which will come out on September 11.

Hollywood actor George Clooney launched a new initiative on Monday aimed at ending conflicts in South Sudan and elsewhere in Africa by tracking the money involved.

The Sentry, founded by Clooney and John Prendergast of the Enough Project advocacy group, will investigate the ways conflicts in South Sudan, Sudan, the Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo are financed.

British jazz pianist John Taylor has died after suffering a heart attack onstage at a music festival in France, the show's organizers said.

"Carol, John Taylor's wife, has informed us about her husband's death on Saturday July 18," a statement said.

A 21-year-old man drowned in the swimming pool of the Beverly Hills home of actress Demi Moore, news reports said Sunday.

Police arrived at the scene in the early hours and found a man who was being treated by paramedics, the Los Angeles Times said, adding that the man was pronounced dead at the scene soon after.