Rock Singer Scott Weiland Dies in His Sleep at 48

Rock sensation Scott Weiland, who was best known for being the lead singer of the Stone Temple Pilots, died last night in his sleep. The sad news was announced on his Facebook page. According to the post, Weiland was on a tour bus in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts when he passed. The post asked that "the privacy of Scott's family be respected."

A native of California, he was born Scott Kline on October 27, 1967. His parents divorced when he was two and was adopted by his step-father when he was five, changing his last name to Weiland. 

Along with brothers Dean De Leo and Robert, Weiland formed the band Stone Temple Pilots and achieved a lot of success. In 1992, the band's debut album Core sold over eight million copies. The album ranked at No. 3 on Billboard's 200 in 1993 and in 1994 their album Purple was No. 1. The band also won a Grammy in 1994 as well. The band broke up in 2002. 

Weiland got together with former members of Guns N' Roses Duff McKagan, Slash and Matt Sorum to form Velvet Revolvers. The band was successful as well. They released two albums, earned two gold-selling singles with "Fall to Pieces" and "Slither" and also won a Grammy for "Slither." However, Weiland left in 2008 and rejoined STP. 

Although he was a prominent singer, Weiland battled drug addiction, mainly with heroin and had several run ins with the law. In 1995, he was put on probation after being convicted of buying crack cocaine. He was arrested for D.U.I. in 2003 and 2007. 

In 2010, STP released their album Stone Temple Pilots. They fired Weiland in 2013, replacing him with Chester Bennington from Lincoln Park. Weiland put out four solo albums in between bands. His last band, The Wildabouts, released Blaster earlier this year. 

Weiland died at the age of 48. He leaves behind his two kids, Lucy and Noah from his second marriage and his wife Jamie Wachtel whom he married in 2013. 

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Mark Zuckerberg Commits to Donating 99 Percent of Facebook Shares to Charity

Who knew that becoming a parent could put someone in a charitable spirit.

Mark Zuckerberg announced the birth of his daughter on Tuesday, December 1 via Facebook in an open letter to her. His wife gave birth to the new addition to their family, Max, who weighed in at seven pounds and eight ounces.
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In the letter, he wrote how much disease has affected society and his hope to change that would be to advance human potential and promote equality.

"Advancing human potential is about pushing the boundaries on how great a human life can be," he said. "Promoting equality is about making sure everyone has access to these opportunities- regardless of the nation, families or circumstances they are born into."

Zuckerberg said that he and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, will commit to donating 99 percent of their Facebook shares, valued at over $45 billion, throughout their lives. They are creating the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative where the "initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities."

The Facebook co-founder said that they will share more details in the coming months after they return from their maternity and paternity leaves.


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