Entertainment

The cable channel, and managers Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders, say the 51-year-old Gandolfini (gan-dahl-FEE'-nee) died Wednesday while on holiday in Rome.

In a statement, HBO called the actor a great talent and a gentle and loving person.

Gandolfini played conflicted mob boss Tony Soprano in the groundbreaking HBO series that aired from 1999 to 2007.

His film credits included "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Killing Them Softly," and he appeared in the Broadway production "God of Carnage."

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Miss Utah Marissa Powell is the latest beauty queen to trip on national television, not over her gown, but during the interview segment.

Asked about income inequality at the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas Sunday night, the 21 year-old gave a rambling, awkwardly-worded answer that included several long pauses and the phrase "create education better."

The cringe-inducing response was getting lots of buzz Monday. Pageant co-owner Donald Trump scolded the haters on Twitter, saying anyone can lose their train of thought.

But Miss Utah is not the only beauty to mangle an answer, and her answer was certainly not the worst recorded in a pageant.

Miss South Carolina took that crown with her 2007 "such as"-filled response to a question about geographical literacy.

NEW YORK (AP) - Jon Stewart is starting a summer-long break from anchoring "The Daily Show," but it will be no holiday. He'll be in the Middle East making his first movie.

While he's away, Stewart says he'll miss hosting the Comedy Central fake newscast.

As he explains, "People clap for me! That doesn't happen just anywhere."

Stewart will be directing and producing "Rosewater" from his own script, based on a memoir by Maziar Bahari. This Iranian journalist was falsely accused of being a spy and imprisoned by the Iranian government in 2009 while covering Iran's presidential election.

Pressed for more details about the film, Stewart cracked, "I haven't seen it yet. But I hear it's good."

After Stewart signs off Thursday night until returning Sept. 3, correspondent John Oliver will handle anchor duties on the New York-based show.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Newseum in Washington is poking some fun at TV anchors with a new exhibit about the 2004 comedy "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" starring Will Ferrell.

The Newseum announced plans Tuesday for "Anchorman: The Exhibit" to be created with Paramount Pictures. It's scheduled to open Nov. 14 with props, costumes and footage from the film, including Burgundy's jazz flute and a mock anchor desk.

The exhibit would open just before the release of the sequel "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" in December.

Newseum Vice President of Exhibits Cathy Trost says news anchors represent the authority of TV news but also have been targets for laughs. She says the exhibit will explore the reality behind the humor of "Anchorman" and the rise of personality-driven news in the 1970s.

VALLEJO, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California man is facing vandalism charges after authorities say he painted a crosswalk on a street, allegedly telling officials it was needed.

Fifty-two-year-old Anthony Cardenas was arrested Thursday morning in Vallejo and booked into Solano County Jail on suspicion of felony vandalism. Solano County Sheriff's Lt. Brad DeWall says workers spotted Cardenas committing the vandalism at a city intersection.

The intersection already has three crosswalks.

DeWall says Cardenas also painted lines through those.

State transportation workers painted over Cardenas' alleged crosswalk later in the day. A police cadet had been posted at the intersection until then to keep pedestrians from using it.

Cardenas remained behind bars Friday on $15,000 bail. Dewall says he did not have an attorney.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The world's richest series of card tournaments are beginning in Las Vegas amid the return of the websites that helped make them what they are today - a destination for everyone from the wealthiest gamblers to the everyday players who learned the game online.

The World Series of Poker - a seven-week extravaganza featuring trash talking, catch-up session and shifting stacks of chips- gets underway one month after the return to the U.S. of legal online poker.

Organizers hope the online rebirth will help restart the poker craze of the 2000s.

Tens of thousands of poker fans will flock to Sin City to compete for millions of dollars in prize money and 62 champion bracelets.

More than 3,000 players are expected to enter Saturday's opening weekend "millionaire maker" tournament.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire auction house is selling medical records and a handwritten letter from gangster Al Capone detailing the final years of his life and declining health due to syphilis.

Capone's letter to his doctor is postmarked Aug. 25, 1941 - two years after his prison sentence for tax evasion was up. He was suffering from dementia and his mental age was pegged by doctors as vacillating from 7 to 14.

In a lengthy letter updating his condition, Capone's Miami doctor told another physician of the plan to hire a male nurse posing as a chauffeur to protect the public from unprovoked attacks.

Bidding on the memorabilia offered by RR Auction in Amherst ends June 19.

Capone died in 1947 at age 48.