Singer Simone Battle found dead in California home

Girl group singer Simone Battle was found dead in her West Hollywood home, authorities said Saturday.

Battle, 25, gained notoriety through performances on the television show "X Factor." Her five-member band — G.R.L., originally a reboot of the Pussycat Dolls — had been signed by mega-hit maker Dr. Luke.

Battle was found at home Friday, according to Los Angeles County Coroner's Department Lt. David Smith. No further details were released. An autopsy was expected Sunday.

In a written statement, G.R.L.'s record companies RCA and Kemosabe called Battle an exceptional young talent and human being.

The group was featured on rapper Pitbull's hit song "Wild Wild Love" earlier this year. Battle told The Associated Press in July that the collaboration gave the group a platform to launch its debut single, "Ugly Heart."

Pitbull "has so many hits and he's really done a great job ... showing us the ropes," Battle said. "This was the first time that we heard ourselves on the radio together."

Indiana woman missing for two months found alive, arrests made

An Indiana woman missing for two months and apparently held captive has been found alive, and authorities have arrested two people in connection with her July disappearance, police said on Sunday.

Joelle Lockwood, 30, went missing on July 9 and was apparently held in a residence in Indiana's Posey County, the Evansville Police Department said in a statement. Lockwood had last been seen in Evansville before disappearing.

She was freed after a man visiting the suspects got her out of the residence and brought her to Evansville, where detectives interviewed her then went to the residence and arrested the suspects, police said.

"Lockwood was reunited with her loved ones on Saturday evening," police said.

The identities of those arrested, along with details on Lockwood's confinement and rescue will be released by the Posey County prosecutor's office, police said. A call to the prosecutor's office on Sunday was not immediately returned.

"Thank you everyone for all their efforts with helping find Joelle!!!," a Facebook post on a support page that offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to her recovery read on Saturday. "JOELLE IS FOUND!!! SHE IS ALIVE AND WELL."

Authorities have also been exploring any possible connection between the Lockwood case and the Aug. 15 disappearance of Kristy Kelley, 27, in Boonville, about 20 miles from Evansville, the Evansville Courier & Press reported last month.

Evansville police did not mention the Kelley case in their statement and a spokesperson could not be reached for comment on Sunday. A dispatcher for the Warrick County Sheriff's Office said on Sunday that Kelley was still missing.

(Reporting by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

4 Palestinians killed after Gaza truce begins

A three-day Gaza cease-fire went into force on Friday as diplomats worked to broker a lasting truce in the 25-day-old Israel-Hamas war, but Gaza officials said the lull was broken after nearly two hours when Israeli tank fire killed at least four Palestinians.

The cease-fire, announced by the U.S. and the U.N. hours earlier, took effect at 8:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) Friday after heavy fighting that killed 17 Palestinians and five Israeli soldiers. Israel and Hamas agreed to halt all aggressive operations and conduct only defensive missions. But U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned there were "no guarantees" that the lull would bring an end to the war, now in its fourth week.