RIP

Soundgarden won't take the stage without Chris Cornell at the music festival they were supposed to play ... but the show will go on with a tribute to their frontman.

Sources with the Rock on the Range fest tell TMZ ... all other bands scheduled to play Friday night in Columbus, OH will still take the stage. The lineup includes Bush, Chevelle and Live -- but we're told in place of Soundgarden, there will be a special performance in honor of Cornell.

Mum's the word on what the tribute will include, but we know it will be right after Live's set.

Live's camp says they plan to celebrate Chris' music during their set too, telling us ... "His voice and lyrics came from a deep and spiritual place and their power will be felt forever."

Chris Cornell used a common piece of exercise equipment to take his own life.

We've learned the Soundgarden frontman secured a red elastic exercise band attached to a carabiner to the top of his hotel bathroom door. A carabiner is a device commonly used by mountain climbers which they attach to a belt to keep them from falling. The device can withstand enormous weight.

Cornell jammed the door shut with the carabiner at the top of the frame. The carabiner was jammed so tight it left an indentation in the door frame.

As we reported, Chris' family believes he may have taken his life while under the influence of Ativan, and that he had no plan or desire to commit suicide just hours earlier.

According to the police report, obtained by The Detroit News, Chris was on the phone with his wife, Vicky, shortly before committing suicide, who said he sounded "groggy" and repeatedly told her, "I am just tired," before hanging up.

Vicky became alarmed, called the hotel and Chris' security guard kicked down 2 doors and found him in the bathroom with blood running from his mouth.

Chris Cornell's wife believes her husband's death was actually caused by an overdose of Ativan and that if he took his life he was not in his right mind.

Vicky Cornell confirms the story we broke Thursday ... that she spoke with Chris twice hours before his death and he was not suicidal ... not even depressed. Vicky says when she spoke with Chris before his Detroit concert they discussed vacation plans over Memorial Day.

She says after the show when they spoke, she noticed he was slurring his words, and that's when Chris told her he "may have taken an extra Ativan or two."

The family lawyer is not ready to concede Chris' death was suicide, and says the toxicology tests may provide the key. The lawyer notes Chris was a recovering addict and, "The family believes if Chris took his life, he did not know what he was doing, and that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions." He adds Ativan can cause paranoid or suicidal thoughts.

Nick Carter and his family will honor their father's dying wishes -- cremate him and spread his ashes, but the family's also decided to involve their late sister.

We're told Bob -- whom the families believe died from a heart attack -- requested cremation. He wanted his ashes spread in the Gulf of Mexico by the Florida Keys.

The family would like a ceremony which reunites Bob with his late daughter postmortem. Nick's sister Leslie died suddenly at 25 back in 2012 of an overdose. Sources say she was cremated and her husband has retained her ashes ever since.

Now that Bob died, the family would like to spread both his and Leslie's ashes at the same time. We're told Leslie's husband is on board so it's all systems go.

The private ceremony will go down later this year.

Surveillance cameras caught the moment Richard Rojas plowed down more than 20 people in Times Square Thursday ... and the scene is gruesome.

You can see Rojas coming at full speed in the wrong direction before he literally mows down a huge crowd of civilians. As we reported, Rojas was taken into custody by police after he jumped out of the vehicle and tried fleeing the scene.

22 people were injured and an 18-year-old woman was killed.

Chris Cornell's music is spiking in sales on iTunes and Amazon.

The leap was, of course, expected after his death -- but it's interesting to see what fans are connecting with most. The 20th anniversary reissue of Soundgarden's "Superunknown" is the #1 album on iTunes -- and his other band, Audioslave, has the #2 spot.

His recordings are scattered all over Amazon's "Movers & Shakers" chart as well.

In an odd coincidence ... some rare Cornell recordings will be out Friday when a deluxe reissue of the "Singles" soundtrack is released. It will include previously unreleased songs Chris wrote for the film's score.

Chris Cornell hanged himself ... this according to the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office.

The office released the cause of death Thursday as a "suicide by hanging" ... hours after Cornell's body was discovered in a Detroit hotel room following a concert. A full autopsy report, including toxicology results has not yet been completed.

We're told Chris' wife, Vicky, became concerned when she couldn't reach the Soundgarden frontman after his show, and police discovered his body on the bathroom floor.

Cornell was 52 years old.

Chris Cornell was fully anticipating Soundgarden's next concert stop after Detroit ... and shared his feelings with the crowd Wednesday night.

In the footage ... Chris and the band were about to start an encore, and he gushed about how awesome Detroit fans had been, saying, "I feel a little bit sorry for the next f***ing place we play."

They were set to play Friday in Columbus, Ohio and Chris joked he'll have to tell fans there, "You should have been at that Detroit show. That crowd was something."

Chris Cornell was not depressed or in a suicidal state the evening he died ... this according to his wife.

Sources who spoke with Chris' wife Thursday morning tell TMZ, Vicky Cornell spoke with her husband during soundcheck before he took the stage in Detroit and after Wednesday night's show. According to our sources, Vicky says Chris was NOT in any way, shape or form in a suicidal state. She doubled down and said there were no signs he was at all depressed.

We're told Vicky tried reaching Chris in his hotel room early Thursday morning but he was not answering. She became concerned and asked someone to call hotel security. That's when Chris' body was discovered.

Vicky told people Thursday morning he was devoted to his kids -- ages 16, 12 and 11 -- and she didn't believe he would take his life.

That said, law enforcement says Chris' death is an apparent suicide, which raises the question about whether he'd fallen off the wagon.

2:20 PM PT -- The coroner just release Ailes' cause of death, saying he died of complications from bleeding on the brain.

Roger Ailes -- architect of FOX News -- has died, and TMZ learned his passing came days after a serious fall.

Sources tell TMZ Ailes fell at his Florida home 8 days ago and hit his head. We're told Ailes fell unconscious and his condition went downhill. Our sources say he was put into an induced coma and died Thursday morning.

Ailes was suffering from numerous and serious health problems, which we're told contributed to his death.

Elizabeth Ailes says, "I am profoundly sad and heartbroken to report that my husband, Roger Ailes, passed away this morning."

"Roger was a loving husband to me, to his son Zachary, and a loyal friend to many. He was also a patriot, profoundly grateful to live in a country that gave him so much opportunity to work hard, to rise -- and to give back."

"During a career that stretched over more than five decades, his work in entertainment, in politics, and in news affected the lives of many millions. And so even as we mourn his death, we celebrate his life."

Ailes launched the careers of some of the biggest names in news including Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Susteren.

Ailes was forced out of FOX News after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced. He resigned in July.

5:34 AM PT -- TMZ has confirmed with police the family friend had to force his way into Cornell's room and found him with a band around his neck. We're told there was no blood, and police suspect suicide based on the scene.

5:05 AM PT -- A report from Detroit's WXYZ says Cornell's body was discovered on the bathroom floor of his hotel room at MGM Grand Detroit after Soundgarden's show Wednesday night. Cornell's wife allegedly called a family friend to check on the singer ... and police are saying it appears Cornell died from an apparent suicide.

Chris Cornell, the famed frontman of several groups including Soundgarden and Audioslave, was found dead Wednesday night in Detroit.

Cornell's rep called the death "sudden and unexpected" but gave no further details. The medical examiner is in the process of determining cause of death.

Just hours before his death Cornell posted a clip from "By Crooked Steps" on his Facebook account, a song Soundgarden released in 2012. And he posted these lyrics from the song, "I'm the shape of the hole inside your heart." One of the lyrics from the song goes like this ... "Blood raining down cuts a deep, deep river and we're diving, and we're diving."

He also tweeted before their concert Wednesday night in Detroit.

Cornell struggled with drug use for much of his life, beginning at 13. In fact, he once said he was a "daily drug user at 13." He once called himself a "pioneer" OxyContin abuser. He's gone to rehab but relapsed over the years.

Cornell was a cornerstone of the grunge rock Seattle movement along with Nirvana. Soundgarden recorded a number of big hits, including "Hunted Down" in 1987, and "Badmotorfinger" in 1991. The groups first album, "Ultramega Ok" was huge. Three albums went platinum, including "Superunknown," which features songs like Black Hole Sun," "Fell on Black Days" and "Spoonman."

Cornell was 52.

The very last song he performed last night in Detroit "Slaves & Bulldozers," but also included parts of Led Zeppelin's "In My Time of Dying" ... a song Soundgarden's frequently covers.

#RIP

Alan Thicke's widow says she was far from an opportunist out for Alan's riches, and says she loved him so deeply ... they were about to expand their family when he died.

Tanya Callau tells TMZ she and Alan were finally ready to take the next step in their 11-year marriage ... by getting pregnant in 2017. She says they'd frozen her eggs 3 years ago, and planned to put them to use once Alan's youngest, 19-year-old Carter, moved out.

She says they already had an architect visit their Santa Barbara ranch in early December to draw up plans for a nursery. Alan died suddenly of a massive heart attack on December 13.

Tanya's now facing a possible lawsuit from Brennan and Robin Thicke -- who claim their stepmother is greedy and overreaching for more of their dad's estate than what's laid out in his will. She's calling BS on that, and adds ... she never threatened to go to tabloids as the boys allege.

Chris Cornell was so respected and loved by other musicians, his friends, and millions of fans. They're all honoring the iconic singer as they get the sad news of his death.

Nick and Aaron Carter's father complained of chest pains and had twitching in his arm before he went to bed and never woke up ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to the family tell us ... all signs point to Bob Carter suffering a heart attack when he died Tuesday night. We're told he was working a lot around the house and was out in the hot Florida sun when the chest pains started.

Our sources say the family's grateful everyone was on good terms with Bob.

As we reported ... Nick and Aaron both shared messages about their father's death on Wednesday.

11:52 AM PT -- Aaron just shared a message as well, saying, "My heart is broken, we are so hurt we lost you poppa way too soon. You were never human to me, you were always my real life super hero."

11:20 AM PT -- Nick just tweeted about his dad's death, saying, "I am heartbroken to share the news that our father, Robert, passed away last night."

Nick and Aaron Carter's father has died ... TMZ has learned.

Sources connected to the family tell us Bob Carter died Tuesday night in Florida. He was 65, and right now there are very few details about the cause of death. In a tweet he later deleted, Aaron said something about his father being found unconscious.

Bob was on the family's reality show, "House of Carters" ... featuring the Backstreet Boys singer, Aaron and their 3 other siblings -- Leslie, Angel and Bobbie.

This is yet another tragedy for the Carters. You'll recall Leslie died at the age of 25 back in 2012.

#RIP

Alan Thicke's sons -- Robin and Brennan -- believe their dad's third wife is making moves to get more of his estate than she deserves, and they're taking action to nip it in the bud.

The sons, with attorney Alex Weingarten, have filed legal docs in Alan's probate case, claiming his widow, Tanya Callau, is greedy and overreaching to get a bigger piece of the pie than their dad intended in his will. In the docs they say she threatened to go to tabloids if her demands are not met.

They don't mention a specific dollar amount she's allegedly trying to get.

According to the docs ... Alan got rich and famous long before meeting Callau, and they signed a prenup when they wed in 2005. The sons say she's threatening to challenge the prenup.

The sons say Tanya also wants more because she claims to have given up her own career to support Alan and help raise his youngest son, Carter.

According to docs ... the boys say their dad left Tanya 25 percent of his personal effects, 40 percent of his remaining estate, a $500k life insurance policy and said she could live at the ranch.

Robin and Brennan want a judge to enforce the will and the prenup.