Michelle Duggar of '19 Kids and Counting' suffers miscarriage; Jay-Z concerts to aid education; and more

Beth Hall, APMichelle Duggar is surrounded by her children and husband Jim Bob, second from left, after the birth of her 17th child in Rogers, Ark., on Aug. 2, 2007.

Michelle Duggar, whose life with her husband and 19 children is chronicled in the TLC reality series "19 Kids and Counting," has suffered a miscarriage, according to reports.

Duggar, 45, and her husband, Jim Bob, learned the news during a routine physical to learn the baby's gender.

"Earlier today at a routine doctor's appointment, Michelle and I received the sad news that we lost the baby," Jim Bob Duggar said in a statement. "Michelle is resting comfortably at home with the support of the entire family. We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, but ask for privacy during this difficult time."

In an interview with People, Michelle said the family will select a name for the child when they learn the gender and will have a funeral service.

"I feel like my heart broke telling my children," she said. "They have all been so excited about this baby and looking forward to April coming around and having a new little one in our arms. That was the most difficult. The Lord is the giver of life and he can choose when that life is ready to go on and be with Him."

The Duggars caused a stir in early November, when they announced they were expecting their 20th baby next spring. Their 19th child, Josie, was born three months premature in December 2009 and spent four months in neonatal intensive care.

When she announced her latest pregnancy last month, Michelle Duggar told People that she was on a special diet and under the care of a high-risk pregnancy doctor.

"We are just going to do the best we can," she said then. "I am taking a nap every day, and we are just taking good care."

The couple's children range in age from 23-month-old Josie to Joshua, who is in his early 20s and is a married father of two.

Charles Sykes, APJay-Z attends a news event in New York on Thursday to announce his Carnegie Hall performances to benefit education.

Hip-hop star and mogul Jay-Z will headline two concerts at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall to benefit education in his hometown.

All proceeds from the Feb. 6 and 7 concerts will go to the United Way of New York City and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. (Shawn Carter is Jay-Z's birth name.)

Private ticket packages will range in price from $500 to $2,500, the Associated Press reported. A limited number of tickets will go on sale to the public in late January.

"It's every artist's dream to play a venue as legendary as Carnegie Hall," the Brooklyn-born rapper, who did not finish high school, said in a statement Thursday.

"The fact that I can use the arts and my talent to benefit the education of the next generation of artists, entrepreneurs, and great thinkers makes for a legendary night," he said.

Tags: 19 Kids and Counting, duggar miscarriage, Michelle Duggar

Via: Cleveland.com