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Osama Bin Laden Is Dead: The Latest News

Adrian Chen · 05/02/11 10:13AM

Osama Bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan on Sunday. Here's the latest news: DNA confirmation hasn't been completed; the U.S. has a photo; inside Osama's compound, and more.

The Internet Kills Beloved Cartoon Penguin

ian spiegelman · 10/18/08 04:54PM

Opus, Berkeley Breathed's troubled, herring-loving penguin, has managed to eek out an existence since he first hit the strip "Bloom County" in 1980. But now he's gonna die, because Breathed is gonna kill him, and it's all your fault, snarky snarking internet users! Asked why Breathed is ending Opus's self-named strip next week after a five year run, Breathed tells Salon, "We're not a movie. In most aspects, there's no arc to the human story. Only a line heading upward. For nearly everything. In this case, the coarsening of the National Discourse. We aren't returning someday to any sort of golden era of political civility. The line heads heavenward and has been since the Republic started. And with the intersection of two rather dramatic dynamics — the cable and Web technology allowing All Snark All the Time ... and the political realities of No More Free Lunch in America, it will spike in the coming years like Don Draper's sex life, and I hereby pledge that that's the last pop reference I use." But isn't it during dark times that we most need funny satire? Screw you, noob!

Isaac Hayes, Legend of Soul

ian spiegelman · 08/10/08 03:22PM

Some weekend. Isaak Hayes died today at his home in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 65. His wife found him unconscious next to his treadmill, which was still running. Paramedics could not revive him and he was pronounced dead shortly after 2:00 p.m., according to the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. Among the highlights of his career, Hayes won an Oscar for his extraordinary theme to 1971's Shaft. And won over a whole new generation of fans with his role as the beloved Chef on South Park. Cause of death has not been reported yet, but foul play is not suspected. I'll update as details come in. [CNN]

Friends Remember Bernie Mac

ian spiegelman · 08/09/08 05:18PM

An update on dearly departed comedian and actor Bernie Mac. His friends are expressing their love for the man and their grief at his passing today. ""Bernie Mac was one of the best and funniest comedians to ever live, but that was the second best thing he did," said fellow comic Chris Rock. "Bernie was one of the greatest friends a person could have. Losing him is like losing 12 people because he absolutely filled up any room he was in. I'm gonna miss the Mac Man."

Bernie Mac, Comedian

ian spiegelman · 08/09/08 08:33AM

Actor/comedian Bernie Mac passed away in a Chicago hospital this morning a week after being hospitalized with pneumonia, his publicist Danica Smith confirmed. He was 50. The sad news comes as a shock since newspaper reports just yesterday stated that he was responding well to treatment and would be released soon.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn: Writer, Dissident

ian spiegelman · 08/03/08 05:26PM

The Gulag Archipelago author Alexander Solzhenitsyn died today at the age of 89. "The Nobel laureate and former dissident died of heart failure at 11:45 pm (1945 GMT), the writer's son said, according to the [Itar-Tass news] agency. Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970 after writing harrowing works about the Soviet Union's system of labour camps. He was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974, thereby becoming Cold War icon. He wrote about life in the Gulag with harrowing detail in his most celebrated works: 'One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich', 'The First Circle' and 'The Gulag Archipelago'."

Bernie Mac in 'Very, Very Critical' Condition

ian spiegelman · 08/03/08 05:54AM

Bernie Mac's publicist spent much of last night dispelling rumors that the 50-year-old comedian has died. He was checked into a Chicago hospital with pneumonia Friday night, but she says he's still alive and responding well to treatment. A source close to Mac's family, however, describes his condition as "very, very critical."

Tony Snow, Former Bush Press Secretary

ian spiegelman · 07/12/08 08:28AM

Conservative talking head and former George W. Bush press secretary Tony Snow died of colon cancer today. He was 53. After a decade at Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, Snow served 17 months in the Bush administration, from May 2006 through September 2007. "Although a star in conservative politics, as a commentator he had not always been on the president's side. He once called Bush 'something of an embarrassment' in conservative circles and criticized what he called Bush's 'lackluster' domestic policy."

Words Of Wisdom

Hamilton Nolan · 02/22/08 01:06PM

"We have a society columnist who looks at the computer and says, 'Over my dead body.' And that may indeed be the situation." —A city and regional publisher on the struggle to change the editorial culture at his magazine. [FOLIO]