Crichton Dead of Cancer at 66

Ex-Nixon speechwriter, Pulitzer winner was forceful voice on right

(NEWSER) - Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist William Safire died today outside Washington, the paper reports. He was 79 and suffered from cancer. A onetime speechwriter for Richard Nixon, Safire, a self-described "libertarian conservative," used his background as a reporter and love for English usage to punch up his op-ed column, which he wrote from 1973 to 2005, and books of history and fiction. More»

(NEWSER) - Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. His D&D collaborator, Gary Gygax, died in March 2008. Though the two engaged in much legal wrangling over their property, they resolved their dispute in the 1980s. Arneson, who enjoyed a second career as an educator, was 61, Matt Blum of Wired writes in an appreciation of the roleplaying-game pioneer. More»

It's also the No. 1 cause of death in China: Cancer Society

(NEWSER) - Tobacco killed 6 million people worldwide last year and now ranks as the No. 1 cause of death in China, according to a report from the American Cancer Society and World Lung Federation. What's more, the groups say tobacco use may be responsible for 1 billion deaths this century if trends persist, reports Bloomberg . More»

Cancer claims one-of-a-kind firebrand author

(NEWSER) - Author, intellectual, and firebrand atheist Christopher Hitchens has died at the age of 62 after a long fight with esophageal cancer. The British-born writer, who had lived in Washington DC since 1982, chronicled his illness with the same caustic insight he directed at targets including Bill Clinton, Mother Teresa, and Henry Kissinger, and scoffed at the idea that terminal cancer would change his mind about religion , NPR notes. More»

Cosmetics exec championed breast health before it was cool

(NEWSER) - Evelyn Lauder, the daughter-in-law of cosmetics tycoon Estée Lauder who made the pink ribbon ubiquitous with breast cancer awareness, died yesterday of complications of ovarian cancer, reports People . She was 75. Lauder was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989, and three years later joined with a friend to design the pink ribbons. She and husband Leonard Lauder paid for the first bows, and distributed them at department store cosmetics counters to remind women about breast exams. More»