Robert Novak Dead at 78

(NEWSER) - Most Americans will remember Robert Novak as the acerbic right-winger on CNN, but he saw himself first and foremost as "a shoe-leather reporter," writes Washington Post media critic Howard Kurtz. Novak prided himself on getting scoops and uncovering secrets via a wide network of Republican officials. But that insiderism proved his downfall when, in 2003, he relied on Karl Rove and revealed that Valerie Plame was a CIA operative. 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»

Biggest study of its kind can't find a link

(NEWSER) - If you've been living with the nagging fear that your beloved cellphone is probably giving you a brain tumor, you can relax now; a new Danish study published yesterday has concluded that there's no link between cellphones and cancer. The study is the largest ever conducted on the subject, with 358,403 participants, the AP reports. Researchers found that decade-long cellphone users weren't any more likely to get cancer, or to develop tumors near where they typically hold their phones. More»

'Wild child' was known on the party circuit in younger years

(AP) - Eleanor Mondale, the vivacious daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale who carved out her own reputation as an entertainment reporter, radio show host, and gossip magnet, died yesterday at her home in Minnesota. She was 51. Mondale had been diagnosed with brain cancer years earlier. In a statement emailed to friends, the former vice president said he and his wife "must report that our wonderful daughter, Eleanor Mondale Poling, after her long and gutsy battle against cancer, went up to heaven last night to be with her angel." More»