Lloyd M. Bentsen Jr., a Texas patrician who made a sizable fortune in private business and an even bigger name in national government as a U.S. senator and Treasury secretary, has died, family members said today. He was 85. (chron.com)

May 04, 2006

According to national records, Cruz Hernandez was born on May 3, 1878, in one of the central provinces of El Salvador, where she gave birth to 13 children. She now has 60 grandchildren, 80 great-grandchildren and 25 great-great grandchildren. On Wednesday she celebrated her 128th birthday, a milestone that might make her the world's oldest person. (REUTERS)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Life Expectancy

May 02, 2006

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh report that for people in their 70s, the ability to walk a quarter-mile may predict their risk of developing heart disease, becoming disabled, and dying.

"The ability to complete this walk was a powerful indicator of health outcomes," Newman says in a University of Pittsburgh news release. "In fact, we found that the people who could not complete the walk were at an extremely high risk of later disability and death. (WebMD.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Senior Fitness

April 30, 2006

81 year-old Indonesian author Pramoedya Ananta Toer died at home on Sunday surrounded by his family.

"My father died peacefully at 8.55 a.m.. He had dedicated his whole life to this country through his work," his daughter Tatiana Ananta told The Associated Press. "We all have lost a great father, a great author. I am very proud of him." (Washington Post)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Celebrity Deaths

March 28, 2006

Caspar Weinberger, U.S defense secretary under President Ronald Reagan, died today at age 88, his family said.

Weinberger died about 5 a.m. in a hospital near his home in Mount Desert, Maine. He had recently been treated for pneumonia. (chron.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Pneumonia

March 18, 2006

Famed Italian designer Oleg Cassini has died in New York City at the age of 92. The cause of death is undisclosed. Cassini was famed for creating Jacqueline Kennedy's stylish dresses.

Mr. Cassini said that shortly after John F. Kennedy was elected, he persuaded Jacqueline Kennedy to use him for her total look, rather than as one of many designers. He had long been a family friend. (Washington Post)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Celebrity Deaths

March 13, 2006

Maureen Stapleton, the Oscar-winning character actress whose subtle vulnerability and down-to-earth toughness earned her dramatic and comedic roles on stage, screen, and television, died Monday. She was 80. (kansascity.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Celebrity Deaths

February 27, 2006

Darren McGavin, an Emmy-winning actor who worked almost constantly in television for almost 50 years and made an enduring mark on popular culture as the grizzled has-been crime reporter in the 1970s series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker," has died. He was 83. (latimes.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Celebrity Deaths

February 25, 2006

Don Knotts, the skinny, lovable nerd who kept generations of television audiences laughing as bumbling Deputy Barney Fife on "The Andy Griffith Show," has died. He was 81. (Forbes.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Celebrity Deaths

February 05, 2006

Actor-comedian Al Lewis, who played Grandpa on the famed 1960s sitcom "The Munsters," died Friday night, friends said yesterday.

Lewis was widely reported to have been born in 1910, but his son Ted said yesterday that his father was born in 1923 and was 82. With an unforgettable face and an ever-present cigar, in his later years "Grandpa Al" became a popular New York restaurant owner who was active in politics and even ran for governor.

Posted by news editor | Filed under:

January 16, 2006

Former President Ford was undergoing treatment for pneumonia Monday at the same facility where he was briefly hospitalized a month ago, his chief of staff said. He was said to be doing well. (excite.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Pneumonia

December 13, 2005

Former President Ford, suffering from “a horrible cold,” was in the hospital Tuesday for what his chief of staff called routine medical tests.

Ford, 92, was admitted to Eisenhower Medical Center late Monday and was expected to be released Wednesday, spokeswoman Penny Circle said. (MSNBC)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Infection