Obituaries

National

Robbi Mecus, a 'superhero' of outdoors and LGBTQ communities in the Adirondacks, dies

4:18pm May 03, 2024

by Emily Russell, NCPR

New York state forest ranger Robbi Mecus died climbing in Alaska. She's remembered by the many people she helped, through search and rescue missions and her leadership in the LGBTQ climbing community.

National

Whistleblower Joshua Dean, who raised concerns about Boeing jets, dies at 45

4:56pm May 02, 2024

Dean's family says he quickly fell into critical condition after being diagnosed with a MRSA bacterial infection. He is the second aviation whistleblower to die in the past three months.

Music & Culture

Duane Eddy, who put the twang in early rock guitar with 'Rebel Rouser', dies at age 86

5:25pm May 01, 2024

by The Associated Press

He was a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as "Rebel Rouser" and "Peter Gunn" influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians.

"You think it will never happen to you," Paul Auster wrote about aging and mortality in his 2012 book Winter Journal. He's pictured above in New York in April 2007.

Books
Arts

Bestselling novelist Paul Auster, author of 'The New York Trilogy,' dies at 77

9:12am May 01, 2024

by Tom Vitale

A leading figure in his generation of postmodern American writers, Auster wrote more than 20 novels, including City of Glass, Sunset Park, 4 3 2 1 and The Brooklyn Follies.

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World News

30 years of democracy in South Africa

5:26pm April 28, 2024

This weekend marks 30 years since Nelson Mandela was elected president of South Africa, officially ending the country's era of apartheid. NPR's Scott Detrow talks with journalist Redi Thlabi.

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Remembering Rev. Cecil Williams, champion of equality in San Francisco, dead at 94

6:24pm April 24, 2024

by Scott Shafer

The legendary pastor of Glide Church died this week at the age of 94. He was known as a champion of racial equality, LGBTQ rights and San Francisco's most impoverished residents.

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AP reporter held captive for years, Terry Anderson, dies at 76

5:13am April 23, 2024

Former AP correspondent Mort Rosenblum remembers his colleague Terry Anderson, who was held captive in Lebanon in the 1980s for nearly seven years. Anderson died on Sunday at age 76.

Terry Anderson, who was the longest held American hostage in Lebanon, grins with his 6-year-old daughter Sulome, Dec. 4, 1991, as they leave the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Damascus, Syria, following Anderson's release.

World News

Terry Anderson, AP reporter held captive for years, dies at 76

6:52pm April 21, 2024

by The Associated Press

Snatched from a street in war-torn Lebanon in 1985, reporter Terry Andersen chronicled his years of imprisonment in a 1993 best-selling book. He died at home in New York on Sunday.

Conductor Andrew Davis, right, raises his arms as he takes a bow, accompanied by Renee Fleming, and Peter Rose, center, during the final dress rehearsal of Richard Strauss's Capriccio in the Metropolitan Opera at New York's Lincoln Center, March 25, 2011.

Conductor Andrew Davis, who headed orchestras on 3 continents, dies at 80

6:12pm April 21, 2024

by The Associated Press

Davis led the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Britain's Glyndebourne Festival, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

Mandisa accepts the award for pop/contemporary album of the year at the Dove Awards in 2014 in Nashville, Tenn.

Music & Culture

Mandisa, Grammy-winning singer and 'American Idol' alum, has died at 47

8:45pm April 19, 2024

by The Associated Press

The singer gained stardom after finishing ninth on "American Idol" in 2006. In 2014, she won a Grammy for best contemporary Christian music album for "Overcomer," her fifth album.