Harper's Mary Tyler Moore Show character was the perfect foil for the sitcom's buttoned-up protagonist. "Rhoda had this wonderful quality of saying the unsayable," Harper told NPR in 2010.

The Black contralto put European art music and African-American spirituals in parity — and in her art, paved the way for generations of singers after her, both inside and outside classical music.

A patient who contracted EEE died at Tufts Medical Center, the hospital confirmed Monday.

Koch was the Libertarian Party's vice presidential candidate in 1980. He was a generous donor to conservative political causes as well as educational, medical and cultural groups.

Former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco, who became the state's first female elected governor only to see her political career derailed by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, has died.

"Never had so much love in my life," Antonio Basco said Friday as countless people, whom he had never met, showered him with hugs, blessings and support.

Fonda was born into Hollywood royalty as the son of Henry Fonda and brother of Jane Fonda. His 1969 classic, Easy Rider, earned him an Oscar nomination.

He was found in his cell at the Manhattan Correctional Center Saturday morning.

Morrison was the author of Beloved, Song of Solomon and The Bluest Eye. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Funeral arrangements have been announced for Saoirse Kennedy Hill, the 22-year-old granddaughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy.