Molly Ivins, 62 The Austin-based reporter described her battle against breast cancer with her signature caustic wit: "First they mutilate you; then they poison you; then they burn you. I have been on blind dates better than that." Her column ran in more than 400 newspapers, and her specialty was skewering the powerful, especially politicians. She called the legislature "the finest free entertainment in Texas." Long a thorn in the side of the Bushes, she mocked George H.W. Bush for using "summer" as a verb and derided George W. Bush as "Shrub," the title of one of her two best-selling books about the president. She credited her father, a conservative Republican, with instilling in her the strength to stand up to people like himself. Her last column was a call to stop the war.
Barbaro Undefeated in six races--including the 2006 Kentucky Derby, by the greatest length in 40 years--Barbaro kindled hopes that he was a "superhorse," and a threat to win his sport's elusive Triple Crown. But the Thoroughbred came up lame at the Preakness Stakes in May, his leg snapped in three places; for eight months the nation watched him recover at a Pennsylvania animal hospital, but owners last week decided Barbaro would never have a pain-free life.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
