AP - John R. Branca, brother of famed Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca and father of prominent entertainment lawyer John Branca, who is co-executor of Michael Jackson's estate, has died, his family said Thursday.
AP - A German newspaper says that former Nazi SS officer Erich Steidtmann, suspected but never convicted of involvement in World War II massacres, has died at age 95.
AP - Les Pockell, a publishing executive and literary anthologist known for his deep and unpredictable intellect and an equally eclectic range of book projects, has died. He was 68.
AP - Daniel Schorr, whose journalism career over more than six decades landed him in the dark corners of Europe during the Cold War and the shadows of President Richard Nixon's notorious "enemies list" in the 1970s, has died. He was 93.
AP - Former Nevada Gov. Kenny Guinn, a two-term moderate Republican whose tenure marked a prosperous era in a state now facing severe budget problems, died Thursday after falling from the roof of his Las Vegas home while making repairs. He was 73.
AP - A veterans' group says the last white commander of forces that opposed the guerrilla armies that swept Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to power has died.
AP - Stephen Schneider, a Stanford University scientist who served on the international research panel on global warming that shared the 2007 Nobel Prize with former Vice President Al Gore, has died. He was 65.
AP - James Gammon, the gravel-voiced actor who played the manager of the Cleveland Indians in the 1980s comedy "Major League" and had a host of other movie and TV roles, has died. He was 70.
AP - Hank Cochran, a consummate songwriter who composed a string of country hits including "Make the World Go Away" for Eddy Arnold, died Thursday. He was 74.
AP - Vernon Baker, a black U.S. soldier who belatedly received the Medal of Honor for his World War II battlefield valor after historians concluded he'd been wrongly denied the military's top award because of his race, died at his home near St. Maries, Idaho. He was 90.
