National Obituaries

TORONTO — Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.

TORONTO — Jim Peterson, a long-time member of Parliament from Toronto and former Liberal cabinet minister, has died at the age of 82.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sam Rubin, a beloved entertainment anchor and reporter for KTLA in Los Angeles who was on a first-name basis with Hollywood's top stars, has died. He was 64. The station announced that he died unexpectedly on Friday.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Sean Burroughs, a two-time Little League World Series champion who won an Olympic gold medal and went on to a major league career that was interrupted by substance abuse, has died. He was 43.

James “Jim” Simons, a renowned mathematician and pioneering investor who built a fortune on Wall Street and then became one of the nation's biggest philanthropists, has died at age 86.

Ken Kusmer, whose long award-winning career with The Associated Press included exposing flaws in efforts to privatize Indiana's welfare system, died Thursday at his Indianapolis home after a short illness. He was 65.

FULLERTON, Calif. (AP) — Jon Urbanchek, an International Swimming Hall of Famer who was an assistant for several United States Olympic teams and led Michigan to a national championship, has died. He was 87.

The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy has died. Murphy worked as a columnist for the newspaper, which said in an obituary on its website that he died at 77 after a battle with cancer. Here's what Canadians are saying about the news.

The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pro-oil pundit who was at once the steady stickhandler of a national call-in radio show and a driver of divisive online discourse, has died.

Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back Jimmy Johnson, a three-time All-Pro and member of the All-Decade Team of the 1970s, has died. He was 86.