New York Times Journalist Anthony Shadid Dies in Syria

For almost 20 years, Anthony Shadid reported on Middle East conflict for the Washington Post, Boston Globe, Associated Press and, most recently, the New York Times. Just two weeks ago, he appeared on this program, reporting from Beirut on the latest shelling by government forces in Homs, Syria. Yesterday, Shadid was in Syria itself, where he'd been for a week. He died, apparently of an asthma attack. His body was carried into Turkey by his New York Times photographer, Tyler Hicks. Now managing editor Susan Chira, worked closely with Shadid in her previous post as Times' foreign editor.

(Shadid's House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East is due out March 27.)