Journalist Tom Wicker Dies at 85

New York Times journalist Tom Wicker died Friday from an apparent heart attack. Wicker, who is known for his extensive coverage of John F. Kennedy's assassination, was a political columnist for 25 years as well as the Times's Washington bureau chief. Wicker was the only Times reporter on the president's trip to Texas in 1963 and was riding in the motorcade when Kennedy was shot. His columns, with his Southern liberal point of view, changed the tone of the Times's punditry out of Washington, and he was recognized for harsh criticisms of the presidents.