Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist Dies
September 3, 2005 
Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist has died from thyroid cancer at the age of 80.
Chief Justice Rehnquist has died:
Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who helped shift the U.S. Supreme Court toward a more conservative ideology and strongly supported states’ rights during his three decades on the bench, has died.
Rehnquist, who presided over the court for nearly 19 years, was 80.
Rehnquist, who had been receiving chemotherapy and radiation for thyroid cancer, died at an Arlington, Virginia, hospital surrounded by his three children, a court spokeswoman said.
All the cable news networks have stopped their coverage of the hurricane aftermath to cover Rehnquist’s death. Even Dr. Sanjay Gupta from CNN is explaining the medical side of thyroid cancer amidst the destruction in New Orleans. Amazing. I never thought the hurricane story would be pushed off the air like this, although this is a major story.
Of course there will be many debates over how to fill his seat on the Supreme Court in the next weeks and months, but let’s not forget about the thousands of people suffering in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
