Milestones Apr. 28, 2003

DIED. ROBERT ATKINS, 72, influential, hackle-raising weight-loss guru; of severe head injuries from a fall on an icy sidewalk on April 8; in New York City. He bucked convention in his 1972 best seller Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution, which advised dieters to trash the fruit salad in favor of high-protein, high-fat goodies like bacon cheeseburgers and butter, arguing that without carbohydrates to burn, the body would burn its own fat. Many of the 30 million who have tried the diet swear by it. But his regimen rankled mainstream medical groups, which called it extreme and said it could have dangerous health consequences. The combative cardiologist breezily dismissed critics ("My English sheep dog will figure out nutrition before the dietitians do") and got a recent validation when short-term studies showed a lack of negative effects from the diet. (A long-term study is in the works.) Atkins never wavered from his insistence that his low-carb approach was the dieter's "magic breakthrough." --By Harriet Barovick

CAPTURED. ABU ABBAS, 54, leader of a Palestinian terrorist group that hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985, shooting American Leon Klinghoffer to death and pushing him, in his wheelchair, into the Mediterranean Sea; in a raid by U.S. Special Forces; in Baghdad, where he had been living freely. Abbas is in the custody of the U.S. If extradited to Italy, where he was convicted, he would face a life sentence; if tried in the U.S., he could face death.

EVACUATED. ALI ISMAIL ABBAS, 12, Iraqi burn victim who suffered the loss of both arms after a U.S. bomb hit his home near Baghdad; to a burn-treatment center in Kuwait City, where he underwent surgery to place skin grafts over his burns. The boy, who gained worldwide attention after a photo of him was published in TIME, is expected to remain at the center, where doctors hope to fit him with prosthetic arms.

DIED. ROBERT HELMICK, 66, energetic ex-president of the U.S. Olympic Committee; of cardiac failure; in Des Moines, Iowa. Before resigning in 1991 over conflict-of-interest allegations concerning his business ties with groups interested in contracting with the U.S.O.C. (he denied the charges, and a judge ultimately agreed with him), he revitalized the committee, notably pushing for a change in rules so cash-poor athletes could receive greater compensation while training.

DIED. J. PAUL GETTY JR., 70, reclusive philanthropist and one of five sons of oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, in his day considered the richest man in the world; after being treated for a chest infection; in London. Though American-born, Getty loved and primarily patronized Britain, officially changing his citizenship in 1997. Known in his youth as a man fond of drugs and parties, Getty withdrew, focusing on art and philanthropy, after two personal tragedies: the loss of his second wife to a drug overdose and the kidnapping for five months of his then 17-year-old son J. Paul III.