Milestones

DISCOVERED. A previously unknown MAMMAL; after being photographed by remote cameras installed by the World Wildlife Fund; in a rain forest in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. If confirmed as a new species, the bushy-tailed, civet-like creature would be the first new carnivorous mammal discovered in Southeast Asia since 1930. DIED. RICHARD PRYOR, 65, celebrated American comic revolutionary; of a heart attack, in Encino, California. Pryor's comedy re-created the street characters—winos, pimps, junkies—he had grown up with. His no-holds-barred acts were matched by a private life that seemed an unending soap opera—outbursts of violence, run-ins with the law, and drug abuse that culminated in 1980 when he set himself on fire and nearly died. All of which became fodder for his stand-up. "You know something I found out?" he said of his self-immolation. "When you're on fire and running down the street, people get out of your way." CHARGED. JACOB ZUMA, 63, former Deputy President of South Africa; with rape; in Johannesburg. A one-time heir apparent to President Thabo Mbeki, Zuma was dismissed earlier this year after his financial adviser was found guilty of fraud and corruption; Zuma himself was charged with corruption soon after. The charismatic politician denies any wrongdoing and says he will fight the rape charges, brought by a 31-year-old aids activist. DIED. EDWARD MASRY, 73, cranky lawyer whose most famous case—a class-action suit against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for ground contamination fought with self-trained legal assistant Erin Brockovich—was made into a 2000 film starring Julia Roberts; of complications from diabetes; in Los Angeles. Nearly bankrupted by his defense of 648 residents of Hinkley, California, who said PG&E tanks caused high incidences of cancer and other illnesses, Masry's work led to a landmark $333 million settlement and a lasting friendship with his similarly brassy aide. "No one has called me more names than Erin Brockovich and I've called her everything in the book," he said. "But we love each other." DIED. DEVAN NAIR, 82, former President of Singapore who later became a critic of the city-state's government; in Hamilton, Canada. Nair, the son of a rubber-plantation clerk, rose to prominence as a union leader before reluctantly accepting the largely ceremonial position of President in 1981. He resigned in 1985 after a falling-out with then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who publicly accused him of being an alcoholic—an accusation that resulted in several lawsuits and countersuits between the two men. Nair and his wife moved to Canada in 1995.

1. McCain's Prickly TIME Interview
2. Why McCain Picked Palin
3. McCain's Surprise Pick: Sarah Palin
4. The Palin Pick: Bold or Disastrous?
5. Klein: Obama's Speech 'Very Tough'
6. Obama's Risky Stadium Gig
7. Exclusive Poll: Obama's Swing Leads
8. Is McCain Overplaying the POW Card?
9. What Bush Taught McCain
10. Clinton Builds a Bridge to Obama