National Obituaries

CHICAGO (AP) — Bill Tobin, a longtime NFL executive who helped construct the Chicago Bears' famed 1985 championship team and later built a playoff team as the Indianapolis Colts' general manager, has died. He was 83.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Mandisa, a contemporary Christian singer who appeared on “American Idol” and won a Grammy for her 2013 album ‘Overcomer’, has died. She was 47.

Archie Cooley, the innovative Black college football coach whose offense helped Jerry Rice become a star at Mississippi Valley State, has died, his family announced through the school Thursday. He was 84.

Dickey Betts, who died Thursday at age 80, really was born a ramblin’ man. He left home at 16 to join the circus and became a renowned guitarist touring the world with the Allman Brothers Band.

Famous fans react to the death of Allman Brothers singer, songwriter and guitarist Dickey Betts, who died at 80 .

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Ellen Ash Peters, who was the first woman to serve as Connecticut's chief justice and wrote the majority opinion in the state Supreme Court's landmark school desegregation ruling in 1996, has died. She was 94.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A leader like Bob Graham would be a unicorn in the hyper-partisan politics of today. The former Florida governor and U.S. senator wasn't a slick, slogan-spouting politician. He didn't have an us-against-them mentality.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. and two-term Florida Gov.

NEW YORK (AP) — Whitey Herzog, the gruff and ingenious Hall of Fame manager who guided the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series title in the 1980s and perfected an intricate, nail-biting strategy known as "Whiteyball," has died.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carl Erskine, who pitched two no-hitters as a mainstay on the Brooklyn Dodgers and was a 20-game winner in 1953 when he struck out a then-record 14 in the World Series, died Tuesday. He was 97.