Former Senator Jesse Helms Dies at 86

As reported by CBS and the Associated Press moments ago:

Jesse Helms, the five-term Republican Senator from North Carolina, has died, CBS News has confirmed. He was 86.

Helms died at 1:15 this morning, according to the Jesse Helms Center in Wingate, North Carolina.

Our prayers and thoughts go out to his family and loved-ones.

Update 11:46 | Matthew Sheffield. Jesse Helms was a tireless advocate against liberal media bias. It's worth remembering today that in the mid-80s Jesse Helms started a group called Fairness in Media designed to raise enough money to purchase CBS and overhaul its even-more-left-leaning news division. "Become Dan Rather's boss," was the tagline with the idea, of course, that they would fire him.

Though ultimately unsuccessful at its final objective, it was a fascinating effort and one that actually caused some suits at CBS to get scared as, among other things, Helms and his partners in fairness sought to obtain the names of every CBS stockholder, filed SEC briefs, and even partnered up with the then-conservative Ted Turner.

See also the Heritage Foundation remembrance of Helms.