Morning Buzz: Oct. 15, 2007

A 32-year-old Iraqi journalist who worked for the Washington Post was killed in Baghdad's Sadiyah neighborhood yesterday. Salih Saif Aldin was shot in the head while taking photographs. His death joins those of at least 118 other journalists, mostly Iraqi, who have been killed while covering the war. The Washington Post is unsure of who is responsible. U.S. News's Anna Mulrine reported recently from Sadiyah, the mixed neighborhood of Shiites and Sunnis, which has become a bellwether for observing whether reconciliation and mixed neighborhoods are possible in war-torn Baghdad. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would still travel to Iran this evening despite revelations that suicide terrorists might attempt to assassinate him. Putin is to visit with Iranian leaders to discuss their controversial nuclear program.

Cancer death rates are decreasing faster than ever, according to a new report. Deaths from cancer, says the report,  dropped by an average of 2.1 percent per year between 2002 and 2004. While that doesn't sound like much, in comparison, cancer deaths were down by 1.1 percent between 1993 and 2001. The biggest change has been that fewer people have been diagnosed with colorectal cancer. New screening procedures have been developed to catch this cancer, which remains the No. 2 cancer killer in the United States.