NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

‘Housewives’ actress Joosten dies at 72

LOS ANGELES

Kathryn Joosten, a character actress best known as the crotchety, nosey Karen McCluskey on “Desperate Housewives” and the president’s secretary on “The West Wing,” has died. She was 72.

Joosten, who battled lung cancer for years, died Saturday in LA, her publicist Nadine Jolson said.

Joosten won two Emmy awards for her portrayal of Mrs. McCluskey, the cranky but lovable senior who kept a close eye on her Wisteria Lane neighbors on “Desperate Housewives.” The hit show ended its run on ABC last month with a series finale in which Joosten’s character passed away. Her character’s battle with cancer was a story line in the show.

She also appeared on NBC’s “The West Wing” as Mrs. Landingham, the president’s trusted secretary.

Active in animal-rights causes, she appeared with other celebrities at a 2008 news conference in Los Angeles to ask the city to abandon a project for a $40 million elephant enclosure at the Los Angeles Zoo.

Queen spends day at races at jubilee event

LONDON

It was a royal day at the races, as Queen Elizabeth II watched a horse with the courtly name of Camelot win the Epsom Derby on Saturday — the kickoff to a four-day celebration of the British monarch’s 60 years on the throne.

Later in the weekend, the queen will make a trip down the River Thames, and then take in a concert — all accompanied by tens of thousands of her subjects, coming out to fete a monarch whose longevity has given her the status of the nation’s favorite grandmother.

Diamond Jubilee festivities officially began Saturday with a 41-gun salute fired by the King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery at Horse Guards Parade in central London.

The 86-year-old monarch and her husband, Prince Philip, visited Epsom racecourse south of the capital for the Derby, one of the year’s biggest horse-racing meetings.

Dressed in a royal blue coat and matching hat over a blue-and-white floral dress, the queen was accompanied by members of the royal family including her sons Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

The queen took the throne in 1952 on the death of her father, King George VI, and most Britons have known no other monarch.

Edwards’ mistress is publishing memoir

RALEIGH, N.C.

John Edwards’ mistress Rielle Hunter is publishing a memoir about her relationship with the ex-presidential candidate and their daughter.

Jennifer Canzoneri, marketing manager at BenBella Books, says “What Really Happened” is to be released June 26.

Edwards and Hunter had an affair while the Democrat was running for the White House in 2008 and have a daughter together, Frances Quinn Hunter.

On Thursday, a jury acquitted Edwards on one count of illegally accepting campaign contributions and deadlocked on five other charges. He had been accused of orchestrating a plan to use money from campaign donors to hide Hunter while he ran for the White House.

His relationship with Hunter is unclear.

Associated Press