US Senator John McCain, a war hero and towering figure in US politics known for reaching across the aisle in an increasingly divided nation, died on Saturday following a battle with brain cancer. He was 81.
The senator’s passing marked the end of a 35-year political career that brought the independent-minded Republican within reach of the White House as his party’s presidential nominee.
“It’s been quite a ride,” McCain, who was tortured during five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, wrote in a memoir published in May, The Restless Wave.
Photo: Reuters
“I’ve known great passions, seen amazing wonders, fought in a war and helped make peace. I made a small place for myself in the story of America and the history of my times,” he wrote.
McCain, who was being treated at his ranch near Sedona, Arizona, was surrounded by his wife, Cindy, and his family during his final hours.
In Washington, flags on Capitol Hill and the White House were lowered to half-mast in his honor.
McCain’s body will lie in state in the Capitol rotunda ahead of a funeral ceremony at the National Cathedral, the New York Times reported.
He will then lie in state in the Arizona state capitol and be buried at Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Dates for the events have not yet been announced.
He made it known that he did not want US President Donald Trump to attend his funeral, US media reported.
Trump, who had mocked McCain’s war record, said he sent his “deepest sympathies and respect.”
A rare Republican critic of Trump, McCain accused the president of “naivete,” “egotism” and of sympathizing with autocrats.
He cast a decisive vote last year that killed Republican attempts to repeal former US president Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms, something Trump never forgave.
All living former US presidents lined up to praise McCain’s deep integrity.
“We are all in his debt,” Obama said. “We shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher — the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched and sacrificed.”
McCain “was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order,” George W. Bush said.
Bill Clinton praised McCain, saying he “frequently put partisanship aside,” while George H.W. Bush hailed him as “a public servant of the rarest courage.”
McCain “was a man of honor, a true patriot in the best sense of the word,” Jimmy Carter wrote. “Americans will be forever grateful for his heroic military service & his steadfast integrity.”
The senator had requested that both Obama and Geroge W. Bush deliver eulogies at his funeral, US media reported.
McCain spent more than three decades in the Senate, looming large in debates over war and peace and the moral direction of the nation.
He had served as a US representative from 1983 to 1987.
McCain had been away from the Senate floor since December last year, remaining at his ranch for treatment of glioblastoma.
“He was a great fire who burned bright, and we lived in his light and warmth,” said Meghan McCain, one his seven children.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city
RSS