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Ethiopia's longtime ruler, prime minister Meles Zenawi has died of an undisclosed illness. He was 57. Meles, as he is known, was a long-time ally of the U.S. and seen as a strong bulwark against terrorism.

It's tempting to make a "fight club" reference (and some news outlets have), but the outrageous nature of the allegations seems to call for a more straight-forward approach:

Rosie O'Donnell has chosen an unusual way to tell her fans that she suffered a heart attack last week:

In verse.

On her blog.

And she's using the experience to urge other women to "listen to the voice inside" and call 911 if they suffer the symptoms she did — which she tried to ignore for a day.

Good Tuesday morning - we're following these stories today:

In Afghanistan: General's Plane Damaged; Afghans Start Spying On Own Troops.

As Deadline To Drop Out Nears, Rep. Akin's Best Defender Is His Opponent.

An aircraft that had been set to fly Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey out of Afghanistan today was damaged by shrapnel from rockets fired at the Bagram air field north of Kabul from outside its fences.

Two maintenance workers on the ground were slightly wounded, NPR's Tom Bowman reports. Dempsey was not near the aircraft at the time. He later left Afghanistan on another plane.