Ten random things: August 10

Ten politicians killed in plane crashes:

1. Rep. Larry McDonald (D-Ga.)
2. Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.)
3. Sen. Bronson Cutting (R-N.M.)
4. Gov. Mel Carnahan (D-Mo.)
5. Richard Obenshain (Republican U.S. Senate nominee from Virginia)
6. Rep. Jerry Litton (D-Mo.)
7. Ron Brown (U.S. Secretary of Commerce)
8. Sen. John Tower (R-Texas)
9. Rep. Hale Boggs (D-La.)
10. Sen. John Heinz (R-Pa.)

Sad news out of Alaska today: former U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was killed in a plane crash near Dillingham, along with four others. This was, interestingly, the second time Stevens was on a plane that crashed; the first was in 1978, an accident that resulted in the death of five people, including his first wife, Ann. It may also be worth noting that Stevens was defeated for re-election in 2008 by Mark Begich, whose father, U.S. Rep. Nick Begich (D-Alaska), had been killed in the same plane crash that killed Hale Boggs.