Rep. Tubb Jones Suffers Aneurysm, Not Expected to Recover

clipped from www.cbsnews.com Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, is reported to have suffered an aneurysm and is not expected to recover, according to CBS affiliate WOIO in Cleveland. WOIO also reported that the congresswoman is on life support at this time. The station reported today that she was transported overnight to Huron Hospital in Cleveland after police found her in her car last evening. The congresswoman's office said in statement that she suffered the aneurysm while driving her car in Cleveland Heights, Ohio last night and that she "has stabilized and she is receiving the best care available." Tubbs Jones was first elected in 1998, becoming the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress. She represents Ohio's 11th district.

That's pretty much everything that's known and I really can't add anything, other than to say that this is a terrible loss.

A statement from her office is here.

UPDATE: Sadly, the expectations were correct -- Rep. Tubbs Jones did not recover.

Cleveland Plain Dealer:

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress, has died after suffering a brain aneurysm, said sources familiar with the situation.

She was removed from life support at 12:19 p.m. at Huron Road Hospital, the sources said.

Tubbs Jones, 58, served as a Cuyahoga County judge and prosecutor before succeeding U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes. She has served five terms in Congress and was expected to easily win her sixth in November.

UPDATE II: CPD jumped the gun.

Editor and Publisher:

Leading news outlets reported today that Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Democratic congresswoman, had died -- when she was still alive though in critical condition. The outlets included her hometown Cleveland Plain Dealer, The New York Times, and many others.

The Plain Dealer now reports: "Officials updated her condition this afternoon after conflicting reports that the congresswoman was dead. Numerous media outlets - including The Plain Dealer on its Web site cleveland.com, CNN and the Associated Press - reported that Tubbs Jones had died."

Ben Pershing, at the Washington Post's Capitol Briefing blog, has already offered a mea culpa: "An already sad story on the serious medical condition of Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) was made embarrassingly worse today by Capitol Briefing and other news outlets, as conflicting information prompted several erroneous reports that the lawmaker had died. As of this writing, she remains in critical condition in a Cleveland hospital..."

This isn't good news, however, since Tubbs Jones is still expected not to recover.

UPDATE III: The sad news is confirmed.

Associated Press:

A Cleveland Clinic official says Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones of Ohio has died.

Clinic spokeswoman Eileen Sheil says Tubbs Jones died at 6:12 p.m. Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage caused by an aneurysm that burst and left her with limited brain function.

Comments about the sorry state of journalism these days withheld.