New York Times Reporter Anthony Shadid Dies On Assignment in Syria

LA Observed got a hold of NYT editor Jill Abramson’s memo to staff. It reads in part:

I have heartbreaking news. Anthony Shadid, our brilliant and beloved colleague, has died, apparently of an asthma attack, while reporting inside Syria. Anthony, accompanied by Tyler Hicks, was on his way out of the country, heading toward the border to Turkey, when he suffered the attack.