Clancy dies at 66, Jacobs leaving Vuitton

Best-selling U.S. author Tom Clancy, whose thrillers about spies, soldiers and politicians, fascinated readers with their high-stakes plots and enthralled military experts with their precise detail, died at the age of 66 on Tuesday (October 1) in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. A cause of death was not immediately known. Clancy, who debuted in 1984 with Cold War novel "The Hunt for Red October" went on to publish a total of 25 fiction and non-fiction books including "Patriot Games," "The Sum of All Fears" and "Rainbow Six."

U.S. designer Marc Jacobs is leaving Louis Vuitton as artistic director after a 16-year collaboration to focus on his own brand. The Marc Jacobs fashion brand is one of the fastest growing labels within the French group's fashion and leather goods division. Jacobs shot to fame in the '90s by bringing grunge into the fashion foray for New York label Perry Ellis.

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney hit the red carpet for the New York premiere of "Gravit