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| Pioneering US journalist Helen Thomas dies at 92 | Pioneering US journalist Helen Thomas dies at 92 |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Helen Thomas, a trailblazing journalist who covered the White House for nearly five decades, has died aged 92. | |
| She died at her Washington apartment after a long illness, the Gridiron Club, Washington's historic press organisation, said. | She died at her Washington apartment after a long illness, the Gridiron Club, Washington's historic press organisation, said. |
| Ms Thomas covered the administrations of 10 presidents and was known for asking difficult questions. | Ms Thomas covered the administrations of 10 presidents and was known for asking difficult questions. |
| She was a fixture at White House news conferences and considered a pioneer for women in journalism. | She was a fixture at White House news conferences and considered a pioneer for women in journalism. |
| Starting out in journalism as a copy girl in a small Washington newspaper, Ms Thomas joined the White House press corp in 1961 and worked there for United Press International and Hearst newspapers until her retirement in 2010. | |
| From her seat in the middle of the front row of the briefing room, she would grill presidents and exasperate government spokespeople with her pointed questions and persistence. | |
| One White House press secretary described her questioning as "torture" - and he was one of her fans, the Associated Press reports. |