Milestones

By Harriet Barovick, Julie Norwell, Logan Orlando

CLEARED. MERCK, multinational drugmaker; of responsibility for the death of Richard Irvin, a Florida man who had a fatal heart attack after taking the company's painkiller Vioxx for less than a month; in a federal court in New Orleans. Merck faces more than 9,500 lawsuits over the drug, which it pulled in 2004. The victory was Merck's first in federal court, following a loss and a win in state-court trials last year.

DECLARED PRESIDENT. RENE PREVAL, 63, ex-leader of Haiti; by election officials, following allegations of ballot fraud after Preval's lead appeared to be dwindling as the vote count wore on; in Port-au-Prince. An agronomist by training, Preval is beloved by the country's impoverished majority. He was President from 1996 to 2001 and replaces the interim government installed after the 2004 ouster of Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

RESIGNED. ROBERTO CALDEROLI, 49, anti-immigration Italian Reforms Minister; after an incendiary TV news appearance in which he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a T shirt displaying the controversial Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad; in Rome. Calderoli's stunt ignited violent protests in Libya. At least 10 Libyans were reportedly killed in clashes with police.

DIED. PETER BENCHLEY, 65, author who made landlubbers of millions with his 1974 novel, Jaws, about a great white shark that terrorizes an East Coast resort town; of pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive scarring of the lungs; in Princeton, N.J. Benchley's tale of a human-chomping fish sold 20 million copies, and the 1975 film adaptation epitomized the summer movie experience. Fascinated by oceans throughout his life, the Harvard-educated grandson of humorist Robert Benchley in later years became an outspoken protector of sharks. "Knowing what I know now, I could never write that book today," Benchley wrote last month. "Sharks don't target human beings, and they certainly don't hold grudges."

DIED. RAY BARRETTO, 76, Grammy-winning "godfather" of Latin jazz; in Hackensack, N.J. Renowned for integrating the conga into jazz, he decided to become a musician after hearing a Dizzy Gillespie recording featuring Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo. In 1961 Barretto recorded the boogaloo tune El Watusi, among the few Latin jazz songs to hit the Billboard charts. Named a Jazz Master by the National Endowment for the Arts, he formed a decades-long partnership with the Latin pop label Fania, where he popularized salsa music.

DIED. PEDRO GONZALEZ GONZALEZ, 80, dextrous physical comedian and one of Hollywood's earliest recognizable Mexican actors; in Culver City, Calif. In 1953 the aspiring comedian won a spot on Groucho Marx's quiz show You Bet Your Life. His goofy dances and witty exchanges with Marx led to a contract with John Wayne and roles in such films as The High and the Mighty and Rio Bravo.

DIED. EDNA LEWIS, 89, author and chef who was one of the first African-American women to reach the pinnacle of the cooking world; in Decatur, Ga. Lewis, who grew up on a farm and influenced chefs across the country with her insistence on simple recipes with pure ingredients, held chef positions at such high-profile eateries as Cafe Nicholson, New York City's 1950s celebrity haunt, and the Brooklyn chophouse Gage & Tollner. Her now classic 1976 cookbook, The Taste of Country Cooking, helped revive Southern cuisine.