Glenn Beck Laughs About Dead Tabloid Whistleblower

The death of the whistleblower who landed Rupert Murdoch in trouble drew a big chuckle from Glenn Beck yesterday. "Did you hear about the guy who was the whistleblower on the News of the World thing? I love this story. He woke up dead!" Beck laughs on his program. "I'm not saying that foul play was involved, but it is suspicious that he's dead." He then quipped that Vladimir Putin was involved in Sean Hoare's death. Hoare, 47, was the first to reveal phone hacking at the tabloid where he once worked.

Police have determined that his death is not suspicious and have indicated that it was the result of unspecified health problems—though they are still awaiting results of toxicology tests. The former Fox star complained that foes would try to use the scandal to bring Fox down, but that as far he knew, the network had no connection to phone hacking. "Pray that that is so" and that foes "are thwarted," Beck said. "They will use this and it will shut down." (More Rupert Murdoch stories.)