The acclaimed German-born photographer lost control of his Cadillac leaving the Chateau Marmont (where he lived with his wife June) at 11:40 this morning and crashed into a wall across the street. He clipped an Associated Press photographer before hitting the wall. Newton was 83 and may have suffered a heart attack. AP's second lede via CNN.com

5:44 p.m.: For what it's worth, the New York Times has a headline under "National" on its web page. The news isn't mentioned on LATimes.com, even under AP headlines. Google News finds it on 111 web sites around the world, however.

6 p.m.: The LAT got its first mention up, a longer AP story, at 5:54.

Reuters: "Helmut Newton, whose stark, often sadomasochistic portraits of nude women in chains and bonds won him acclaim and revulsion..."

NYT obit: "Helmut Newton, the prolific, widely imitated fashion photographer whose provocative, erotically charged black-and-white photos were a mainstay of Vogue and other publications..."

LAT obit: "Helmut Newton, the renowned photographer who in his 40-year career brought sexual provocation and menace to fashion tableaux that came to be recognized as art..."