David Bloom's first major scoop concerned Iraq. In 1991 he snared a regional Emmy Award for his reporting on Florida connections to the Reagan administration's arms-to-Iraq scandal. Bloom made his final mark on journalism in Iraq as well, reporting from the front lines of Gulf War II and filing as many as 13 stories a day. Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales dubbed him America's "unofficial tour guide to Iraq." The Edina native also won awards for his coverage of Hurricane Andrew (during which he shamed a Miami looter into giving up his spoils while on camera); covered the O.J. Simpson trial, the Clinton White House, and the war in Bosnia; and had landed comfortably as weekend anchor of the Today show on NBC. When the United States invaded Iraq in March, however, Bloom was back on the front lines. Sadly it would be his last assignment. Bloom died in Iraq from a pulmonary embolism in early April.