Johnny Isakson, Former Georgia Republican U.S. Senator, Dies

Atlanta (AP) -- Johnny Isakson, an affable Georgia Republican politician who rose from the ranks of the state legislature to become a U.S. senator known as an effective, behind-the-scenes consensus builder, died Sunday. He was 76.

Isakson died in his sleep before dawn at his home in Atlanta, his son John Isakson told The Associated Press. He said that although his father had Parkinson's disease, the cause of death was not immediately apparent.