ARLINGTON, Va. - Norman Oliver Walker, a journalist for The Associated Press for more than 30 years in Louisiana and Washington, D.C., died Sunday. He was 96.

Walker died at his Arlington home. His daughter, Andree Walker Lanser, said the cause of death had not been determined.

Walker began his career with the AP in 1934 in New Orleans, where he helped cover the assassination of Huey Long. Walker later served as Baton Rouge correspondent and moved to the AP's Washington bureau in 1943.

He covered labor relations for the AP from 1945 until he left the wire service in 1963, a span that covered a time of great upheaval in labor relations.

He served as information director for the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service from 1963 until his retirement in 1978.