(FILES)US Senator Jesse Helms, (L), R-NC, is assisted to the Rose Garden of the White House with members of the US House of Representatives and US Senate that support the plans in Iraq of US President George W. Bushin this October 2, 2002 file photo at the White House in Washington, DC. CNN has reported that former Republican Senator from North Carolina, Jesse Helms, has reportedly died at age 86, on July 4, 2008. According to The Helms Center in Wingate, North Carolina Helms was suffering from vascular dementia. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards