The Wall Street Journal reports that shortly before stepping down as CEO, Scott Thompson told Yahoo's board that he was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The health issue adds another surprising wrinkle to the controversy around Thompson and his resumé fudging. While the health issue allowed him to cite "personal reasons" as the impetus for his departure, Kara Swisher reported early this morning that Yahoo is officially designating his departure as "for cause." The termination with cause means that Thompson will not be entitled to his full severance package that was part his original employment agreement. That may just be a technicality at this point, as the Journal also added that a severance package was agreed to over the weekend, and it seems unlikely that he will challenge the new agreement. The official Yahoo statement on the leadership change and the first message from new CEO Ross Levinsohn, on mention Thompson once and give no explanation for his departure. The 54-year-old Thompson has begun treatment for his cancer, but no other details about his condition or prognosis were revealed.

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Dashiell Bennett