PALMBEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Rush Limbaugh, the talk radio host who became the voice of American conservatism, has died. His death Wednesday at the age of 70 was announced on his website. With his three-hour weekday radio show broadcast on nearly 600 stations across the U.S., and a massive audience of millions hanging on his every word, Limbaugh’s rants shaped the national political conversation, swaying the opinions of average Republicans and the direction of the party. Donald Trump awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.