I have no idea if any of this is true, but here is what I have heard about Tim Russert's sudden, unexpected death:
A co-worker friend of my wife's mother has a has a cozy government job in D.C. This woman says that NBC executives told Russert to return early from vacation, or else he would lose his job.
According to this account, NBC did not want Russert to go on vacation at all. Russert shortened his vacation and returned back to work after being threatened with termination.
I'm hoping somebody knows more so I determine if this story is true.
I will update this diary when/if more information becomes available.
UPDATE: From the comments below it appears Russert went to Italy for 3 or 4 days.