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In the news By Randy A. Salas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) Our regular look at recent headlines brings news of surprising slavery ties, rampant rats, radio mergers and more. But no matter the topic, there's always another dimension of the stories to be explored online.Sharpton, Thurmond go way backIn the news: The Rev. Al Sharpton's great-grandfather was a slave owned by an ancestor of Sen. Strom Thurmond, according to research conducted by Ancestry.com. Thurmond, who died at 100 in 2003, once ran for president on a ticket advocating segregation, while Sharpton is a well-known civil-rights activist.On the Web: "Born in Slavery" (memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml) offers first-person accounts of slavery that were gathered during the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers Project. More than 2,300 stories are presented online, including 341 from South Carolina, where the Thurmond family lived. Soft-drink market going soft?In the news: Coke and Pepsi are trying various strategies to revitalize the soft-drink market, whose sales volume was down 5 percent in U.S. grocery stores last year, according to Beverage Digest. Coke is trying to change its main product's image by calling it a "sparkling beverage" instead of a "carbonated soft drink," and Pepsi is trying to be hipper by changing the design of its cola can 35 times this year.On the Web: Lest the major soda makers forget what too much fiddling can do, Dead Sodas (www.x-entertainment.com/articles/0961) presents a hilarious take on "soft drinks no longer with us," such as Crystal Pepsi, Coke II and Surge. (Note the use of profanity.) What's scary is that author Matt collects these extinct soft drinks and samples their now-flat contents, including Pepsi Fire, which he describes as "tasting like a car accident between a can of Pepsi and a bottle of ground cinnamon."Sirius, XM Radio plan mergerIn the news: Satellite-radio rivals Sirius and XM plan to combine their services and operate as one company.On the Web: If it's commercial-free music you want -- on your computer, at least -- I can't recommend the previously covered Pandora (www.pandora.com) enough. Just type in a favorite performer or song, and the free service will provide endless streaming audio of similar-sounding artists and tunes, powered by the Music Genome Project. You can even create several "stations" to suit your mood. Rats invade Taco Bell In the news: A Taco Bell/KFC restaurant in New York City was shut down after TV news footage showed dozens of rats swarming around inside the eatery.On the Web: The "rats gone wild" video has become a stomach-turning sensation online, where just one YouTube posting of the news footage (www.startribune.com/a2394) had won 179,000 views as of Monday. For the lighter side of the skittering vermin, try Jelly Games' "Rats" (www.jellygames2.com/game.php?gname=rat), a "Pacman"-like time-waster in which players must help a rat pick up cheese while avoiding prowling cats.Scorsese finally wins an OscarIn the news: Filmmaker Martin Scorsese finally wins an Oscar, for "The Departed," after missing out on five previous best-director nominations.On the Web: According to Scorsese and His Films (www.scorsesefilms.com), the filmmaker once described his chances of winning a directing Oscar as being "zero for lifetime." The fan website celebrates the director and his highly acclaimed work with reposted articles, photos, filmographies and more. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Randy A. Salas is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Do you have a favorite Web site or a question about how to find something on the Internet? Send a note by clicking here.
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