Happy Birthday, Dear John Ronald Reuuuuel…
Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien would be 115 today.Factoid: Dude was born in South Africa, 30 short years before heart-switching playboy Christiaan Barnard.
Biographies
Students Examine Chandra Levy Case
Nearly seven years have passed since intern Chandra Levy disappeared in Washington, D.C. Her remains were found a year later, but nobody has ever been charged with her murder. Now students at Bauder College in Atlanta will spend a year digging into the case, according to The Modesto Bee.
FBI: D.B. Cooper Wore J.C. Penney
[[wysiwyg_imageupload:2357:]]In November we mentioned a brand new suspect fingered by New York magazine in the D.B. Cooper mystery.Now the FBI is back on the case with a release titled, cheerfully, D.B. Cooper Redux. (The language is remarkably chatty throughout, actually; perhaps the bureau is trying on a new user-friendly image.)The release includes some new details about Cooper:
Sara Jane Moore Sprung
The San Francisco Chronicle has an extremely colorful report today on Sarah Jane Moore, who tried to shoot President Gerald Ford in 1975.
Hospital: Police Prevented Bhutto Autopsy
What a way to start the new year. Officials at Rawalpindi General Hospital now say that the chief of police prevented them from doing an autopsy on the body of Benazir Bhutto.The government apparently removed all medical records from the hospital immediately after Bhuttos death — and then told doctors to keep quiet.
The Death of a Newspaper
[1/1/08 Update: The Cincinnati Post and Clooney column links below are already dead — apparently turned off by Baby New Year as he passed through town at the stroke of midnight.]Sad news for newspaper fans: the Cincinnati Post published its last edition today, ending its 126-year run and ending Cincinnati’s days as a two-newspaper town.
Lordy, Lordy, Look Who’s 624-ty
Happy birthday to Who2’s unofficial mascot, Ulrich Zwingli. The oft-forgotten Swiss theologian turns 624 on New Year’s Day.We can’t describe Zwingli better than we did in last year’s tribute: “The Protestant Reformer who survived bubonic plague, had a secret marriage at age 38, and still ended up playing Avis to Martin Luther’s Hertz.”
Brady and Patriots, 16 and 0
Tom Brady set a new season record for touchdown passes (50) as the New England Patriots became the first NFL team to go undefeated in a 16-game season. NFL.com has photos galore.
Was Bhutto Shot?
The shocking death of Benazir Bhutto has turned into a confounding argument over the cause.Early reports said she’d died in a bomb blast. Then reports of gunshots surfaced. Now amateur photos show two possible attackers: a clean-cut (alleged) gunman and a head-scarf-wearing (alleged) bomber.
Dick Clark Still Rockin’ New Year’s Eve
Two years ago we noted that TV host Dick Clark was born the same year as Anne Frank and Martin Luther King, Jr..