Post Mortem: January 2, 2011 - January 8, 2011
Gerry Rafferty, 'Stuck in the Middle' songwriter
Gerry Rafferty, a Scottish singer-songwriter who, as a member of the '70s band Stealers Wheel, co-wrote the hit song "Stuck in the Middle With You," died Jan. 4 at the age of 63. Rafferty retired from the limelight many years ago and had a drinking problem, but his two big...
By
Matt Schudel
| January 8, 2011; 1:53 PM ET |
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The Chicken King of Arkansas
In today's paper, I wrote about Don Tyson, an aw-shucks Arkansas farmhand who turned his father's single-truck poultry-hauling business into a worldwide protein empire: Tyson Foods Inc. For his poultry supremacy, Mr. Tyson earned the title of America's "Chicken King." During my research, I came across some rather interesting tidbits...
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T. Rees Shapiro
| January 7, 2011; 11:13 AM ET |
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T. Rees Shapiro
| Tags:
Chicken King, Don Tyson, Tyson Foods Inc.
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Vang Pao dies; Hmong leader led secret war in Laos
Vang Pao, who led a secret CIA sponsored insurgency in Laos during the Vietnam war, has died age 81 in California. Gen. Pao was a longtime resident of the Fresno area of California, where he was considered the de facto leader of the Hmong people who lived there. As a...
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T. Rees Shapiro
| January 7, 2011; 10:47 AM ET |
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T. Rees Shapiro
| Tags:
Laos, Vang Pao, Vietnam War
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Donald Tyson dies: Retired poultry company executive was 80
Donald Tyson, who built his family's business into a poultry-producing behemoth, has died. Besides producing meat for TV dinners and McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, Tyson Foods was known in Washington for giving illegal gifts to Clinton-era agriculture secretary Mike Espy. In 1997, the company was fined $4 million after pleading guilty...
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Emma Brown
| January 6, 2011; 1:59 PM ET |
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The (Digital) Afterlife
What happens when that tweet from late last night becomes your very last? What if that awkward Facebook status update -- such as admitting that Glee's rendition of "Lucky," like, totally melts your heart -- is your final shout out to the world? A couple of stories within the past...
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T. Rees Shapiro
| January 6, 2011; 12:37 PM ET |
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T. Rees Shapiro
| Tags:
Facebook, Twitter, digital afterlife
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Dick King-Smith, author of "Babe: The Gallant Pig," dies
Dick King-Smith, a British farmer-turned-writer whose beloved children's book "The Sheep-Pig" -- better known in the U.S. as "Babe: The Gallant Pig" -- was later turned into a popular movie, has died. Mr. King-Smith died yesterday at his home in southwest England. He was 88. Mr. King-Smith had written more...
By
Emma Brown
| January 5, 2011; 1:19 PM ET |
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Emma Brown, Movies
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Remembering activist Judy Bonds
"If coal is so good for us hillbillies, then why are we so poor?" Judy Bonds, a West Virginia native who fought her state's most powerful industry, didn't mince words. She was a waitress and a convenience store clerk who found her voice as an activist in her 40s, when...
By
Emma Brown
| January 5, 2011; 12:43 PM ET |
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Veteran Republican official John P. Wheeler III found dead in Del. landfill
John P. Wheeler III, a veteran of Washington politics who had worked in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush and played a key role in establishing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, has been found dead in a Delaware landfill. His death was ruled a homicide after his body...
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Emma Brown
| January 3, 2011; 3:04 PM ET |
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Emma Brown, Military , Washington DC-area people
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