Originally published Tuesday, December 25, 2007 at 12:00 AM
Odds and Ends
Jay-Z stepping down from record label post
Celebrity gossip, famous birthdays and other tidbits, compiled from Seattle Times news services.
Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter said Monday he will leave his post as president of Universal Music Group's Def Jam Records label after his contract expires Dec. 31. The rapper said he will continue to release his own music through his record label, Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam.
Holiday cheer
$1,000 tradition
Salvation Army Maj. Richard Hathorn still doesn't know who slipped the $1,000 bill into one of the charity's Christmas kettles. Each Christmas since 1978, someone has covertly stuffed one of the big bills into a kettle in Morgantown, W.Va. This year's was found wrapped inside a $1 bill.
Returned a year later
A figure of the baby Jesus has been returned, a year after it was stolen from a nativity scene in Brazoria, Texas.
Giveaway
Shoppers got a Christmas Eve surprise Monday when a pair of brothers handed out $100 bills at a mall on Long Island, N.Y.
New home for Santa?
The tiny ex-Soviet state of Kyrgyzstan has declared itself the new home of Santa Claus. Citing a Swedish engineering firm that determined the ideal spot for Santa's global toy-delivery hub, officials in this predominantly Muslim country named a mountain peak after Santa and declared 2008 "The Year of Santa Claus."
Today in History
A.D. 336: The first recorded celebration of Christmas on Dec. 25 took place in Rome.
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1066: William the Conqueror was crowned king of England.
1776: Gen. George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River for a surprise attack against Hessian forces at Trenton, N.J.
1818: "Silent Night," written by Franz Gruber and Father Joseph Mohr, was performed for the first time, at the Church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.
1926: Hirohito became emperor of Japan, succeeding his father, Emperor Yoshihito. (Hirohito was formally enthroned almost two years later.)
1989: Ousted Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife, Elena, were executed after a popular uprising.
1991: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev went on television to announce his resignation as the eighth and final leader of a communist superpower that had already gone out of existence.
2006: James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," died of heart failure in Atlanta at age 73.
Today's Birthdays
Singer Tony Martin, 94. Singer Jimmy Buffett, 61. Football Hall-of-Famer Larry Csonka, 61. Country singer Barbara Mandrell, 59. Actress Sissy Spacek, 58. Actress CCH Pounder, 55. Singer Annie Lennox, 53. Reggae singer-musician Robin Campbell (UB40), 53. Singer Shane MacGowan, 50. Actress Klea Scott, 39. Rock musician Noel Hogan (The Cranberries), 36. Singer Dido, 36. Country singer Alecia Elliott, 25.
Seattle Times news services
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
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Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup
Real Salt Lake defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy with penalty kicks after 120 minutes of play at Qwest Field in Seattle.
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shopping
Give yourself a treat and visit Watson Kennedy's Holiday Open Houses
More minding the store
events for Monday, Nov. 23
- REI Winter Sale
- Alhambra 20 Percent Off Jewelry Sale
- All About Weddings and Celebrations November ...
- Karan Dannenberg Clothier Black Friday Sale
editors' picks
- West Seattle shopping
- Local jewelry designers
- Phinney Ridge & Greenwood shopping
- Neighborhood shopping
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Illegal workers quietly let go
345 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
201 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
170 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
141 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
94 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
86 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
81 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
72 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
66 - UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
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- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit



