In a 24-hour, Internet-fueled news cycle, political campaign reporters often seem to be focused on what just happened, and only what just happened. But presidential candidates profess to take a longer view: They consciously link their critiques and promises to the influential figures and debates of the past.
Carole King has an armful of Grammy Awards and countless Top 10 hits, both under her own name and as a songwriter for artists from Little Eva to the Monkees to Aretha Franklin.
Her solo album Tapestry spent 15 weeks at the top of the charts, becoming one of the biggest-selling records of all time. King managed to fit in all those hits by starting very, very young. She tells NPR's Renee Montagne that she was just 15 when she and some classmates formed a doo-wop group called the Co-Sines.
In a quest to get to better know members of the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, four Western journalists and a former U.S. Army Ranger last year arranged to play paintball in Beirut with some men who said they were among the group's fighters.
Jack Tramiel, the man behind the Commodore 64 computer, died Sunday, according to reports. Tramiel, who was 83, came to America after World War II. He was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp in his native Poland.
Update: This post has been updated to reflect Tramiel's liberation from the Ahlem work camp, after his time in Auschwitz.
Originally published on Tue April 10, 2012 5:35 am
Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore International, whose iconic Commodore 64 was one of the best-selling computers of all time, has died. He was 83.
Jack Tramiel, the founder of Commodore International, whose iconic Commodore 64 was one of the best-selling computers of all time, has died. He was 83.
Forbes reports that Tramiel was born in Poland in 1928 to a Jewish family, and sent to Auschwitz during World War II. He and father were then sent to the Ahlem labor camp near Hanover from where he was rescued in 1945. He came to the U.S. in 1947 where he started Commodore as a typewriter business.
Four years ago, then-candidate Barack Obama famously sank a 3-point shot when he visited U.S. troops in Kuwait who had gathered in a gym to hear from the Democratic senator. The video was a cable TV favorite for a day or two.
Facebook's decision to acquire Instagram for $1 billion set off strong reactions among Instagram users Monday, when the deal was announced. And if any users of Instagram's photo-sharing service were in love with the deal, they seemed to be keeping pretty quiet about it.
