By GINA KIM, Sacramento Bee

By many accounts, Essie Mae Washington had one overwhelming emotion when her mother took the 15-year-old to meet a circuit court judge and told her this unexpected truth: The judge -- Strom Thurmond, who went on to become governor of South Carolina and a U.S. senator -- was her father.

It's not exactly Pepsi vs. Coke, but there's another head-to-head battle going on for a spot in America's drinking cups.

Blue Diamond Growers is competing with the maker of Silk soy milk for dominance of the small but fast-growing almond milk market, whose sales totaled $105 million in 2010.

Death may be the impartial friend -- who treats the soiled and pure, rich and poor, loved and unloved equally -- but Mark Twain transcends the grave with his autobiography, which has become the sought-after holiday gift of the year.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Foot care is often overlooked when immediate concerns include finding a warm bit of sidewalk to roll out a sleeping bag, a hot meal to savor or a thick blanket to battle the chilly nights.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - It's difficult to find anyone with a gripe against Tani Cantil-Sakauye. Even two former boyfriends couldn't think of one negative thing to say about the woman destined to become California's next Supreme Court chief justice.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The number of days late the El Camino High students were in filing their school radio station's license renewal application: 64.

The time it took the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to demand a $1,500 fine be paid as a result: 4 1/2 years.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Twitter users rave over the real-time information network of which they're a part, 140 characters at a time. But there's one thing their "what's happening now" news doesn't deliver -- face-to-face contact.

Enter the tweetup: an in-person gathering of two or more people who know each other through Twitter.

How retro.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - For now, four little chickens that live illegally in a backyard don't have to cross any roads.

After calls poured into Sacramento County offices about the plight of Clarabelle, Minnie, Mary and Alice, Supervisor Don Nottoli, whose district the chickens live in, asked the county to lighten up on the illegal fowl.

In the narrow stretch of kitchen in the back of the Art of Food cafe in Sacramento, Calif., one appliance is boldly missing -- the stove.

"This is our stove," said chef Richard Hemsley, pointing to two dehydrators.

The gifts of a snow globe and toy gun might not make the flight given federal security guidelines banning liquids and potential weapons, but that doesn't mean everyone needs more underwear and socks.

The thousands of passengers passing through airports these next two weeks simply have to plan ahead and make sure there's wrapping paper at the other end.