NY goes green

New York, March 17 (AP): A sea of step dancers, men in kilts, and marchers in green are taking to the streets for New York city’s St Patrick’s Day parade.

The crowd was up to seven people deep in some places along the Fifth Avenue route. Amid the Irish music, bagpipes also were playing God Bless America.

Morgan of Kilcoo in County Down, Northern Ireland, says she came to New York just for the parade. She said: “It’s much more Irish than at home.”

Officials for the 247th annual parade include 90-year-old Mario Biaggi, named aide-at-large to Grand Marshal Tommy M. Smyth. Biaggi, a former NYPD lieutenant, has remained popular despite his two years in prison for a 1988 extortion conviction.

New show

Nashville, Tennessee (AP): Carrie Underwood will become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry after she was invited on Saturday to join the long-running country music show. Randy Travis extended the invitation as Underwood finished I Told You So, a Travis song that Underwood recorded on her latest album. The former American Idol winner sold 7 million copies of her debut album Some Hearts and shot to superstardom almost overnight with hits including Before He Cheats and Jesus, Take the Wheel.

Horton tale

Los Angeles (AP): Horton hears a hit. Family audiences boosted 20th Century Fox’s animated tale Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! to a $45.1 million debut, the best opening so far this year, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Featuring the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell in an adaptation of the beloved storybook about an elephant defending a microscopic community from destruction, Horton Hears a Who is the latest computer-animated film from Blue Sky Studios, the outfit behind the Ice Age flicks. The previous weekend’s number one movie, the Warner Bros. action yarn 10,000 B.C., slipped to second place.

Hit version

New York (Reuters): R&B singer Rihanna will release a new version of her hit 2007 album, Good Girl Gone Bad, on May 27. The Def Jam Records set will feature new a single called Take A Bow. A video for the track about a deceiving partner is set to be produced in coming weeks.