Top Google trends for Dec. 9:

As usual, the top trends on Google at the moment are an eclectic mix. At the very top of the list is Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed King of All Media. However, since his move to satellite radio and the end of his cable show on the E! network, I rarely hear much about Stern anymore. He's still out there doing his thing, but I personally think he's lost much, if not all, of his relevance.

Apparently, he's renewed his contract with Sirius satellite radio for another five years. He calls them the innovators and "real geniuses." Stern also says he will likely retire when this new contract expires.

An L.A. Times blogger talks about the deal here.

Also trending high this morning is the decision by President Obama to grant a pardon to Percy Cummings. For those of you who haven't heard about the case, Cummings was being held with bond on a charge of sexually assaulting a TSA agent. The pardon apparently came after WikiLeaks released documents pertaining to Cummings' arrest.

It's an interesting story, except for the fact that it is completely bogus. The story was first "reported" on the Web site Dead Serious News, a satirical site similar to The Onion. However, like many such stories, people can't tell the difference between fact and fiction and the story is spreading.

The folks over at Snopes.com break it down here.

And finally, cancer makes its way into three different entries on Googles current top 10 list.

First is the death of Elizabeth Edwards who died this week after a battle with breast cancer. This leads to the Westboro Baptist Church which plans to stage one of its protests at her funeral. The Huffington Post has a copy of the WBC flier. If you can figure out what their talking about, let me know.



The other cancer related item is the sad news that the legendary singer Aretha Franklin has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The cancer is a particularly lethal one with few surviving more than four years. Most will probably remember the disease most recently from actor Patrick Swayze's public battle with it.

Not much information is available, but the L.A. Times has an article.