Mon, January 30, 2012

ST. LOUIS FIRST CITY TO HOST "WELCOME HOME HEROES" PARADE
http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/299901/3/Welcome-Home-Heroes-Parade-will-make-history
Thousands of people lined Market Street in downtown St. Louis for the Welcome Home Heroes Parade that honored troops who fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. St. Louis is the first city in the nation to host a big welcome home parade for Iraq veterans since the troops left Iraq in December. The Welcome Home Heroes Parade included more than 80 floats, two marching bands and the Budweiser Clydesdales. In addition to the parade, moving company Mayflower, a co-sponsor of the parade, collected items for homeless veterans, and volunteers at Soldier’s Memorial read the names of 6,502 men and women who died from injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan.

HASLAM PREPARES TO GIVE SECOND STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS; BUDGET TONIGHT
http://www.newschannel5.com/story/16627426/haslam-prepares-to-give-second-state-of-the-state-address
Governor Haslam will deliver his second State of the State address tonight (Monday night) and both Democrats and Republicans are laying out wish lists for the upcoming budget, hoping recovering revenues will allow an increase in spending. The state's budget situation is a little better. Last month, the state brought in $123 million dollars more than had been estimated.

STATE GOP CALLS FOR ARRIOLA RESIGNATION
Davidson County's Republican Party is calling for the resignation of County Clerk John Arriola. The group issued an official statement last night responding to a recent audit report showing he may have pocketed well over 100-thousand dollars from performing weddings on government time. A resolution goes to the City Council for approval when it meets next week.

FLORIDA PILEUP; TEN PEOPLE DEAD
At least ten people are dead and more than a dozen people injured.... after a series of accidents on a stretch of Interstate 75 in Florida early yesterday morning, that involved at least a dozen cars and six tractor trailers. The long line of cars and trucks slammed into one another... the drivers apparently blinded by smoke from a nearby brush fire, and fog. The rescuers had trouble, too. When they got on the scene they had to listen for screams and moans to locate the victims.

FRAN DRESCHER: I WAS ABDUCTED BY ALIENS
Actress Fran Drescher is spouting an out-of-this-world story, saying she was abducted by aliens. The 54-year-old former star of "The Nanny" tells "The Huffington Post" extraterrestrials abducted her as a teenager and implanted a chip in her hand. Drescher says her ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson was also abducted by aliens years before they met. She adds they both have the exact same scar on their hands to prove it. Drescher says she believes she and Jacobson were programmed to meet.

LAWS AIM TO CURB PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE
State lawmakers are racing to address the rising problem of prescription drug abuse. Since prescription drug overdoses have tripled since 1999... the new proposal from Governor Bill Haslam requires doctors and pharmacists to refer to a data base of patient information before writing or dispensing prescriptions, would require pain clinics to register with the Department of Health and licensed physicians to be present at clinics at least a fifth of the time.

HEALTH: LONG SHIFTS MAY RAISE SOME NURSES' ODDS FOR OBESITY
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/story/2012-01-29/Long-shifts-may-raise-some-nurses-odds-for-obesity/52823696/1
We now know that losing sleep and poor quality of sleep makes you gain weight. It's a fact. But, we haven't changed the way we work nurses in decades. Nurses, who have our lives in their hands, still work 12 hour shifts, and are not only tired much of the time, which can lead to mistakes, but they're becoming more obese than the general population. A recent survey at the University of Maryland School of Nursing found 55 percent of nurses were obese. Researchers say that suggests we need to change the common 12-hour nursing shift, make more healthy food available to them, and give nurses enough time to eat it.

CITY TO REVIEW FARMER'S MARKET OPERATIONS
The city of Nashville is set to conduct a review of financial operations at the Nashville Farmers' Market. The finance department has found inconsistencies with rent and utility billings, lease agreements with vendors. (Vendors say the review will protect them and help generate new business.)

LOW IQ & CONSERVATIVE BELIEFS LINKED TO PREJUDICE
http://www.livescience.com/18132-intelligence-social-conservatism-racism.html
There's a new study out that some people are going to take offense to. Research finds people who give in to racism and prejudice may simply be dumb. The research finds that children with low intelligence are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes as adults. it's the first study to actually link IQ to racism.

CLEVELAND HABITAT HOMEOWNERS NOT PAYING FOR HOMES
More than two-dozen homeowners in Cleveland face foreclosure of their Habitat for Humanity homes. Nationwide the foreclosure rate for Habitat homes is less than 2 percent. but the Cleveland branch of the charity says 25 homeowners are more than three years behind on mortgage payments, and could lose their homes by the end of February.

TOPS AT BOX OFFICE
More of us chose to watch Liam Neeson's new survival thriller movie "The Grey," at the box office this weekend, than any other. Number two most-watched was "Underworld: Awakening," the vampire and werewolf sequel starring Kate Beckinsale. Katherine Heigl's new comedy "One for the Money" finished third.

FRANKLIN BANK REOPENS UNDER NEW NAME
A failed Tennessee bank is reopening under a different name. The FDIC closed Tennessee Commerce Bank in Franklin on Friday, but it's reopening today as a branch of Republic Bank and Trust. It's supposed to be a seamless transaction for customers.

CMT SHOW DRAWS NASHVILLE TRIVIA WHIZZES
Some Nashville folks auditioned this weekend for an upcoming CMT Music Trivia show. Nashville was the second in a five-city casting call for the show ... that's scheduled to start taping February 28th.

HEALTH: PARENS FORGET CAR SEATS WHEN CARPOOLING
No matter how safe you think you are with your kids and car seats... a new study shows 45-percent of parents throw the car seat rules out the window when the kids ride in someone else's car, or when the parents have other kids int he car who don't need car seats. e most state laws require kids to be buckled in to car seats until they're eight-years-old. The study appears in the journal "Pediatrics."

NEW YORK SENATOR WANTS TOUGHER PENALTIES FOR THOSE WHO STEAL FROM RELIGIOUS FACILITIES
A New York State senator wants to see tougher penalties for people who vandalize or steal from religious facilities. Senator Jeffrey Klein's call follows a recent rise in people targeting churches and synagogues in the Bronx. Klein says such crimes need to be taken more seriously and bumped up to a felony.

LOUD BAR PATROLS LEAD TO SIDE ENTRANCE AT NEARBY SHOP
A sex shop in the United Kingdom is protecting its customers from the nearby bar crowd. According to the "Daily Telegraph," the store was forced to create a side entrance due to all the loud cheers that would come from the bar any time a customer entered the shop. A spokesperson for the owners of the sex shop says that while the banter was always light-hearted, it caused many shoppers to feel embarrassed.

SAG AWARDS
The biggest stars from film and television were at Los Angeles' Shrine Exposition Center Sunday night for the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards. Some of the evening's memorable moments included Mary Tyler Moore accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award. Other winners included Viola Davis, the cast of "The Help", Modern Family and Betty White.

WINTER GAMES
Shaun White has collected his fifth straight gold medal in the Men's Snowboard SuperPipe finals at the Winter X-Games. The 25-year-old recorded the first perfect score in the history of the event and nailed a frontside double cork 1260 in his final victory lap yesterday. White now has 17 total Winter X-Games medals, including 12 golds.

BILL PROPOSED TO FINE PEOPLE EATING ON SUBWAY CARS
You may soon get a hefty fine if you're caught eating on the subway system. Manhattan State Senator Bill Perkins has introduced a bill that would fine people 250 dollars for eating on subway trains, the platform or in the station. The proposed bill is aimed at controlling the rat problem. This subway rider doesn't agree. A recent survey found that people eating food was the biggest contributor to rats in the subway system. The MTA is reviewing the bill.

ALLEGED ROBBER SCARED AWAY BY CAT
A family in Somersworth, New Hampshire reportedly has their "guard cat" to thank for protecting their home this weekend. According to BangorDailyNews.com, police say an armed man allegedly forced his way into the home Friday afternoon while the woman who owns the house with her husband was home with her infant. She says the man stole an unspecified amount of items, but was scared off when the family's pet cat started scratching at the door. She suspects he might have worried it was her husband returning home. A police spokesman says the K9 unit was called in, but wasn't able to pick up the suspect's trail. He adds that they're still looking for the man and consider the incident a felony level burglary.

OAKLAND CITY HALL REOPENS AFTER DAMAGE
Oakland City Hall is expected to be open as usual today after an "Occupy Oakland" protest left the building damaged and hundreds under arrest. More than 400 anti-Wall Street protesters were arrested during a night of confrontations Saturday into yesterday morning in which police launched tear gas and bean bag projectiles.

EUROPEAN UNION ABOUT TO APPROVE BAILOUT
The European Union is going to approve a permanent bailout fund for the euro zone today. Leaders will sign off on the fund along with a new balanced budget rule at the EU summit. The move comes as EU leaders struggle to resolve Greece's debt problems. The new bailout fund is scheduled to take effect in July.

SANTORUM SAYS KID EXPERIENCING TURNAROUND
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says his youngest child is experiencing a "miraculous turnaround" since coming down with pneumonia this weekend. Politico reports that on a telephone town hall for Florida voters last night, Santorum said doctors say his three year old daughter Bella will be released from the hospital in a few days.

HEALTH: PNEUMONIA BACTERIA EVOLVE TO EVADE VACCINE
Bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis in children trade bits of their genome with other bacteria to evade vaccines, a study published this weekend reports. The findings show how quickly deadly bacteria can disguise themselves, and how difficult it is for medicine to keep up. Researchers believe bacteria-caused diseases kill more than a million young children each year worldwide. The study is in the current issue of "Nature Genetics."

CATHOLIC CHURCH BLASTS CONTRACEPTION MANDATE
Catholic churches are blasting a new federal mandate requiring faith-based employers to provide contraception coverage. Priests across the country spoke out from the pulpit Sunday morning urging followers to contact lawmakers and voice their disapproval. The new law took effect earlier this month. It requires nearly all religious employers to provide workers with coverage for birth control as part of their health insurance plans. The Roman Catholic Church opposes all forms of artificial contraception.