Monday, July 30, 2011

NASHVILLE YOUNG TRAFFIC DEATHS 3RD HIGHEST IN U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the greater Nashville area, including Franklin and Murfreesboro, has the nation’s third-highest death rate for motor vehicle accidents among young people. Our death rate is 31 percent higher than the national average for people 15 to 24.

STUDY: CURRY HELPS PREVENT DIABETES
Yet another study finds curry could be a lifesaver. Researchers found people at high risk of diabetes, were able to keep it from developing by taking daily doses of curcumin extract. Curcumin is found in the spice turmeric. ( The study appears in the journal "Diabetes Care.")

RECORD-SETTING OPENING CEREMONY FOR NBC
The Olympics opening ceremony was seen in the U.S. by 40.7 million people, making it the most-watched opening ceremony for a summer or winter Olympics.

MAJORITY WOULD GIVE OLYMPIC OPENING CEREMONY LESS THAN GOLD MEDAL 
The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics is getting a less than rave review.  Nearly two-thirds of the respondents in an AccessHollywood.com poll admit they weren't overwhelmingly impressed with the event.  Highlights from Friday's Opening Ceremony included the Parade of Nations, performances from Paul McCartney and the Arctic Monkeys; appearances from David Beckham, Muhammed Ali, and a pre-recorded segment featuring Queen Elizabeth the Second and actor Daniel Craig appearing to parachute down into the venue as the "James Bond" theme played.
          China leads the medal count... winning 12 medals so far. The U.S. is next with 11, and Italy is in third place with 7 medals. 

AT LONDON OLYMPICS, EMPTY SEATS HAVE ORGANIZERS SCRAMBLING
Hoping to quell controversy after large swaths of seats appeared unfilled, London Olympic organizers said British troops and schoolchildren had been given free tickets Sunday to fill many of the vacant rows.
A day after the city reveled in the splendor of Danny Boyle's critically acclaimed Opening Ceremonies, many locals were piqued Saturday when television footage showed empty seats at some of the most popular sporting events, including swimming and gymnastics, that they had been told were sold out. Such scenes ignited speculation that corporate sponsors had been provided tickets they weren't using, leaving the public on the outside looking in.

MYSTERY WOMAN CRASHES OLYMPICS PARADE
A mystery woman gatecrashed India's contingent as it marched into the Olympic Stadium during the Parade of Nations segment of the Opening Ceremony, leaving the country's Olympics officials fuming Sunday.
"She had no business to walk in with the Indian contingent, and we are taking up the issue with the organizers," Viewers around the world spotted the woman, dressed in a red hoodie and turquoise pants, walking next to the flag bearer during the ceremony on Friday night. The committee is investigating the incident.

GUNMAN JAMES HOLMES TO APPEAR IN COURT TODAY (Monday)
James Holmes, the accused gunman in the shooting massacre inside an Aurora, Colorado movie theater... will be formally charged today.... for killing 12 people and wounding of 58 others.  And the latest, a woman who was pregnant, had a miscarriage from the trauma of her wounds.

MISCARRIAGE WON'T AFFECT CHARGES IN COLO. SHOOTING
A former prosecutor says the man suspected of shooting and killing 12 people and wounding 58 others at a Colorado theater won't face an additional homicide charge after one of the victims who was critically injured suffered a miscarriage.
Defense attorney Karen Steinhauser, a former prosecutor and current adjunct professor at the University of Denver, says homicide charges in Colorado only apply to those "who had been born and alive."
The family of Ashley Moser, who was critically wounded in the July 20 shooting in Aurora, said in a statement Saturday she is recovering from surgery but the trauma caused the miscarriage. Moser suffered wounds to her neck and abdomen.
Her daughter, 6-year-old Veronica Moser-Sullivan, died in the attack.   The suspected gunman, James Holmes, is due to be arraigned today (Monday).

3 PEOPLE CARRY GUNS INTO MOVIE THEATER IN PUTNAM COUNTY
We had our own local incidents of guns in a theater this weekend, in Putnam county, about an hour and a half east of Nashville. Three people with concealed carry permits took handguns into a into a Cookeville movie theater Friday night where the Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" was showing. They put the weapons in their cars when asked, and the theater management was told to make their sign banning handguns more visible.  

CDC WARNS OF MAJOR WHOOPING COUGH OUTBREAK
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning about a major whooping cough outbreak. It starts off like a cold but gets worse when the coughing turns into fits of coughing and gasping for breath, and it can be fatal to young children. You're supposed to ask your doctor whether you may need a booster, and make sure your kids are up to date on their shots, with school about to start.

FOOD PRICES GOING UP
You heard about it here ahead of time, and now it's happening: food prices are going up. The drought killed and damaged a lot of crops, and now the price of corn has risen 50% since June, and beef and milk prices have started going up as well. 

POLICE INVESTIGATE ATTEMPTED CARJACKING, SHOOTING IN EAST NASHVILLE
There was an attempted carjacking and shooting at an East Nashville restaurant Saturday night. A musician was leaving the Family Wash on Greenwood Avenue near Porter Road when a man tried to take his car.  The victim refused, and was shot in the neck, through the glass of the car window. He's recovering. Police are looking for leads. 

ANTIOCH MAN DIES IN HEAD-ON MOTORCYCLE CRASH 
An Antioch man died in a motorcycle crash on Leipers Creek Road in Santa Fe, Tennessee. Investigators say Jordan Fessler was speeding, lost control on the curve, and crashed head on into a car.

DIVORCED COUPLE REUNITES 50 YEARS AFTER SPLIT 
And to show you that it's never too late for true love: a couple is tying the knot again, after spending almost 50 years apart. Roland and Lena got married as teenagers in Chattanooga Tennessee, had four kids, but eventually got divorced. Fifty years later, both single again, they've decided to remarry. They're both 85 and say they're thankful for a second chance.

NASHVILLE SCIENTISTS WORKING ON MICROBRAIN
Scientists in Nashville are hoping to revolutionize the study of how diseases and new drugs affect the brain. Instead of experimenting on actual brains, the idea is to integrate a few brain cells into part of a microchip, to use as a kind of model. Researchers at Vanderbilt and a colleague at Meharry Medical College are getting almost $6½ million to work on a so-called “microbrain.”

'DARK KNIGHT RISES' FADES AFTER TRAGEDY
The Dark Knight Rises is sinking. Despite an easy No. 1 over weak competition this weekend at theaters, the third chapter of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is fading faster than analysts expected, still overshadowed by last week's slaying of 12 people at a theater in Aurora, Colo.
The film did $64.1 million, bringing the final chapter's 10-day haul to $289.1million, according to studio estimates from Hollywood.com.
While the haul is sizable, analysts say the movie is unlikely to come near the grosses of 2008's The Dark Knight, which did $533 million.
With the "lingering effects of the Aurora shooting, suddenly even $400 million is rapidly becoming a pipe dream," says Tim Briody of Boxofficeprophets.com

STUDY REVEALS WOMEN MORE PRONE TO ROAD RAGE THAN MEN 
A new survey of America's commuters reveals some interesting facts. Chief among them: many folks text and drive, while far more - especially women - have a tendency to fly off the handle.
The study was conducted by Harris Interactive between May 14 and June 4 of this year. Over 3,800 commuters were surveyed, all of whom were employed full-time and most of whom (83%) drove to their workplaces. For the purposes of the study, Harris limited participants to those who were not self-employed and not in government jobs.