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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Aug 28, 2012
August 28, 2012
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Shout-out Dep't:
Civil Rights March on Washington DC, where the Reverend Dr. MARTIN LUTHER KING gave his now-famous "I Have A Dream" speech (1963).
--90 years ago; the first radio commercial aired on WEAF /NYC, in 1922 (it cost $100 for 10 minutes).
--Hello to the boys (and girls) in brown shorts: the United Parcel Service (UPS) began service in Seattle as the "American Messenger Company," on this date in 1907.Trash talk and satellite dish:
Forbes magazine has named OPRAH WINFREY as the highest-paid person in show business for the fourth year in a row, even after she gave up her hit syndicated show.
Quotable: "If you can make that much money running a cable channel nobody watches, MSNBC would sure like to know how." (Stevens & Grdnic's "Daily Comedy Exclusive")
Forbes added in her interest in Dr. PHIL, RACHAEL RAY and Dr. OZ's shows as well as her magazine, O, and her satellite radio station in addition to the cable network, which gave her an estimated fortune of $165 million last year.
The rest of the top-10:
10. Simon Cowell, $90 million,
9. Director George Lucas, $90 million,
8. Novelist James Patterson, $94 million,
7. Radio DJ Howard Stern, $95 million,
6. Director /producer /writer /actor Tyler Perry, $105 million,
5. Rapper /producer Dr Dre, $110 million,
4. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, $115 million,
3. Director Steven Spielberg, $130 million,
2. Director Michael Bay ("Transformers"), $160 million,
1. Oprah Winfrey, $165 million.Sucks to be you:
NICOLE "Snooki" POLIZZI is quickly discovering that parenting a baby guido is much tougher than dancing 'til dawn! The "Jersey Shore" mama sent out a "tweet" revealing she didn't get much sleep while enjoying her first night with newborn son LORENZO, but claims it's "so worth it." Apparently her fiance JIONNI LAVALLE is a natural at parenting --his future bride claims he's a very "cute dad."
Phone starter: What little thing made you fall in love with your spouse even more after you welcomed children? (Lee)Gossip Central:
JOHNNY DEPP is still a master at picking up women. According to Star magazine, the actor, who's 49, left his cell phone at a restaurant table and started walking out with his friends. Their pretty, blonde waitress chased him to the door to give it back but Johnny didn't actually forget it. He left it there on purpose so she would come after him. He ended up getting her number. (Myers)
TV Briefs:
Look for actress VERA FARMIGA (from "Up in the Air") to star in the A&E movie, "Bates Motel."
The Hollywood Reporter says she'll play Norman Bates' mother, Norma in the "Psycho" prequel, which will examine the back story and how her son became the infamous serial killer in the famous 1960 HITCHCOCK classic.Grace notes:
Well, here's something else JERRY SANDUSKY has ruined. The Altoona Mirror says you won't be hearing NEIL DIAMOND's "Sweet Caroline" at Penn State's home opener on Saturday. School officials decided that the lyric, "Hands, touching hands, reaching out, touching me, touching you," might make people uncomfortable after the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. The tune has been a sing-a-long at Penn State home games for years. (Marino)
Polling America:
Good news for the one percent: A little more than 40 percent of Americans think you're more intelligent and more hardworking than the average Joe. But more than half --55 percent-- they also think you're greedier than the average person, and 34 percent consider you less honest.
But the Pew Research Center poll also found that if you worked hard to get your money, then 92 percent of middle-class Americans would describe you as admirable. But don't pat yourself on the back just yet: 58 percent think you're not paying enough in taxes.
But 26 percent say you're doing just fine, and eight percent say you pay too much.
So what kind of salary would make a family of four in your area "rich"? At least $100-thousand. The median response was $150-thousand, with 39 percent saying between $100-thousand and $250-thousand, and 30 percent saying more than that.
Interestingly, only 49 percent of upper-class respondents felt "very satisfied" with their financial situation. (Maiman) -
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