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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Feb 28, 2013
February 28, 2013
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Anniversaries:
30th anniversary of the final episode of "M*A*S*H" (1983).
--20th anniversary of the raid by Federal agents on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, TX (1993). Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided the compound, prompting a gun battle in which four agents and six cult members are killed. The feds wanted to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, DAVID KORESH, on information that his religious sect was stockpiling weapons. A nearly two-month standoff ensued after the unsuccessful raid.Those @$#%* Foreigners:
Japan has come up with a new way to increase revenue --taxing people for their good looks.
Weird Asia News says Japanese economic analyst MORINAGA TAKURO proposed the idea as a way to increase revenue during the economic crisis. But, there's another, added benefit to his plan: Morinaga believes taxing handsome men will make is easier for ugly guys to find women, get married, and have babies.
The idea is that young women will avoid men with a higher tax burden, even if the guys are good looking. (Still)Guilty Pleasures:
No winner in last night's drawing for the Powerball Lottery. That means Saturday night's drawing is valued at $103 million ($64.2 million cash value). Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington, DC and the U-S Virgin Islands. Chances of winning the grand prize (all five numbers plus the powerball) are 1 in 175.2 million.
Pampers patrol:
PEREZ HILTON is a new dad. He posted a picture of himself with his son on his website, writing "I am so humbled to welcome this little man into my life. And I am honored and ready for the challenge of guiding him through his."
No word on whether the gay icon adopted (most likely scenario) and no name has been given, yet.
Editor's note: I can only imagine what that first, catty, "Parents Night" in high school will be like. (RB)
Quotable: Perez will be just like a normal dad except when he gives his kid a "time out" he'll call it an "epic fail." (Steve Young)
--"To clarify, Perez Hilton's new ward is not the messiah." (Zoe Page)
--"I'm so proud of Perez for finally convincing ANGELINA JOLIE to give up one of her babies... (Jarred Schenke)
--"Someone gave Perez Hilton a baby? It would of been better off in the woods being raised by wolves." (Twitter)
--"Perez Hilton became a father? KIM KARDASHIAN is pregnant. The end is near." (Twitter)
--"I thought you were just fat, but you had a baby? Congrats! XX OMG." (Twitter)Fashion Emergency:
We mentioned yesterday that the puppy purse which nine-year-old nominee QUVENZHANE WALLIS carried on Oscar night sparked a huge trend on adorable canine clutch bags. Now we know how big it is... The manufacturer, Poochie & Company, told The Daily Mail that they've had a double-digit sales surge through the whole awards season. The "Beasts of the Southern Wild" star carried a puppy purse to every red carpet ever. Sales spiked even more the morning after the Oscars.
The puppy purse she carried on Oscar night was custom-made with a tiara, tutu and Swarovski crystals, worth about $500 bucks. But the company plans to release a $30 version to the public in July. (Bartha)Reality Round-Up:
HONEY BOO BOO star ALANA THOMPSON is selling Girl Scout cookies on the internet.
The seven-year-old reality princess is offering the delicacies for $3.50 a box (plus shipping) on her Facebook page. Each shipment of cookies comes with an autographed picture of the "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" family, not to mention Honey Boo Boo's signature on every box.
The NY Daily News reports some Girl Scouts are objecting to Alana's marketing techniques, because they claim it spoils the spirit of the enterpriseWeird science:
There's a correlation between housework adherence and weight.
The rage potential on this study runs high, so good on the NY Times for not using a headline like "Women Who Shirk Household Chores Get Fat."
The authors of study essentially found that one reason American women are getting more overweight might have to do with the fact that they're spending less time on cleaning, cooking, and laundry than they did in the past. Their results don't suggest, however, that women put on more weight than men who do less housework --just that women's household roles have shifted more in recent history, and so has their weight.
Researchers say this doesn't mean women or men should be doing more housework, because the very nature of chores has become more sedentary anyway. (Maiman) -
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