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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - May 2, 2012
May 2, 2012
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Posturing, Posing and Press Releases:
NEWT GINGRICH will drop out of the GOP presidential race today and offer his support to MITT ROMNEY. He tells USA Today, "Mitt Romney met the first criteria of being a good candidate: He won... Now you have to respect that... We did everything we could to slug it out with him, and he ended up being tough enough and being good enough at raising money (to win)."
And speaking of money, look for Gingrich to merely "suspend" his campaign today, so he can keep raising money to pay off his bills. He's about $3.8-million-dollars in debt. (Pacelli)The Weather:
This Saturday night you'll have a great excuse to stare at the sky. At 11:35 pm (Eastern) the moon will become officially full, and since it coincides with the moon's closest approach to Earth, it'll also be the year's biggest. A supermoon.
According to the Christian Science Monitor, the moon will be just 221,802 miles from Earth. It'll be extra-big and extra-bright, which is how it earned the nickname. This month's full moon will be about 16-percent brighter than average.
To get the best view of the moon, you'll want to look at it just after it rises or just before it sets, when it's closest to the horizon. That way you'll be able to see the moon behind buildings or trees, an effect which produces an optical illusion, making the moon appear larger than it really is. (Page)Chic Sh*t:
Kellog's Special K has a designer handbag that costs $750 dollars! It is finished in suede and available in "Special K Red." And it's equipped with a special pocket especially designed to hold a Special K bar. But no snack bar is included in the handbag.
Racked.com says Kellog's collaborated with an Australian designer to create the purse that doubles as "a visual cue to help the 96 percent of women who think about snacking each day to prepare for their looming snack attack."
Editor's Note: A box of Special K Bars costs $6 at Wal Mart. So you can spend $750 on one handbag. Or your could drop the cash on 125 boxes of the snack bar. (Bartha)Those Wacky North Koreans:
North Korea's new leader, KIM JONG-UN reportedly executed a military officer using high-powered mortars instead of a firing squad.
CNews says the new leader wanted "no trace of him behind, down to his hair." His crime? The unidentified officer was accused of being drunk during the mourning period for Kim Jong-un's father and previous North Korean leader, KIM JONG-IL.
A mortar fires short-range, high-caliber projectile bombs. (Still)The Reel Deal:
Congrats to SCARLETT JOHANSSON, who will be getting a star on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame" this morning (11:30 am, Pacific).
The star is to plug her appearance as Black Widow in "The Avengers," which opens this Friday. The movie doesn't need the pre-promotion --it's getting tremendous buzz-- but it's nice Scarlett is getting a star for her body (ahem) of work.
The star will be located in front of Madame Tussaud's at 6931 Hollywood Boulevard.Animal Stories:
It's the tale of two dogs.
Tanner was a golden retriever who suffered from blindness and seizures; Blair was a homeless pup who had been shot. Now, the two dogs are best buddies and they're helping each other cope.
The two were playing together at an Oklahoma animal hospital when "Blair all of a sudden seemed to realize that Tanner was blind and just started to help him around," --so goes the story from a veterinarian at the hospital in Tulsa.
Not only does Tanner have a guide dog; his seizures have also gotten less frequent, and the shy Blair is becoming more friendly.
"It's the first time I've seen anything like this," says the vet. "The special relationship these two dogs have." Shelter officials hope they can be adopted as a pair. (Video of Blair walking Tanner on a leash. --Maiman) -
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