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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Sep 18, 2012
September 18, 2012
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Dep't of Homeland Insecurity:
Those of you who lie awake nights worrying about a massive assault by the undead can rest a bit easier. A California security firm is offering training next month at its annual counterterrorism summit on repelling a zombie attack.
Okay, it's a bit tongue in cheek, but it's really being included as part of a five-day San Diego summit featuring more than a thousand military, government and law enforcement personnel. They'll use a 44-acre training site to discuss different "terrorist scenarios" --from Mideast bombers to zombies, reports the Military Times.
Participants in the "Zombie Apocalypse" are "going to see a lot of stuff go down," promises the president of the security firm.
The anti-zombie training was inspired by last year's Centers for Disease Control campaign urging American to be ready for anything, from natural disasters to pandemics (even the brain-eating kind), and a similar campaign in Canada.
On a more practical level, organizers say the "Zombie Apocalypse" helps train emergency responders to deal with extreme medical situations when people can become "crazed and violent," triggering widespread panic. (Maiman)What's the Buzz:
We spend our lives spoiling our pets to the tune of $53 billion this year, but what happens if you die and leave your pet behind?
By law, animals are considered property, not family, so if you pass away, pets can be in trouble. That's why the ASPCA and online legal-documents provider LegalZoom.com are teaming up to create the Pet Protection Agreement, a legal document to protect your pets when you no longer can.
The form costs between $39 and $79 --of which, the ASPCA gets up to 15 percent-- and it designates a new guardian for your pets, provides for funds to ensure they are taken care of, and lists other caregivers, such as vets or groomers.
But lawyers recommend against giving money directly to Fido; it's much safer to create a trust instead, especially for amounts of $25-thousand or more.
Editor's note: My cats already walk around like they own the place and deserve their inheritance now. They've also expressed that they want to be paid exclusively in rotisserie chicken and tuna melts. (Maiman)What's hot in Hollywood from Star magazine:
--Unreal candy, sweets that "unjunk" candy with no corn syrup or artificial preservatives, at select CVS and Walgreens
--Fashion Forms bras with all sorts of styles to keep the girls up but the dresses low cut and sexy, $36 bucks at www.lingeriesolutions.com
--Teeology.com, a high-end t-shirt company by JENNIFER LOPEZ that lets users vote on what t-shirts they should sellTV Briefs:
A week after secretly getting married to RYAN REYNOLDS, actress BLAKE LIVELY was spotted back at work on the set of "Gossip Girl" yesterday morning in New York City.
Here's a surprise: SEAN "Diddy" COMBS has picked up a role in the next season of DANNY DeVITO's show, "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." Now word on what the guest shot will involve.
Health and Medical Briefs:
There's a new option for women in the delivery room. Researchers found in recent studies that laughing gas eases pain for women in early labor.
According to MedPage Today, inhaling nitrous oxide was associated with greater pain relief than a placebo or no treatment at all during the first stage of labor. And administering another group of inhaled pain-relief medications known as flurane derivatives led to even more pain relief than the nitrous oxide.
Nitrous oxide and flurane derivatives were both able to help relieve labor pain without increasing the need for use of forceps, vacuum or C-section. Both methods also appeared to be safe for the baby.
And while laughing gas isn't commonly used in American delivery rooms, it's very popular in the UK, where it's used by 60-percent of women in labor. Nitrous oxide has been used across the pond for several decades with no safety issues for moms or babies. It's also popular in Australia, Canada and Finland, where about half of women in labor use it. (Page) -
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