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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Apr 25, 2013
April 25, 2013
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In a freak twist of fate, one survivor of the Boston bombing also survived the Virginia Tech massacre of 2007.
KELLY WILLARD was a student at Virginia Tech at the time and found herself on lockdown for 12 hours just two buildings away from the shooter. Six years later, she ran the Boston Marathon for the first time, and was two blocks away when the bombs went off last Monday.
After the mass shooting, "You think that nothing like that will ever happen again," she says. "I definitely had flashbacks of Virginia Tech."
Willard, who's from Ohio, said her husband was nearby during both incidents, and she had a hard time reaching him. "You feel very blessed at the end to come through it OK, but it is very scary when it's happening." She also realized that attacks "can happen anywhere. A small town like Blacksburg, Virginia, and then a big city like Boston. You just have to keep on living and do what you love to do."
Editor's note: If I were her, I'd be playing the lottery. (Maiman)Juicy Rumor... KIM KARDASHIAN
will be attending next month's the Met Ball on the arm of her baby's daddy, KANYE WEST... whether Vogue editor ANNA WINTOUR likes it or not. Life & Style says When Kanye showed up to the big fashion bash Kim-less last year, the rumors flew that the magazine editor-from-hell had banned the reality star because Kim did not meet Anna's impossibly high class standards. (Bartha)
The best TV story yesterday may have come from Radar Online, which claims KHLOE KARDASHIAN's mom, KRIS JENNER, may have gotten her fired from "The X Factor."
She apparently suggested to producers that they should dump MARIO LOPEZ as the show's host and replace him one of her other daughters --either KIM or KOURTNEY-- claiming that the chemistry between Mario and Khloe just didn't work and one of her other daughters would be a better fit.
The producers apparently agreed that there was no chemistry --but fired Khloe instead.
For her part, Kris claims Khloe wasn't fired from the show, she had to leave due to a busy schedule!Television's rating sweeps begin tonight
In television, the May sweeps (as they're called, even though they start tonight) is one of the most critical times of the year for networks and local stations. It's a month-long period in which in-depth audience measurement is taken, so naturally, network and local stations pour vast resources into season finales (and USA Today has a rundown of some highlights), specials (like the Billboard Music Awards next month) and of course, special news segments on local news --all in an attempt to attract viewers. The more eyeballs a station gets, the more money it can charge for advertising-- we all know the drill.
Of course, whether the stories that draw viewers to local TV news are high-quality investigations or sensational stunts varies. So look for your local news station to run things like:
--"What Some Car Dealers Don't Want You to Know," the questionable, and in some cases criminal, business practices on the part of several local car dealers (complete with undercover video!)
--"Felons in Day Care," yes, after the story of a drug dealer arrested at his home, which also turned out to be a day care center, we find out that dozens of criminals are living in homes that double as child day cares, unbeknownst to law enforcement officials. Think that's impossible? It actually happened in Orlando way back in 2000 and ran on WKMG-TV.
--"Life Among the Homeless," where your intrepid investigative reporter spends a week "undercover" as a vagrant to experience what life is like for the city's homeless population. Panhandling during the day, sleeping under a bridge at night, and bringing the experience to your living room, probably along with some wisecrack about how great it felt to finally take a shower.
So strap in, gear up, and remember: "Your sink could be killing you!" (Maiman)A priest in Poland is raising a baby badger as his own.
Father SYLWESTER OLSZANOWSKI found the orphaned cub outside of his church during renovation work. He says, "I decided she was a gift from God and that I had no choice but to take her in."
Father Sylwester is asking parishioners to help him set up a refugee center for the badger, now nicknamed BERTA. (Still) -
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