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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Mar 4, 2016
March 4, 2016
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Sample content intended for show prep.
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Filling a need:
"The Voice" coach BLAKE SHELTON is now a spokesman for a vodka line.
Blake announced this week that he's been in on the development and will be plugging Smithworks Vodka, which will start out being distributed in five states --Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, Kansas, and Blake's home state of Oklahoma. The 80-proof vodka is made with corn from Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma and water from Lake Fort Smith, and bottled there in Fort Smith, Arkansas.Fashion Emergency:
Dolce & Gabbana just made a pair of racist-sounding sandals. The designer's so-called "Slave Sandal" just became available for pre-order - for $2,395 dollars! While the pricetag is outrageous enough, it's the name that has people mad. The garish-looking shoes are bedecked with pom-poms are being marketed by retailers as either the "Pom Pom" or the "Bianca" sandal. The term "slave sandal" was once used by the footwear industry to describe a specific style of lace-up shoe, But Racked.com says the term "is almost entirely obsolete with the now widely-preferred description 'gladiator sandals." The designers have not responded to the outcry over the sandal name. (Bartha)
Fast Food:
It's tough to imagine, but families all over America are putting away their tech devices for 15-20-minutes in a row and having --gulp-- a true conversation! Yep, it's called the "Cell Phone Coup" that was thought up by BRAD WILLIAMS, who owns a Chick-Fil-A franchise in Suwanee, Georgia. Customers receive a cardboard box --or coup (get it --chicken coop? Cell phone coup?)-- when they eat at the restaurant, everyone puts their cell phones inside and afterward they receive a free ice cream cone after a distraction-free dinner.
Mr. Williams says the idea has "completely taken off," some folks had to come back a few times to be successful, the entire community is talking about it and some 350 Chick-fil-A locations have adopted the contest. (Lee)Stupid people, stupid places:
A Washington man accidentally shot himself in the face while taking a selfie with his gun.
The Washington Post reports the man's girlfriend told authorities they'd taken several selfies with the gun throughout the day, and he'd unloaded the gun before each photo session, then replaced the bullets when they were done. But before the final photograph, he apparently left one bullet inside the gun. Police are investigating his death as accidental.Lowering expectations:
Officials think they've figured out what caused a nuclear reactor shutdown outside New York City back in December.
Investigators with Entergy Corp have determined "bird poop" created an electrical disturbance which led to a three-day shutdown of the Indian Point reactor. The fowl droppings reportedly created an electric arc between wires at a transmission tower. Entergy spokesman JERRY NAPPI explains, "The generator senses that and automatically shuts down." Plant managers say they're installing bird guards on transmission towers to prevent a repeat performance. (Still) -
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