Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Aug 30, 2011

Filling a need:

Got travel plans for Labor Day Weekend? Beware.
The basic price for a hotel room may sound cheap, but watch out for the extras. It's real easy to bust your travel budget when you're getting dinged for the spa or the weight room just like you get dinged for the mini-bar.
    One website that can help travelers avoid fees is Priceline.com. They offer a guide to hotels that offer a variety of complementary services. If traveling with pets, PetTravel.com features hotels that don't charge extra for a dog or cat to stay with you. (Maiman)

Shopping Around:

A new study from global business advisory firm AlixPartners shows shoppers are spending less money at the supermarket, with grocery stores now accounting for about 51% of food dollars. Mass merchandisers (including Walmart and Target) now get 30%, and club stores 13%.
    And the Internet is capturing 2% of shoppers' grocery dollars.
    When shoppers were asked to name and rank their preferred grocery retailers, nearly half of consumers surveyed (47%) named Walmart either first, second or third on their list of favorite places to shop for groceries, followed by Target and Kroger (with 16% each), Costco (14%) and Publix (11%).
    Lowest-income shoppers are even less likely to use traditional grocery stores, buying just 45% of their groceries there, and 38% at mass merchandisers. Among higher-income shoppers (with incomes of $100,000 or higher), 56% is spent at grocery stores, with club store sales rising to 17%. (Kaye)

Fashion Emergency:

It takes a lot to out-crazy LADY GAGA who was dressed like her male alter-ego, "Jo Calderone" at Sunday night’s M-T-V Video Music Awards . But best hip-hop video winner NICKI MINAJ left a lot of people wondering: Just what the hell was she wearing?
    Well, Fashionista.com says the answer is a whole mess of Harajuku accessories... “mess” being the operative word there. Harajuku is a popular Japanese street style. It mixes second-hand or hand-made clothes with traditional Japanese clothes and punk or goth clothing. GWEN STEFANI is also known for adding a little of the style to her look. But channeling her “Harajuku Barbie” alter-ego, Nicki brought it to a whole new, disturbing level at the V-M-As.
   Here’s Fashionista.com’s head-to-toe breakdown of All the Weird [Stuff] Nicki Minaj Was Wearing at the V-M-As:
--A pink, yellow and orange wig that looked very large scoops of sherbert.
--A surgical mask by Japanese designer, SHOJONO TOMO.
--An ice cream cone necklace.
--Diamond-shaped boobs.
--A "metallic purple Transformers-inspired body suit" with a “slutty ballerina” skirt.
-- Rainbow striped panties.
--Plastic shiny bow bracelets and rings.
--Star-printed tights.
--Thigh-highs by a Japanese designer.
--A big pink and black lace bow garter.
--A second pair of designer thigh-highs with a comic-book character pattern.
--One or two pairs of socks (they’re not quite certain) with pom-poms.
--Shoes: Don’t match. On the right foot, “something that vaguely resembles a red Chinese dragon. Or a red furry duck. On the left foot... no idea.:
--Some kind of collage of 25 different children’s toys. That was also designed by Shojono Tomo. (Bartha)

Road Rage:

Cars crash into homes often enough, but a car landing in the attic?
    A Kansas City family was shocked to find an SUV had crashed into the attic of the home they're renting. They all heard a loud boom, the son discovered the SUV and said, "Momma, there's a truck in the ceiling."
    Three people were stuck inside the vehicle and need the help of police to get out. Incredibly, alcohol was involved and the driver, who's recovering in the hospital was charged with DUI.
    Cops say he was speeding down the road and somehow drove onto the lawn. The inclined lawn acted as a ramp, launching the vehicle and its occupants into the house.
    The family is staying elsewhere until the home is repaired, which may take a while. They landlord doesn't have homeowner's insurance. (Not required in Missouri if you own the house outright.)
   Editor's note: "Momma, there's a truck in the ceiling!" "Not now; Springer's on!" (Maiman)