Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Oct 4, 2011

Anniversaries:

25 years ago today, actor ROCK HUDSON died of AIDS (1986). He was the first mega-star celebrity to admit he had the disease.
--50 years ago today: "The Dick Van Dyke Show" premiered on CBS (1961).

Posturing, Posing and Press Releases:

More scrambling of the Republican presidential primary calendar.
Just days after Florida moved its presidential primary up to January 31st, South Carolina has moved their primary ahead of that, to January 21st.
Iowa and New Hampshire officials have insisted all along that they will maintain their first-in-the-nation positions, which could lead to Iowa's caucuses moving to early January with New Hampshire's primary a week later, although New Hampshire Secretary of State BILL GARDNER says, "If we have to go in December, we're going to go in December, because our law and our tradition is going to be upheld." (Maiman)

Recall:

Recent food contaminations make it difficult to eat healthy. A California-based lettuce grower is voluntarily recalling some of its products over a possible listeria contamination.
According to the International Business Times, the recall affects 90 cartons of chopped romaine lettuce shipped between September 12th and 13th to a distributor in Oregon. That company, in turn, sent the lettuce off to 19 states in the U-S. The affected bags of True Leaf Farms lettuce are stamped with a “use by date” of September 29, 2011.
Listeria bacteria can cause fever, muscle aches and gastrointestinal problems. Otherwise healthy people would likely cause no harm. But for the elderly and frail, and for pregnant women, listeria can cause a host of problems. (Page)

Investing in gold:

Many filthy rich folks wouldn't be caught dead buying stuff from vending machines --until now.
According to Orange.co.uk, the first ever gold-dispensing vending machine has been unveiled in China. The machine takes cash and credit cards, so investors can purchase gold bars quickly and easily.
Customers can buy anywhere from a few ounces to large 4-pound bricks in just a few seconds. (Still)

Trash talk and satellite dish:

BETHENNY FRANKEL really wants her syndicated talk show to be a hit, but there's one minor problem --her personality needs some work. Sources tell the NY Post's Page Six gossip column reports the former "Real Housewife" met with a television bigwigs, who found her too aggressive. Her management hired a personal coach for the hard-core brunette, who taught her the fine art of speaking slowly and being nice! (Lee)

MADONNA will be the halftime entertainment at the Super Bowl. That's what the website SBNation says anyway. The NFL would not comment on this, but it would be great if it's true. Other than last year's show by THE BLACK EYED PEAS, all of the haltime performers since JANET JACKSON's wardrobe malfunction in 2004 have been classic rockers like PAUL McCARTNEY, THE ROLLING STONES, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN and THE WHO. Madonna is clearly not as raunchy as she used to be, so the NFL has nothing to worry about. The big game happens on February 5th at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Marino)