Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Oct 14, 2011

Guilty Pleasures:

No winner in Wednesday night's drawing for the Powerball Lottery. That means Saturday night's drawing is valued at $105 million ($65.7 million cash value). Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington DC and the U-S Virgin Islands. Chances of winning the grand prize (all five numbers plus the powerball) are 1 in 195.2 million.

Filling a need:

There are plenty of jobs out there, but employers say there aren’t enough skilled workers to fill them.
Employers say they especially need people with computer, math and science training. For example, according to Reuters, Siemens Corporation has more than three thousand job openings right now. More than half require technology, engineering and math-related skills. (Page)

Trash talk and satellite dish:

WHITNEY HOUSTON almost got kicked off of a Delta Airlines flight Wednesday because she refused to... buckle her seatbelt? T-M-Z says multiple sources watched as Whitney “got diva” on the flight attendant. Another crew member had to step in and tell Whitney to buckle up or get out. Whitney then “allowed one of the crew members to grab the buckle and fasten it for the singer.” (Well that was mighty nice of her.)
Whitney’s people had a slightly different take on it. They said Whitney “over-reacted a little bit after missing an earlier flight.” (Y’think?) They insisted that she’s still one hundred percent sober. They said she was on her way to Detroit to shoot a movie. (Bartha)

Royalty report:

PIPPA MIDDLETON dressed her celebrated rear-end in a long, floral printed dress at a party in London last night. Huffington Post says the royal-in-law was attending a breast cancer charity event hosted by the British fashion brand All Saints. She was there with ex-Royal Family member SARAH FERGUSON and actress SIENNA MILLER.

Popped by the cops:

The guy who played Draco Malfoy sidekick Crabbe in six of the "Harry Potter" movies has been charged with the possession of homemade explosives.
Actor JAMIE WAYLETT was arrested holding a Molotov cocktail while in the process of looting a drug store during the recent (Aug 08) London riots.
TMZ.com reports Jamie was identified thru video footage of the riots, but it's not his first confrontation with the law; he was arrested two years ago on suspicion of possessing marijuana.
Quotable: "We hate to stereotype, but never trust a Slytherin. NEVER." (Zap2It.com)

Reality Round-Up:

Another day, another couple of possible additions to the cast of "Celebrity Apprentice," which gears up next March.
So far, we've heard DEBBIE GIBSON and 'American Idol' alum CLAY AIKEN, plus three-time Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover girl CHERYL TIEGS, race car driver MARCO ANDRETTI, "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star TERESA GIUDICE and former reality star VICTORIA GOTTI.
Yesterday, former talk show host ARSENIO HALL was added to the list, along with "Star Trek's" Sulu, actor GEORGE TAKEI, and 80s rocker DEE SNIDER.

Grace notes:

LIMP BIZKIT frontman FRED DURST wants to star in a comedy series for CBS. Deadline.com says he signed a deal with the network and already has a sitcom in the pipeline. It's called "Douchebag" and features Fred as a rock star trying to balance his career and a family. The show will be produced by Fred's manager, JOHN SCHNEIDER, who is the brother of actor ROB SCHNEIDER. (Marino)