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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Apr 11, 2012
April 11, 2012
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Election 2012:
Posturing, Posing, Press Releases and Polls:
Another day, another poll with mixed results for PRESIDENT OBAMA. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll reflects a now-familiar theme: voters still like the president, but they're not all that confident about his policies.
A solid 64-percent see the president as more friendly and likable than MITT ROMNEY, but 54-percent are concerned about his handiling of the economy and jobs. The poll gives the president a 51-to-43-percent lead in a hypothetical match-up among registered voters. (Pacelli)Culture Shock:
Stat of the Day: Almost 20 percent of third graders have cell phones.
That's according to a 2011 study of 20,766 Massachusetts elementary, middle, and high school students. By the time the kids reach fifth grade, 39 percent of the kids have cell phones, and phone saturation is nearly complete by middle school, when more than 83 percent of the students have one.
The study was conducted last year by STEPHANIE ENGLANDER of Bridgewater University, who cited the figures this week at a Yale Information Society Project panel on "The Future of Children's Privacy Online." Englander used the figures to illustrate a larger point about privacy online: A good percentage of young children are online where they're vulnerable to cyberstalking and bullying. (Maiman)Sucking the life out of the wire services:
Back again: This week's National Enquirer has dug up the old story about MORGAN FREEMAN getting married to his step-granddaughter.
The story was first out three years ago, when the Enquirer claimed Morgan --who's 74-- was dating E'DINA HINES, who --at 27-- is 47 years younger if my math is correct.
And the Enquirer said at that time they'd been having an affair for nearly ten years, and it was the reason his ex-wife, MYRNA, filed for divorce back in 2008.
Now, the latest rumor from the tabloid is that Morgan and E'Dina will be getting married in the very near future. Morgan is --as you might expect-- not talking about the rumor.Designer Update:
The wedding gown RICKI LAKE wore for her super-secret elopement over the weekend was designed by one of her costume designers from "Dancing with the Stars." Ricki told People magazine that she held a secret consultation with the show's costumer's back in February. She chose the reality show's design team because "They made me feel like a princess every week that I danced." (Bartha)
Parent(s) of the Day:
Cops say a kindergartner in Connecticut brought heroin to show and tell.
According to CNews, the unidentified five-year-old boy is now in protective custody and his stepfather is behind bars. Witnesses say the child was proudly displaying and waving around packs of a "powdery substance" to his classmates.
Police say they arrested 35-year-old SANTOS ROMAN when he showed up at the school later to retrieve the substance. He's being held on $100-thousand dollars bail. (Still)Fish Oil warning:
Health food stores, nutrition centers and pharmacies are full of supplements. Fish oil is one of the more popular ones, but a new study questions the benefit of the pills.
Writings in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggest fish oil isn't doing much to keep Americans' hearts healthy. In a study of more than 20-thousand people with heart disease, researchers found more the supplements did nothing to help those who had been taking the fish oil for at least a year. The fish oil did not lower the risk of another heart attack, stroke, congestive heart failure or other cardiovascular catastrophe. (Page) -
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