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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jun 18, 2012
June 18, 2012
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Your tax dollars at work:
A new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that all those motorcycle helmet laws that states require actually saves lives and saves money for all of us.
Turns out fewer motorcyclists die in states that require helmets. About five times as many no-helmet biker deaths occur in states with less restrictive laws.
CDC researchers looked at a government tally of fatal traffic crashes, focusing on 2008 through 2010 and counting 14,283 deaths of motorcyclists. That included 6,057 bikers with no helmet. Only about 12 percent of those deaths occurred in the 20 states that required everyone on motorbikes to wear helmets.
The researchers also made 2010 cost calculations based on medical expenses and lost work productivity from motorcycle deaths and injuries. According to their data, more than $3 billion in economic costs were saved due to helmet use in the United States, and another $1.4 billion could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets. (Maiman)Fashion Emergency:
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA attended a fundraiser at the home of SARAH JESSICA PARKER and MATTHEW BRODERICK over the weekend. And the buzz is that to get ready for the dinner party, Vogue editor ANNA WINTOUR banished the celebrity couple's unacceptable home furnishings into storage.
The NY Post says Sarah and Matt's brownstone in New York City was cleaned and rearranged, and that Anna was going crazy about the decorating. She was having a lot [of] furniture removed and sending all of [Sarah Jessica Parker's] tchotchkes upstairs."
Also: "Some of the stuff in the house was shabby chic, and let's just say, Anna wanted less shabby, and more chic." NY Magazine's The Cut says other sources confirmed the furniture rearrangement, but deny it was for the Prada-wearing 'Devil's' benefit. (Bartha)Taking everything much too seriously:
A man in Wales used the force --and 10-thousand dollars-- to repair a piece of Star Wars history.
The NY Post says author TERRY COOPER came across the original igloo-shaped home of LUKE SKYWALKER while visiting Tunisia recently. The original 1977 film was shot in that country. And, the original set pieces were simply left behind in the desert after production was completed. But, Cooper spent his own cash to completely restore the Skywalker home. Now, fans can visit it anytime they want. (Still)Grace notes:
DRAKE will beat the rap. The New York Daily News says he'll get little more than a slap on the wrist for throwing a bottle in CHRIS BROWN's direction at a Manhattan nightclub on Thursday. That kicked off a bar brawl which saw a few people injured, including Chris and San Antonio Spurs star, TONY PARKER. His retina was scratched as the bottles were flying. Tony now says the injury isn't too bad and it won't prevent him from competing for France (where he was born) in the London Olympics next month.
Drake will probably just get a desk appearance ticket for reckless endangerment, and that will be that. Chris already gave cops his side of the story, and Drake was going to have a chat with police after his concert Saturday night at Jones Beach. Meanwhile, the nightclub where all of this happened was closed down Saturday night because of code violations. (Marino)Health and Medical Briefs:
A review of several studies suggests older adults who take vitamin D and calcium supplements daily may live longer than their peers.
Findings published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology found older people who were given the supplements were nine-percent less likely to die over a three-year period than those who were given placebos. And while nine-percent may sound like small potatoes, the lead researcher says it's similar effects as seen among who take cholesterol-lowering statins and blood pressure drugs. (Page) -
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