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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Apr 5, 2013
April 5, 2013
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Immigration Update:
Are there major gaps in security along the U.S. border with Mexico? The Los Angeles Times reports that information from Predator drones --the same ones used to track Taliban fighters in Afghanistan-- shows that Border Patrol agents apprehended fewer than half of the foreign migrants and smugglers who had illegally crossed into a 150-square-mile stretch of southern Arizona.
That info was gathered uisng a high-tech radar system attached to those drones.
The Times reports that internal reports show Border Patrol agents used the airborne radar to help find and detain 1,874 people in the Sonora Desert between Oct. 1 and Jan. 17. However, that radar system spotted another 1,962 people in the same area who evaded arrest and disappeared into the U.S. (Pacelli)Culture Shock:
A new study finds that cohabitation --the ol' "living in sin"-- is becoming increasingly popular in the U-S, with more unmarried couples living together longer and having children together. Some of the big findings from the federal study:
--For 48 percent of women ages 15 to 44, their "first union" was cohabitation, not marriage. That's up from 43 percent in 2002 and 34 percent in 1995.
--Marriage was the first union for just 23 percent of women, compared to 30% in 2002 and 39% in 1995.
--Within the first year of their first unmarried cohabitation, 19 percent of women had a child.
--And within three years of moving in together, 40 percent of women had gotten married. Another 32 percent continued cohabitating, while 27 percent broke up.
--Cohabitation is lasting longer: The median length of the first cohabitation is now 22 months, an increase from 20 months in 2002 and 13 months in 1995. That's a reversal for the U-S, which "has long had the shortest cohabiting relationships of any wealthy nation," says a sociologist.
Demographers say education is an important factor: Women who didn't graduate from high school are much more likely to have cohabitation as their first union. And women with higher education are more likely to transition into marriage from cohabitation.
As for having kids together, "What we're seeing here is the emergence of children within cohabiting unions among the working class and the poor," says the sociologist. "Having children within cohabiting unions is much more common among everybody but the college educated." (Maiman)Like you really care:
KRISTEN STEWART turns the big 2-3 next Tuesday and hopes her main man will give her the gift of a new baby! Don't get excited --it's not the human variety. Sources tell PerezHilton.com the "Twilight" cutie feels like she already has everything her little heart desires and wants another rescue dog to add to the family. (Lee)
Models:
GEORGIA MAY JAGGER wants to be a Victoria's Secret Angel --and she's not being shy about letting people know about it. The model and 21-year-old daughter of MICK JAGGER and JERRY HALL says that when she first started modeling, she "didn't want to do that many things" in her underwear. But now that she's older, she thinks "Victoria's Secret is more of a woman thing. You see the models and they're all like Amazon women, with boobs, and when you're younger you don't feel that could be you. But I'd like to do it in the future." (Bartha)
Stars and their movies:
Magicians PENN and TELLER will be getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this morning... just steps away from HARRY HOUDINI's star and right down the street from The Magic Castle.
DAVID COPPERFIELD, TREY PARKER and MATT STONE will be speaking at the unveiling, set for 11:30 am.
FYI: The pair, who've been performing together since the late 1970s, have the distinction of being "Las Vegas Magicians of the Year" six times and have been performing at the Rio Las Vegas Hotel and Casino for 10 years.Grace notes from Vinny Marino:
CHRISTINE McVIE quit FLEETWOOD MAC in 1998, but she may rejoin the band, at least for one night. She told the UK's Metro newspaper (quote), "If they wanted me to, I might pop back on stage when they're in London just to do a little duet or something like that." Fleetwood Mac will play London's O2 Arena on September 24th, 25th and 27th, so it could happen. (Marino)
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