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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Sep 26, 2013
September 26, 2013
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Culture Shock:
Have you ever tried to look up an old friend online and can't find a trace of them anywhere? Hard to believe, but it's possible they're just not there. A new studyby the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project shows that 15 percent of American adults do not go online or use e-mail, citing its irrelevancy, difficulty, or expense as reasons they stay away. Of those Americans who do go online, three percent still use a dial-up connection.
Another a third of those who don't go online said they are worried about issues like spam, spyware and hackers. Additionally:
--44 percent of Americans ages 65 and older do not use the Internet, and these older Americans make up almost half (49 percent) of non-Internet users overall.
--44 percent of offline adults have asked a friend or family member to look something up or complete a task on the Internet for them.
--About a fifth of them said it was too expensive to own a computer or pay for internet service. (Page /Mainan)
Editor's note: Well, at least now we know who's watching Fox News. (Maiman)Broadcast, cable and video news:
A new study from PriceWaterhouseCooper says most people want to pick and choose what channels they get from their internet and TV providers.
The a la carte TV concept is not a new thing --but most people figure they'd save some money by eliminating the TV channels they never watch.
And how much would you pay for your favorite TV channel? Most consumers say they'd be willing to shell out around $3 a month for the ones they watch... and those are the rich ones. Sixteen percent, for example, say they wouldn't pay more than 99 cents a month for a channel they want, while 24 percent will pay $1.99 and 22 percent will pay $2.99.
What if you only watched one show a week on a particular channel? Most consumers (57 percent) said they'd only be willing to pay up to 99 cents for that show.Grace notes:
ROBIN THICKE will have a sit down with OPRAH WINFREY on October 13th. They will chat on "Oprah's Next Chapter" which airs on her cable network, OWN. Robin is expected to talk about what MILEY CYRUS did during his performance on the MTV Video Music Awards, being a husband and father with wife PAULA PATTON, and other stuff. (Marino)
Animal Stories:
A family in Brazil is so dedicated to rescuing endangered animals, they've moved seven tigers into their home.
43-year-old father of three ARY BORGES a pair of tigers from a circus and built a wild cat sanctuary in his yard. Now, Ary's family --including his two-year-old granddaughter-- live, eat, and even swim in the pool with the tigers. Borges says, "You have to show the animals respect and love. That's how you get it back from them." (Still)Health and Medical Briefs:
It may not be the best food for you, but if you're driving, some foods are safer to eat than others - at least while you're driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines a driving distraction as "anything that diverts a driver's attention from the primary tasks of navigating the vehicle and responding to critical events." That means not just the cell phone, but also eating.
Insurance website Insure.com surveyed drivers on the best foods to eat while driving. There were a lot of foods mentioned, but the two that came out on top were candy bar and French fries. Candy bars have a pretty low disaster potential and are about as safe as road food gets. French fries aren't very dangerous either, but do leave a residual greasy fingerprint, which may cause you to reach for napkins. (Page) -
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