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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Oct 29, 2013
October 29, 2013
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Iran:
A former high-ranking United Nations official says Iran could be as little days away from produing enough weapons-grade uranium to build an atomic bomb. Former International Atomic Energy Agency deputy director OLLI HEINONEN said, "I believe that if certain arrangements are done, it could even go down to two weeks. So there are a lot of concerns out there that Iran can hopefully now address, in this new phase, both at the (talks between Tehran and six world powers) and with the IAEA."
Heinonen's assessment comes right on the heels of a report released last week by the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, which predicted that Iran could muster enough uranium for a bomb by converting all of its 20-percent enriched stockpile within one-to-two months. (Pacelli)What's the Buzz:
According to the recent Piper Jaffray semi-annual "Taking Stock With Teens" consumer insights project, teens are increasingly choosing organic food options, with 39 percent eating organics versus just 33 percent two years ago. When eating out, 60 percent of teens prefer limited service restaurants, up steadily from 43 percent four years ago.
For American Cuisine, teens favor Cheesecake Factory; for Italian, teens favor Olive Garden; and for Mexican-inspired fare, teens favor Chipotle Mexican Grill. (Kaye)Sucks to be you:
AMANDA SEYFRIED can't even do a downward-facing dog in peace. MIKE WALKER of the National Enquirer reports the blue-eyed beauty got the shock of her life during a yoga class when one of the fellow students began taking her picture with a camera phone! The "Mamma Mia" star put her in her place, the teacher kicked out the random woman and the actress went back to her bends and twists. (Lee)
Those British tabloids:
With all the hype from "Captain Phillips" and last week's news of a pirate attack off the coast of Africa, there's a newfound pop culture interest in pirates and defenses against said pirates. Enter the merchant navy, who swear that the musical stylings of BRITNEY SPEARS can save them from Somali pirates.
"Chart-toppers 'Baby One More Time' and 'Oops! I Did It Again' are the most effective in the war against the Kalashnikov carrying bandits," reports the London Daily Mirror. "Her songs have been chosen by the security team accompanying our tankers because they thought the pirates would hate them most," said one officer. "As soon as the pirates get a blast of Britney they move on as quickly as they can."
Editor's note: At least it wasn't Justin Bieber. Then they'd be calling for them to be tried at the Hague along with George W Bush for war crimes. (Maiman)Fashion Emergency:
Over the weekend KANYE WEST opened a pop-up shop in Los Angeles, located right next door to Dash, the boutique run by fiancée KIM KARDASHIAN, and sisters KHLOE AND KOURTNEY. The temporary store is selling merchandise from his Yeezus tour. Racked.com says the Yeezus swag is selling fast, and that more girls than guys are doing the buying. The store will only be open until the end of this week. PacSun is also selling Kanye's tour merchandise on their website. (Bartha)
Animal Stories:
A huge flock of ducks invaded a pharmacy in Saratoga Springs, New York (video).
Witnesses say 50 ducks waddled into the store through the automatic doors. Employees tried to shoo the animals out with a mop but they wouldn't budge. Finally, a worker laid out a trail of popcorn which the ducks followed outside. The ducks left peacefully and no damage was reported. (Still) -
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