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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Dec 9, 2013
December 9, 2013
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Christmas Tree problems:
How's this for a war on Christmas? Climate change is having an impact on Christmas trees.
Between heat waves and flash floods, this year was so bad for Christmas tree growers that a bunch of them have decided that they're not going to plant new crops. Trees, being trees, take a while to mature, so there are still a few years of tree crops on these farms waiting to get chopping down and trucked to living rooms across America. But once they're done, Christmas trees will be in short supply and they'll be more expensive.
Editor's note: Hey, maybe this will finally get the GOP to address climate change. (Maiman)Guilty Pleasures:
No winner in Friday night's drawing for the Mega Millions Lottery. That means Tuesday night's drawing is valued at $344 million ($184 million cash value). Mega Millions is played in 42 states and Washington DC. Chances of winning the big prize are 1 in 175.7 million.
Fashion Emergency:
Good news for AMANDA BYNES -- she's enrolled in fashion design school. We mentioned last week that the troubled actress just left rehab after being treated for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Now she's enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Orange County --the same school attended by "The Hills''" reality-star-turned-fashion-mogul LAUREN CONRAD. Bynes actually had her own clothing line in 2007. NY Magazine says Bynes is taking two classes under an alias name and accompanied by an escort. She also reportedly is continuing to attend intensive out-patient therapy. (Bartha)
Grace notes:
SELENA GOMEZ has one up on MILEY CYRUS. The ex-Disney tween queen dropped the F-bomb on stage Friday night at the Jingle Ball in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Selena was very upset that the sound wasn't working very well during her set, and you can see her yelling at someone off stage. She tried to apologize to the crowd for the audio problems, but she eventually got so angry that after a song she clearly yelled, "What the f***?" Guess her mic was on after all! Selena did one last song, than left the stage without finishing her set.
FYI: Miley was on the same show. She twerked on Santa Claus.
Editor's note: Ok, here's the clip of Selena cursing. NOT FOR AIR!!! (Marino)Grammy Nominations:
Nominations for the Grammy Awards were announced on Friday. A few of the major categories were revealed during the "Grammy Nominations Concert Live!" but, as usual, that show was more about performances than nominations. JAY-Z scored the most nods this year with nine. Justin Timberlake, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Pharrell Williams, and Kendrick Lamar all have seven nominations each.
There were a few major snubs too. MILEY CYRUS came up empty. Her "Bangerz" album didn't make the September 30th cutoff, but her two huge summer hits, "We Can't Stop" and "Wrecking Ball" were ignored in all categories. JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE has the top-selling album of the year, but, "The 20/20 Experience" was shut out of the top Grammy categories: album, song and record of the year. KANYE WEST only got two nominations. "Yeezus" is up for Grammy's biggest category, Album of the Year, and "New Slaves" is up for Song of the Year, but Kanye was shut out of all rap categories. LORDE's "Royals" stayed at number one for nine weeks, but she didn't get a nod for Best New Artist. However, she is up for Record and Song of the Year.
The 2014 Grammy Awards will be handed out on Sunday, January 26th, live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. You can see the whole thing on CBS. The entire list of nominations is up now at grammy.com. (Marino)Brain dead:
A Virginia man is offering to sell either his Harley Davidson or his wife on Craigslist.
BOB WHITE of Charles City posted the ad, which reads: "Wife says: 'Harley goes or she goes'... Your choice. Both in excellent condition: $5,900." White says he'll consider best offers and trade-ins. He's also offering pick-up or delivery service, and the chance to test drive before you buy. (Still) -
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