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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Jan 20, 2014
January 20, 2014
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Small-town politics:
Do two states make a trend?
After a lawmaker in Wyoming did it, a lawmaker in Missouri has proposed the return of firing squads.
State Rep RICK BRATTIN filed a bill last week that would allow the state to execute prisoners the old-fashioned way, in part because of the national shortage of drugs typically used for lethal injection.
It'd be a five-person firing squad consisting of licensed peace officers.
The prospects for Brattin's bill aren't clear. But a local website notes another of his bills in the pipeline: He wants to require schools that teach evolution to notify parents and allow them to opt out.
Editor's note: Who gets pay-per-view rights? (Maiman)The 411:
If it takes you or your partner 45 minutes or more to get to work, your marriage is 40 percent more likely to fall apart.
That's according to Swedish researchers whose nationwide study looked at couples from 1995 to 2005.
You may, however, have less to worry about if the commuter in your relationship is a woman. The study finds that men who have a long commute are more likely than long-traveling women to bail on a relationship. And that breakup is more likely to happen in the initial years of commuting. In fact, if you and your partner can stay together for five years of commuting, you're significantly more likely to be together for good.
Why? Researchers think it just might be "weaker relationships" can't take that kind of strain in the first place.
The average commute in the United States is 25 minutes, but that's a very misleading number because the tally includes short commute cities like Fargo and Omaha as well as big cities. And big city average commuting times are equally misleading because they tally the travel times of those who commute just a few blocks to work with those who travel from suburbia to the city. Based on that computation, the average commute time in New York and Washington is 35 minutes, according to INRIX, a traffic information and services group, and nearly 29 minutes in Los Angeles. (Maiman)Sucking the life out of the wire services:
GWEN STEFANI will be tripping over Legos and Tonka trucks for many years to come. The NO DOUBT beauty revealed on Instagramlast Friday that she was "ready to hand over the crown," but is "still queen of the house" --a reference to her obvious pregnancy and the fact that she's "surrounded by boys."
Gwen announced her pregnancy back in September but now we know it'll be a boy. The blonde bombshell already has two sons, KINGSTON JAMES McGREGOR and ZUMA NESTA ROCK, with longtime hubby GAVIN ROSSDALE. Life & Style magazine also claims pop star HARRY STYLES is dating Rossdale's daughter, DAISY LOWE, after they were introduced to each other by KELLY OSBOURNE in September (Lee)Broadcast, cable and video news:
JAY LENO's final guest when he says goodbye to the "Tonight Show" on Thu, Feb 06 will be BILLY CRYSTAL, who was also his first guest and Jay began his tenure as "Tonight Show" host back on May 25, 1992. GARTH BROOKS will also appear on Leno's finale.
Those with long memories will remember that BETTE MIDLER and ROBIN WILLIAMS were JOHNNY CARSON's final guests when he left the desk at the "Tonight Show." Midler gave a rousing parody spin of "You Made Me Love You" and moved Carson to get misty eyed with her delicate rendition of "One For My Baby."
NBC announced the guest list for Leno's final week, beginning with his successor, JIMMY FALLON and BETTY WHITE, making her 19th appearance on the show on Monday, Feb 03.
Golden Globe winner MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY and basketball legend CHARLES BARKLEY will appear on the Feb 04 show, along with musical guest LYLE LOVETT.
Oscar nominee SANDRA BULLOCK will guest on the Feb 05 show, along with country star and "The Voice" judge BLAKE SHELTON. (Maiman)JIMMY FALLON's first "Tonight Show" will be Feb 17. And while we're on the subject of first guests, Jimmy announced that WILL SMITH will be joining him as his first guest with musical guest U2.
And, as Jimmy segues over to the "Tonight Show," SETH MEYERS will be taking over the Late Nite slot and announced that his first guest will be fellow "SNL" alum AMY POEHLER. And, Deadline reports that Seth, who did the "Weekend Update" while he was at "SNL," said he would like to include a similar news-oriented segment and interview fictional people as well as real life celebrities on the show.TV Briefs:
"Governator" fans will love this --the NY Post reports former CA Gov ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER will be doing a "humorous" Super Bowl commercial for Bud Light. He's got three-million bucks for the spot, which aired for the first time during yesterday's playoff games.
It's the latest deal for Ah-nold, who also has three movies coming out this year, including a role in "The Expendables 3."
Also in the commercial mix for Super Bowl 48: SCARLETT JOHANSSON for Soda Stream, BEN KINGSLEY for Jaguar, LAURENCE FISHBOURNE as Morpheus from "The Matrix" in a Kia Motors spot, STEPHEN COLBERT for pistachios, DANICA PATRICK for GoDaddy.com and DAVID BECKHAM for H&M.Grace notes:
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and Billboard.com put together a list of songs from over the years that honor the late civil rights leader:
10. "Dream Speech" --The Gregory Brothers' Auto-Tune The News
9. "King Holiday" --King Holiday Chorus, featuring Whitney Houston
8. "MLK" --U2
7. "I Have A Dream" --Common, featuring Will.i.am
6. "Like A King" --Ben Harper
5. "One Vision" --Queen
4. "We Shall Overcome" --Bruce Springsteen
3. "Happy Birthday" --Stevie Wonder
2. "By The Time I Get To Arizona" --Public Enemy
1. "Pride (In The Name Of Love)" --U2 (Marino) -
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