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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - May 1, 2015
May 1, 2015
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The Kentucky Derby:
Known as the Greatest Two Minutes In Sports, the 141st running of the Kentucky Derby, the first leg of the Triple Crown, is Saturday afternoon in Louisville. The one and a quarter mile race for three-year-old thoroughbreds is run annually in Louisville, KY, on the first Saturday in May.
The field was narrowed to 20 horses Wednesday, based on the amount of money each horse made in their stakes races before the big event, which is expected to draw a quarter million fans through what's now become a weekend bash. Women appear in fine outfits lavishly accessorized with large, elaborate hats. As the horses are paraded before the grandstands, the University of Louisville marching band plays Stephen Foster's "My Old Kentucky Home."
JOSH GROBAN will be singing the national anthem. He'll be the seventh person to sing the national anthem at the Derby; the tradition started in 2009. Previous performers included MARTINA McBRIDE, MARY J. BLIGE, JORDIN SPARKS and RASCAL FLATTS. The race is also called the Run for the Roses because a lush blanket of 554 red roses is awarded to the Kentucky Derby winner each year (see below).
Last year's winner was California Chrome. This year's favorite is American Pharoah, currently at 13-to-5 odds (Entire field listed below).Boxing, or THE Fight:
It is the most hotly anticipated boxing match in over a decade. MANNY PACQUIAO versus FLOYD MAYWEATHER, Jr. for the WBA, WBC, WBO and The Ring welterweight championship. Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The broadcast starts at 9pm (ET) on pay-per-view (HBO/Showtime); the price is a record-breaking $99.95.
Mayweather comes to the match at 47-0 (26 KOs) & Pacquiao at 57-5-2 (38 KOs). It is rumored that Mayweather will earn at minimum $180 million from the fight; Paqcquiao, in excess of $120 million.
Final odds are yet to be determined, but interestingly a draw is now coming in at 8-1.Some facts about Pacquiao: grew up in poverty in the Philippines; now owns 5 homes around the world (including one in Beverly Hills once owned by P.Diddy). Won a seat in the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 2010; rumored to be a viable candidate for President after his boxing career. Owns 22 different cars. Also known as, "Pac-Man," "The Mexicutioner" and "The Nation's Fist."
Some facts about Mayweather: he was born in Grand Rapids, MI, and currently ranked by Forbes magazine as the highest earning athlete in the world. He was trained by his father until he fired him and hired his uncle. He's also known as, Money Mayweather and Pretty Boy Floyd. He never re-uses his underwear or wears a pair of shoes twice (annual cost of undies... $6,000). Has held 10 major world titles at four different weight classes. (Lane)
Thanks, Global warming!:
More than four in 10 Americans live in places with unhealthy air. That's according to the American Lung Association's " State of the Air 2015" report. It found that 138.5 million people, or 44 percent of the U.S. population, live in counties where ozone or particle pollution makes the air too unhealthy to breathe.
The good news --this was a slight decrease from last year's report, when 47 percent of Americans lived in areas with unhealthy air. And by "unhealthy" we mean air that has been linked to lung cancer, heart attacks, asthma attacks and other health problems.
CBS News says the report analyzed air pollution data from 2011 to 2013. Everything from dirty transportation emissions to coal-fired power plants are befouling our air. Also, hotter temperatures, more wildfires and a long-running drought on the West Coast are contributing to high levels of particle pollution and ozone. The top 10 worst cities for air pollution confirm those findings... seven out of 10 are located in California. The other three are in the Ohio Valley, where coal is a big source of power.
And the biggest losers in the Top 10 Most Polluted Cities list, according to the American Lung Association are…
10. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio
9. Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia
8. Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
7. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, California
6. El Centro, California
5. Los Angeles-Long Beach, California
4. Modesto-Merced, California
3. Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, California
2. Bakersfield, California
1. Fresno-Madera, California
FYI:If you want to find out how your area rates, go to this website, http://www.stateoftheair.org/ and plug in your zip code or state. (Bartha)Animal Stories:
A woman in Warwick, RI got the surprise of her life when a wild turkey crashed through her bathroom window and flooded her house. She was at work when it happened but came home to find water everywhere. "The door was open and I rounded the corner and there was a turkey --sitting on my vanity," NANCY PAGE explained. She closed the door and called 9-1-1 and told the dispatcher, "my emergency was water gushing through the ceiling... and a turkey in my bathroom," said Page. "She [the dispatcher] said 'what?' And I said it again and said this really is true." No one was hurt, the turkey is fine and Nancy says it's all laughable now. (Myers)
A two-headed calf has been discovered on a farm in Florida.
CAROLYN CREWS of the Baker County Farm found the animal in a field on her property and named it ANNABEL. Sadly, the calf's breaths are labored and she can't stand on her own. So, it's unclear how long the animal might live. Crews says, "I never dreamed of such a thing happening. It'll be something that we probably never seen in our lifetime."
Having multiple heads is called polycephaly. It happens in the womb when an embryo tries to split into twins, but stops before the process is complete. (Still) -
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