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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - May 21, 2015
May 21, 2015
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What's Poppin':
NADIRAH MUHAMMED of Detroit, Michigan is definitely a shoe-in for "Teacher of the Year." The UK's Daily Mail reports the gym teacher at West Side Academy gave 18-year-old student A'JA BOOTH one of her kidneys after watching the poor thing suffer with dialysis three-times per-week for four years and reading a book about the teen's experience.
Ms. Muhammed tells the Detroit Free Press it was a "no-brainer" and would want someone to do the same if it was her child, so she went under the knife back on December 15th at the Henry Ford Hospital. The ladies returned to school last Tuesday, A'ja is set to graduate in just a few weeks and hopes to be become a nurse. (Lee)Weird science:
Attention Top-40 Fans: Apparently, your music is for children.
Perhaps that's misleading: A new study from ANDREW POWELL-MORSE says that lyrics of chart-topping songs in 2014 have a reading level between second and third grade. This continues a downward trend. In 2005, for instance, songs tended to read between a third and fourth grade reading level.
Country music came out with the highest average reading level (3.3), followed by that of pop music and rock 'n' roll tied at 2.9, and R&B/Hip-hop at 2.6.
The highest scoring rock song was RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS' "Dani California" at a reading level of 5.5. THREE DAYS GRACE's "The Good Life" barely clocks in at 0.8.
Individual artists that came out on top were EMINEM, with an average level of 3.70, NICKI MINAJ at 3.40, and MACKLEMORE at 3.25.
Editor's note: Don't be too hard on these guys. Ernest Hemingway's novels average out around a fourth grade reading level. It's also worth it to note that these songs are produced for the masses and the very point is to have them easily accessible for everyone. (AB)Broadcast, cable and video news:
Look for more than 65 stars on tonight's live, three-hour "Red Nose Day" special. The charity event will benefit children living in poverty throughout the world with money going to 12 separate charities, including Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Charity: water; Children's Health Fund; Feeding America; Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance; the Global Fund; LIFT; National Council of La Raza; National Urban League; Oxfam America; Save the Children and the United Way.
The show airs live from 8-11 pm (Eastern) and will feature comedy, musical performances and videos produced by Funny or Die.com along with celebrity appearances, including JULIA ROBERTS, WILL FERRELL, JENNIFER ANISTON, REESE WITHERSPOON, JODIE FOSTER, JULIANNE MOORE, JACK BLACK, COLDPLAY, NEIL PATRICK HARRIS, JOHN KRASINSKI, EMILY BLUNT, MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ, GWYNETH PALTROW, along with JOHN LEGEND and "The Voice" coaches ADAM LEVINE, BLAKE SHELTON, CHRISTINA AGUILERA and PHARRELL WILLIAMS.You Are What You Eat:
A Pennsylvania inventor says he's created a "smart plate" that can see what you're eating.
ANTHONY ORTIZ says his SmartPlate uses cameras and weight sensors to identify meals and keep track of a user's diet. It can even tell you if you're eating too much, or not enough. Ortiz hopes to start shipping the plate in 2016, if his Kickstarter campaign is successful. (Still)Grace notes from Vinny Marino:
THE ROLLING STONES did a surprise small theater show last night in Los Angeles. The announcement was made yesterday morning and all 12-hundred tickets were gone in seconds. Tickets were only $5-dollars! The Fonda Theater concert was a warm-up for the Stones' "Zip Code" stadium tour and the band performed its entire 1971 album, "Sticky Fingers," along with other hits. The encore included B.B. KING's "Rock Me Baby," and OTIS REDDING's "I Can't Turn You Loose." The tour begins in San Diego on Sunday, and the deluxe editions of "Sticky Fingers" will be out on Tuesday. (Marino)
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