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Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Nov 6, 2015
November 6, 2015
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Holiday packages:
Thanksgiving hasn't even come and gone, but the US Postal Service already says they expect to deliver approximately 15.5 billion cards, letters, flats, and packages during the upcoming holiday season. In addition, they are projecting approximately 600 million packages will be delivered between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, an increase of 10.5 percent over last year's volume.
The Post Office also says they plan to hire an additional 30-thousand employees for the holiday season as well.
FYI: Tomorrow, Nov 07, is the deadline for mailing packages for armed forces --to APO/FPO/DPO boxes.Looking at Logos:
Shocking news --the price of Girl Scout Cookies is going up!
CNBC reports a box of cookies in Massachusetts, California and Hawaii have gone up to $5 a box to help offset the rising prices of running a non-profit organization.
The Scouts' website says the last time they boosted the price was 10 years ago, but "Primarily, the increase in the cookie price is because inflation has increased the cost of doing business for troops, service units, and the overall council. Without an increase in price, we are unable to cover existing costs or provide for program enhancements, building repairs, or other investments on behalf of our membership."Cops & robbers:
The city of Houston, Texas, is stepping up their game against bank robberies.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Houston is home to the most armed bank robberies in America. FBI statistics show that over 40-percent of bank holdups in Houston involve extremely violent robbery methods. That's compared to the national average of just six percent.
To combat the trend, Houston banks are now employing high-tech anti-terrorism technology. This includes the use of metal detectors with specific algorithms that distinguish between items like jewelry and belt buckles, and weapons. If weapons are detected, the person carrying them is immediately denied access to the building thanks to automated locking doors. (Still)Animal Stories:
Kangaroos are a lot more gassy than we first thought. New research has debunked the idea that the marsupials have special gut microbes that to emit very little methane into the air when they let one loose. According to LiveScience, kangaroos let it rip with less methane than cows, but at about the same level as horses. This is important to know because methane is a greenhouse gas that comes from natural sources --including cows, decomposing organic matter and human activities (like that uncle who always wants you to "come over here and pull my finger"). There's less methane in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, but it is more effective at trapping heat. (Bartha)
Movies opening this weekend:
There are big hopes for "Spectre" --the 24th James Bond movie. Hollywood experts say the film could pull in as much as $75-million dollars this weekend, since there's nearly four-thousand theatres (including IMAX theatres) set to roll the film and the total will include last night's numbers, since the movie opened early.
The other new movie in theatres is "The Peanuts Movie," which opens today and is also in nearly four-thousand theatres and in 3-D. With Halloween over, that movie could pick up as much as $40-million dollars, but it looks like James Bond --played by DANIEL CRAIG-- will be the eventual winner. -
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