Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Don't have a date for Valentine's Day yet?:

Maybe you should check out HotPrisonPals.com.
   According to Reuters, the web site gives people a chance to exchange love letters with convicted felons while they serve their sentences.
   So far the site only features male prisoners --but women cons have also been invited to participate. JASON RUPP --who built the site-- says it's good for the prisoners because they have abandonment issues. Rupp says, "The letters they get through the site are crucial to their well being. They need to know someone on the outside cares."
   Prisoners pay $19 to join the site, which allows them to post pictures and a short introduction. Any prisoner can join, regardless of their crime or sentence --and they're not required to list their criminal history on the site. So, be careful ladies, that hot guy just might be a murderer. And by the way, BERNIE MADOFF gave up his right to appeal his 150 year sentence, and now has an ad on HotPrisonPals.

Fast Food:

Today's the day that Denny's is serving free Grand Slam breakfasts from 6 am to 2 pm. It's the second year in a row for the Super Bowl promotion. Last year, the fast food outlet served two million Grand Slam breakfasts.

Cops & robbers:

A guy in Massachusetts is accused of shoplifting 75 bottles of lotion from a Bath & Body Works by stuffing them down his pants.
   The Republican says 30-year-old CHAMIL GUADARRAMA was chased by security guards at a mall in the town of Springfield. Witnesses say Chamil had tied something around his ankles to keep the bottles from falling out while he ran. When cops finally showed up and arrested him, they had a hard time getting him into the police car 'cause his pants were bulging.
   Cops say Chamil's legs were so chafed from all that running, he actually had to soothe himself with the stolen lotion.
   Editor's note: (careful!) Wait, what was this story about again? All I heard was something about bulging pants, lotion and chafing. (Still)

Grace notes:

If you're trying to find USHER's new album today, forget it. "Raymond vs. Raymond" has been pushed back to March 30th. The Gatecrasher gossip column in the New York Daily News says Usher's record label, Jive, has refused to release the album until he signs a new management deal. Usher was managed by his mother, JONETTA PATTON, but that ended this past November. The singer then said he would manage himself, with the help of his new girlfriend, former Def Jam executive GRACE MIGUEL. Jive was not at all happy with that, so they put the brakes on the new album. Now it looks like Usher may sign with AEG Live CEO RANDY PHILLIPS who handles the careers of LIONEL RICHIE, TONI BRAXTON and was MICHAEL JACKSON's manager. (Marino)

Study: cat owners smarter than dog owners:

The research is finally in. The Daily Telegraph says scientists at the University of Bristol in England found that cat owners are more likely to have a college degree than dog owners. To put it another way, a person with a degree is about 1-point-4 times more likely to own a cat instead of a pooch.
   Dr. JANE MURRAY explains, "Cats require less time per day than a dog, so they are more popular with educated people who work late and have long commutes." Murray says dog owners are required to spend more time with their pets. That makes pups a better option for people with less demanding careers.
   Nearly 3-thousand people were studied for the survey. (Still)