Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Volcano update:

Did you enjoy the airline interruption and all the hubbub surrounding the eruption of that Icelandic volcano? Get ready, because it could happen all over again --just worse.
   Agence France Presse reports there's another volcano --ten times more powerful-- sitting under a neighboring glacier in Iceland, and each time the smaller volcano has erupted in the last thousand years since the Vikings settled the island, the big volcano has erupted, too.
   The volcano Katla --named after an Icelandic witch-- sits under the Solheimajokull glacier, and some scientists believe the two are linked far underground where the magma can flow between the two. For now, there is no seismic activity in the larger volcano, but scientists are monitoring it closely. And Iceland's president, OLAFUR GRIMSSON, warned that if Katla blows up, the current eruption will resemble "a small rehearsal."

What's the Buzz:

In a science experiment that will surely delight teenage boys the world over, thousands of women have promised to show a little more skin than usual today.
   Following the pronouncement of Iranian cleric HOJATOLESLAM KAZEM SEDIGHI that "women who do not dress modestly" cause moral decay that "increases earthquakes," JENN McCREIGHT created an indignant Facebook group.
   "I have a modest proposal," she wrote. "Sedighi claims that not dressing modestly causes earthquakes. If so, we should be able to test this claim scientifically ... Time for a Boobquake."
   McCreight called on women to wear their skimpiest tops ("or short shorts, if that's your preferred form of immodesty") on Monday. If the combined power of all that exposed female flesh doesn't trigger some teeth-rattling earthquakes, Sedighi will have been proven wrong!
   Almost as amusing as the idea of Boobquake is that its creator didn't intend for it to be an actual event. McCreight, a self-described "liberal, geeky, nerdy, scientific, perverted atheist feminist," wrote a jokey blog entry about "Boobquake" and forgot about it. Then the Internet got a hold of it. "Holy crap," she wrote two days (and 96-thousand Facebook fans) later. "To be honest, it started as silly joke that I hurriedly fired off since I was about to miss the beginning of House."
   "House" will have to wait. McCreight's busy (YouTube video) going on the radio, arranging interviews for the BBC, and calming the concerns of worried scientists.
   "Don't worry," she says. "I fully plan on doing some statistics after the event." (Maiman)

Richest Brits in Music:

Sir PAUL McCARTNEY is the richest Brit in the music business. The Sunday Times of London published its annual list yesterday, and the former BEATLE is in at number one with a net worth estimated at 730-million dollars. That puts him 5th overall on the complete list of wealthy English people.
   "American Idol" creator SIMON FULLER is second on the music list with 539-million dollars. MICK JAGGER is third with 293-million. Rounding out the top 5 are ELTON JOHN with 285-million dollars and STING with 277-million. 
   Here are the top 10 richest British Music Makers:
10. TOM JONES: $208-million
9. RINGO STARR: $216-milion
8. OLIVIA AND DHANI HARRISON (widow and son of the late Beatle GEORGE): $247-million
7. SIMON COWELL: $254-million
6. KEITH RICHARDS: $270-million
5. STING: $277-million
4. ELTON JOHN: $285-million
3. MICK JAGGER: $293-million
2. SIMON FULLER: $539-million
1. PAUL McCARTNEY: $730-million (Marino)

Survey Sez:

Cyclist and cancer survivor LANCE ARMSTRONG is the most influential athlete in America, according E-Poll Market Research. The study measures consumers' opinions about more than 5,000 celebrities on 46 attributes including influence, awareness and likability. As reported in Forbes magazine, more than half of all Americans know who Armstrong is, with nearly 33% considering him to be "influential" and 46% saying they "like him a lot." [Editor's note: Umm, this is the guy who broke up with SHERYL CROW the same month she was surgically treated for breast cancer... likable?]
   Rounding out the Top 10 are the Cleveland Cavalier LeBRON JAMES, University of Florida (and now Denver Broncos') quarterback TIM TEBOW, snowboarder SHAUN WHITE, the Cleveland Cavalier's SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, Indianapolis Colt PEYTON MANNING, the Boston Celtic's KEVIN GARNETT, the Los Angeles Laker's KOBE BRYANT, speed skater APOLO ANTON OHNO, and the Miami Heat's DWAYNE WADE. TIGER WOODS is notably absent. (Kaye)

Chocolate, Caffeine, Alcohol... internet?:

American college students are showing symptoms of drug and alcohol addictions, only it's not drugs or alcohol they're addicted to. It's technology.
   Researchers at the University of Maryland asked 200 college students to give up all their social media for one full day. After only 24 hours many showed signs of withdrawal, including cravings, anxiety and the inability to function without their cell phones, social media and the Internet.
   According to Reuters, the American Psychiatric Association does not recognize Internet addiction as a disorder. Still, it seems to be a growing problem, and not only in America. One extreme case involves a couple in South Korea who reportedly neglected their three-month-old daughter because they were on the computer for up to 12 hours a day raising a virtual child. Their own daughter died of malnutrition.
   In the new study, researchers claim students wrote about how they hated losing their media connections. Some students equated it to going without friends and family. They reported that texting and messaging their friends gives them a constant feeling of comfort. The students going without technology for one whole day most complained about their need to use text messages, instant messages, email and Facebook. (Page)