Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Former Presidents at play:

Former President GEORGE BUSH has joined Facebook.
   He isn't accepting friend requests, but by late yesterday afternoon, nearly 35-thousand people had "liked" the 43rd president.
   His page includes information on his location (Dallas), birth date (July 6, 1946), education (Harvard Business School and Yale), as well as links to things like his presidential center, the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, and a link to Amazon, where his forthcoming book is available for pre-order. There's also a link to the Washington Speakers Bureau, for those interested in scheduling an event with the ex-Prez.
   His first status updates plug his own personal activity (which reads like a press release) and a plug for his wife's memoir, "Spoken from the Heart."
   A writer at Salon.com rounded up his favorite comments from the ex-president's Facebook wall, which already seems to have brought supporters out in full force. (No word yet on whether the page's admin or Facebook will be monitoring the content.)
   One commenter wrote, "Your administration was the 8 year bright spot between the years of the White House being treated like the local Hooters and now 4 long years of the Karl Marx/Saul Alinsky Black Panther Rally Hoe Down HQ."
   Another was kind but less suck-up: "I hope Laura took your credit card. You spent money like a female in shoe store with unlimited credit LOL but you NEVER disrespected our Military or Country or Flag."
   Finally, "please don't have your farm preemptively attack my farm on Farmville. Sincerely, The Ghost of Saddam."
   Editor's note: "George, I'm actually sending you this from a Red Roof Inn in Tulsa. Signed, Osama. P-S: Care for a pretzel?" (Maiman)

Fast Food:

California's iconic In-N-Out Burger chain announced yesterday that it will be expanding from California, Nevada and Arizona to Texas, with the first fast-food outlet being built in Garland, Texas. In-N-Out VP CARL VAN FLEET also said the company was looking at a "number of sites in the Dallas /Ft Worth area" as well.

D-I-V-O-R-C-E:

Divorce lawyers are increasingly mining social networks for proof of infidelity, according to CNN. In fact, a survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers finds 80% of respondents have seen an increase in cases involving social media over the last year. (Kaye)

The Reel Deal:

You'd probably think a movie called "The DUFF" would be about HILARY DUFF, right? Not at all.
   According to the Hollywood Reporter, "DUFF" stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend, and the film is all about a 17-year-old girl who's branded with the phrase.
"Charlie's Angels" director McG is looking to direct the film, which is based on a new book by 20-year-old KODY KEPLINGER which will be out this fall.

Health and Medical Briefs:

Should you find yourself in need of a hospital sometime this summer, you may want to think twice about admitting yourself to a teaching hospital. A study released this week found a spike in July deaths caused by medication errors. Even though researchers were not able to directly link the two, that's when a lot of new medical residents arrive at those hospitals.
   According to the study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, in counties with teaching hospitals, the number of July deaths from medication errors was 10-percent higher than normal. That spike did not occur in any other month over the number of years examined. (Page)

Taking everything much too seriously:

Officials in Germany are streamlining their sewage operations --by playing MOZART in the sewers.
   According to Orange.co.uk, classic Mozart symphonies are being piped into the sewers to help break down microbes. Scientists say tunes like The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro help stimulate the tiny organisms, which causes waste material to break down faster.
   Editor's note: So, next time you're constipated, instead of reading a magazine --try blasting Symphony... Number 2. (Still)