Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

State politics:

Forget the $50-to-$55-million-dollars that former WWE boss LINDA McMAHON plans to spend on the CT U-S Senate race. Former eBay CEO MEG WHITMAN is making that total look feeble by comparison.
   In a late-Friday filing, Whitman added another $13-million-dollars to her campaign, bringing her total expenditure to ... $104-million.
   Editor's Note: But that's still less than half of what the New York Yankees will spend on their payroll this year. Just a little perspective. (Pacelli)

Dep't of Homeland Insecurity:

Another victim of terrorism: Maple syrup.
   The Montpelier Times Argus reports that tours have been discontinued at one of the nation's largest maple production facilities in northeastern Vermont.
   Maple Grove Farms of St Johnsbury, VT, has produced maple syrup and maple candies for almost a century and for much of that time, tourists have been able to watch the production process from the factory floor.
   But post-9/11 security guidelines are the issue and retrofitting the plant to separate tourists from the production equipment is simply too expensive. The company's museum and gift shop are unaffected.
   Maple Grove processes 12 million pounds of maple products a year.
   Editor's note: Wow, if terrorists hit this place, it would pancake the economy!
   --You'd have to be a real sap to mess with a place like this. (Maiman)

High-profile celebrities and jail: It's slammer time:

Another day, another "Jersey Shore" cast member in jail. RONALD "Ronnie" ORTIZ-MAGRO was arrested yesterday in Seaside Heights, NJ for outstanding warrants related to unpaid parking tickets from a couple of neighboring towns, Annendale and Stuartsville, NJ.
   After he paid off the fines, he was allowed to leave.
   Snooki will go to court Wednesday in Seaside Heights on her disorderly conduct charge. She faces a fine between $250 and $1,000.

Road Warrior:

A Swedish man faces the world's most expensive speeding fine after hitting speeds of 180 mph while driving through Switzerland.
   The fine: A million bucks.
   The unnamed 37-year-old driver told police that the speedometer in his brand new Mercedes SLS AMG was faulty and that he didn't think he was going that fast  --more than twice the speed limit.
   Police say they have no record of anyone being caught travelling faster. They confiscated the guy's license and impounded his car.
   In Switzerland, fines are based on a combination of the speed at which one was driving and the driver's income --and apparently, this driver is filthy rich. The million bucks works out to 300 days of fines at 36-hundred Swiss francs a day.
   The previous record for world's biggest ticket was set back in January when another driver in Switzerland was charged 290-thousand bucks. (Maiman /Still)

The Reel Deal:

"Toy Story 3" is now the biggest-grossing animated movie of all time. The Hollywood Reporter says the Disney/Pixar film passed "Shrek 2" this past weekend with $920 million at the global box office. The movie will be out on Blu-ray and DVD Nov 02, just in time for the lucrative holiday gift-giving season.
   On the list of highest grossing films of all time, Woody and his pals still have a few places to go to reach the top. "Avatar" ranks No. 1, with $2.7 billion in grosses; followed by "Titanic," with $1.8 billion. On that list, "Toy Story 3" ranks 13th.

Grace notes:

ELVIS PRESLEY fans from all over the world made their annual pilgrimage to Memphis last night for the candlelight vigil outside Graceland. The King of Rock 'N' Roll died inside the mansion on Elvis Prelsey Boulevard on April 16th, 1977, and every year, folks gather to pay their respects by holding candles until an ambulance leaves the front gates on its way to the hospital where Elvis was officially pronounced dead. It's the final event of Elvis Week which also features fan-club meetings, concerts, screenings of his films and, of course, Elvis impersonator contests. (Marino)

JUSTIN BIEBER is helping out victims of the Nashville floods. The Tennessean newspaper says the singer performed last Wednesday at the Bridgestone Arena and donated a portion of the ticket sales to flood relief effort organizations. Justin presented a check to The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee for nearly 33,000-dollars. (Marino)