Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Fast Food:

Warning: note potential sponsor conflict:
After sampling fare from dozens of chain restaurants, Consumer Reports has named the McDonald's hamburger the worst-tasting burger.
   The magazine surveyed 28-thousand people nationwide to come up with the rankings on a ten point scale. Five Guys and In-N-Out Burger topped the list. Burger King came in tied for 15th of the 18 chains. The whole list:
18. McDonald's, 5.6 /10,
15. Krystal, Burger King and Jack in the Box, 6.3 /10,
14. A&W Restaurant, 6.5 /10,
12. Wendy's, and Sonic, 6.6 /10,
11. White Castle, 6.7 /10,
9. Carl's Jr, and Checkers Drive In, 6.9 /10,
8. Hardee's, 7.2 /10,
7. Whataburger, 7.3 /10,
6. Culver's Frozen Custard, 7.5 /10,
4. Burgerville, and Back Yard Burgers, 7.6 /10,
3. Fuddruckers, 7.7 /10,
1. (tie) Five Guys and In-N-Out Burger, 7.9 /10.

High-profile celebrities in court:

NICOLE "Snooki" POLIZZI got a sharp reprimand in a Seaside Heights, New Jersey, courtroom yesterday. Us Weekly reports JUDGE DAMIAN MURRAY scolded the "Jersey Shore" party girl as a "LINDSAY LOHAN wannabe," said her drunken behavior on a boardwalk was "rude" and "self-indulgent" then told her to decide if "it was worth trading your dignity for a paycheck."
   Although she was originally arrested for creating a public nuisance, disorderly conduct and annoying beach-goers, she pled guilty to the annoyance charge and the other two were dropped. Snooki will pay $533 bucks in fines and has already completed one of her two mandatory days of community service. (Lee)

Trailer Park update:

Our nominee for Fun Couple of the Week: The woman who tried to torch her husband's boat, go-kart and Jacuzzi after an argument over a JENNIFER LOPEZ movie.
   The Northwest Florida Daily News (and there can be only one!) reports that 34-year-old SHANNON WRISKA faces arson and battery charges because, according to her husband ROBERT, she was jealous of J-Lo and didn't like him seeing her movie, even though they watched it together. She would later tell police that he lit the go-kart on fire.
   Amazingly, alcohol was involved.
   The Jacuzzi is fine, the boat is partially damaged but the go-kart is a total loss. They were all out in front of their house trailer, which was also partially damaged.
   Editor's note: That's just so wrong in SO many ways... starting with the movie. (Maiman)

Casting Call:

Chinese actress ZHANG ZIYI, who starred in "Crouching Dragon, Hidden Tiger," "Rush Hour 2" and "Memoirs of a Geisha," will be the lead in a new English-language version of the Chinese legend, Mulan.
   The character was done by Disney in an animated musical in 1998 and a sequel in 2004.
   Now, the BBC reports the latest version will be directed by "Speed" director, JAN de BONT.

Grace notes:

PHIL COLLINS should really check with his current girlfriend before she becomes ex number four. The former GENESIS frontman told London's Telegraph magazine that he's such great friends with his three ex-wives that when they visit New York City, they stay at his place and his girlfriend makes sure the apartment is stocked with food. Nice! Phil is currently dating WCBS TV news anchor DANA TYLER. (Marino)

Drugs and drug companies:

A new drug compound being tested in mice is showing promise in fighting the effects of Alzheimer's disease.
   A study printed in the journal Neuron says the compound --named NGP555-- prevented toxic clumps of the protein beta amyloid from forming in the brains of mice. Beta amyloid is the substance that kills brain cells and erases the thinking and memory in Alzheimer's patients.
   There still hasn't been any human testing, but the early results with mice are encouraging. Researchers caution this is still the early stages of the study, so even under the best circumstances, NGP555 is years away from being available outside of clinical trials. (Page)