Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Locked Up for their own good:

Police in Alliance, OH, were baffled by a burglar who seemed to disappear into thin air until they heard him crying that he was being crushed by a garbage truck's trash compactor.
   Seems after robbing a WalMart, the guy hid out in a dumpster, stumping police for nearly 40 minutes.
   Then they heard his cries: "I'm in the back of a trash truck that keeps compacting me!"
   The guy was literally being crushed with about eight tons of garbage.
   They had to open the entire contents of the truck to free the guy (pics). he's recovering in a hospital and may lose his legs, which may not be so bad given that the local Fox News affiliate reports that he has an arrest record 26 pages long, including a previous arrest for robbing the same Wal-Mart.
   Editor's note: Sounds like someone took the white trash thing a little too far.
   --Some days you're the truck, and some days you're the trash. Some days, it's just poetic justice. (Maiman)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

If you thought "The Big Bang Theory" was a hit in the U-S, wait until you hear about the season premiere in Canada: The Hollywood Reporter says the show had the second highest ratings ever for a comedy on Canadian TV --after the finale of "Friends."

Pretty good ratings for the debut of TOM SELLECK's new show, "Blue Bloods," which Nielsen says was Friday night's most- watched primetime program and pulled in 12.8 million viewers overall.

Grace Notes:

JERMAINE JACKSON is so broke that he can't afford his child support payments. TMZ.com says MICHAEL's older brother filed papers at a Los Angeles court last week claiming that he just doesn't have the 3,000-dollars a month for his sons JAAFAR and JERMAJESTY. The singer is asking the court to cut the payments down to 215-dollars a month and insists that his ex-wife ALEJANDRA earns more money than he does, and lives rent free at his mother's house. The couple got married in 1995, and Jermaine filed for divorce in 2004. (Marino)

Wasted away again in Margaritaville:

A small brewery in Belgium is making beer at night because moonlight makes the beer stronger.
   Reuters says Brewery Caulier just produced their first batch of suds brewed entirely under the full moon. Owner ROGER CAULIER says it has nothing to do with superstition or mythology --it's just plain science. He says beer made under a full moon is "completely different, stronger, with a taste lasting longer in the mouth."
   Apparently, the full moon speeds up the  fermentation and results in a beer that's about 10-percent alcohol by volume. The new full moon brew goes on sale on Halloween in Europe. And, there are plans to start exporting it to the U-S too. (Still)

Your Body:

It can be tough for overweight kids to fit in at school and in other peer relationships. But a study shows it can be even worse at home with harsh treatment from parents.
   According to Reuters Health, parents are less likely to help overweight or obese children pay for college. A study done at the University of North Texas found parents of overweight children are also less likely to be willing to help them buy a car.
   A separate study published in the journal Obesity noted that more than two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. Heavier people often face discrimination on the job, at school and in relationships. They typically don't make as much money as their thinner counterparts and are less likely to marry.
   There are several reasons why heavier people may face discrimination. One researcher theorizes that parents may be less likely to invest resources in children they believe are unfit. Or it could be that parents' behavior merely reflects the tendency in general for society to discriminate against heavier people. (Page)