Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

No Kennedy in Washington:

A historical footnote to the new 112th Congress: For the first time in over 60 years that there won't be a Kennedy in Washington.
   Rep PATRICK KENNEDY of Rhode Island is stepping down from his House seat.
   The family dynasty began with JFK's congressional election in 1947 and has continued unbroken since then, with Kennedys occupying a dominant, sometimes tabloid-esque, role in government and public life.
   While rumors have been swirling that Kennedy's brother EDWARD KENNEDY Jr may run for Congress --or that VICKI KENNEDY or former Rep JOE KENNEDY could challenge SCOTT BROWN for the Massachusetts Senate seat-- at the moment, Los Angeles City Council member BOBBY SHRIVER is the family's sole political holdout.
   In leaving politics, Patrick Kennedy plans to become an advocate for brain research. (Maiman)

Guilty Pleasures:

No winner in Friday night's drawing for the Mega Millions Lottery. That means Tuesday night's drawing is valued at $290 million ($182.6 million cash value). Mega Millions is played in 34 states and Washington DC. Chances of winning the big prize are 1 in 175.7 million.
   FYI: largest jackpot ever was also a Mega Millions ticket; in 2007 two ticket holders split $390 million. Biggest payout for a single ticket was $175 million in 2005.

Trash talk and satellite dish:

Uh oh. Looks like the honeymoon may be over for KATY PERRY and RUSSELL BRAND. The comic committed a major faux pas after "tweeting" a picture of his new bride wearing absolutely no make-up! The twenty-six-year-old still looks adorable, but the post was quickly removed.
   Editor's Note: CHR/Hot AC demos might want to link this page to your site. (Lee)

KELLY OSBOURNE is coming to MILEY CYRUS's defense. According to Star magazine, Kelly and Miley have gotten close on the set of "So Undercover" and Kelly recently tweeted, "I'm sick of all the haters judging her." (Myers)

Today's police blotter:

Could you fall nine stories from a Manhattan skyscraper and survive?
   Yes, you could --it happened over the weekend when a suicidal man jumped off a building but survived when he landed on a trash heap that had piled up since last week's blizzard.
   Cops told the NY Daily News 26-year-old VANGELIS KAPATOS had tried to take his life a number of other ways immediately before leaping --and falling onto 100 garbage bags. He's at Bellevue Hospital in critical but stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.

Grace notes:

RINGO STARR's childhood home will not be torn down. That's what British Housing Minister GRANT SHAPPS is hoping. He decided to step in after final plans were made to demolish 9 Madryn Street in Liverpool. The City Council there has sad that all of the houses on that block, including Ringo's, are in such bad shape that they all need to be bulldozed so new housing can be developed on the land. Minister Shapps says the final decision will be up to officials in Liverpool, but he wants to be sure every option is considered before anything gets mowed over. The childhood homes of JOHN LENNON and PAUL McCARTNEY are owned and run by Britain's National Trust and have become major tourist attractions. The home where GEORGE HARRISON grew up is still a private home. (Marino)

Animal Stories:

Chinese animal conservationists are preparing panda cubs to live in the wild --by dressing up in panda costumes themselves (pictures).
   The London Daily Mail says the endangered cubs were born in captivity. And, to help them adapt to the wild, it's important they don't have too much contact with humans. So, zookeepers at China's Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center are walking around in fluffy black-and-white panda suits while teaching the animals to forage for food.
   Experts say there are less than 25-hundred pandas in the wild. So, they are willing to do whatever it takes to help the newborn cubs survive. (Still)