Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check

Anniversaries:

President Hoover makes the "Star Spangled Banner" the official U-S National anthem, 1931.
   --20 years ago: members of the LAPD were secretly videotaped beating the daylights out of motorist RODNEY KING during a traffic stop (1991).

Equal time:

Fox News contributors NEWT GINGRICH and RICK SANTORUM have both been suspended by the network, and they might be booted for good unless they tell the Fox brass by May 1 whether or not they intend on running for president. The current suspension runs for 60 days.
   Both men are said to be considering White House runs, with Gingrich set to start raising money to test the waters, but stopping short of forming an exploratory committee.
   So why suspend Gingrich and Santorum, and not suspend fellow Fox contributors SARAH PALIN and MIKE HUCKABEE?  It could be because Palin and Huckabee have been far more vague about a desire to run for president. (Pacelli)
   Editor's note: Wow, is Fox News attempting to be ethical? Maybe if they started being truthful we might take them seriously. Nah, it will never happen. They'd have to fire everyone.
   --What's the punchline to that old lawyer joke? A good start? (Maiman)

The 411:

What movie line best describes the life philosophy of Americans?
   How exciting! A made for radio survey!
   Some marketing firm called DDB, which probably did the survey to get some publicity since no one's ever heard of them, and according to participants, it's the line from Forrest Gump: "Life is like a box of chocolates; ya never know what you're gonna get."
   Also on the list: "May the force be with you," from Star Wars, and "Show me the money," from Jerry McGuire.
   Someone from DDB said they were "pleasantly surprised to learn that people are much more likely to embrace unpredictability and sentimentality for their life philosophies."
   Actually, you might wonder exactly who they surveyed since one of the lines is from a film most people haven't seen, "All About Eve." It was made in 1950, starring BETTE DAVIS. It's not the only older film on the list but it's the only one that really hasn't become part of a lasting pop culture. Outside of the YouTube clip, what's the chances anyone under 40 has seen this film, or even heard of Bette Davis? (The line in the clip is about 20 seconds in. --Maiman)

The top 10:

10. "Show me the money," Jerry Maguire
 9. "What we have here is a failure to communicate," Cool Hand Luke
 8. "May the Force be with you," Star Wars
 7. "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth," The Pride of the Yankees
 6. "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn," Gone With the Wind
 5. "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night," All About Eve
 4. "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'," The Shawshank Redemption
 3. "Carpe diem" (Seize the day), Dead Poets Society
 2. "There's no place like home," The Wizard of Oz
 1. "Life is like a box of chocolates," Forrest Gump

Sucking the life out of the wire services:

Is it time for a ban on all things CHARLIE SHEEN? No? OK, here we go:

One million Twitter followers in 24 hours. Yep, and as of 4 am (Eastern) this morning, Charlie had 1,169,387 followers. He started tweeting Tuesday afternoon with some help from the website Ad.ly, which focuses on celebrity endorsements via Facebook and Twitter (Can ya guess what's next?).
   In one of his initial tweets, he told followers that he passed on an interview with NANCY GRACE, saying: “I'd rather go on a long road trip with CHUCK LORRE in a '75 Pacer.” Lorre, of course, is the producer of "Two and a Half Men."
   Some of the 21 people that Charlie is following himself include NICKY HILTON, GEORGE LOPEZ, MINKA KELLY, SARAH SILVERMAN, FRED DURST, FLOYD MAYWEATHER, PIERS MORGAN, ALYSSA MILANO and P-DIDDY.