Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Apr 1, 2011

Tying the knot:

MICHAEL BUBLE jumped the gun on his marriage. The official date was supposed to be tomorrow, but the singer and his fiancee, LUISANA LOPILATO, tied the knot yesterday in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This was a civil ceremony, but the couple promised to have a bigger wedding next month for family and friends. (Marino)

Engaged:

CARRIE ANN INABA got engaged the old-fashioned way yesterday --in front of the entire world on "Live With Regis and Kelly." Her longtime boyfriend, JESSE SLOAN, popped up during while she chatted with the hosts, then got down on one knee and presented her with a whopping, two-and-a-half-carat ring. Of course, the "Dancing" diva's answer was "yes" while she fought back tears of joy.
   Phone Starter: Ever watched someone else get engaged? Was it awkward? Or --God forbid-- some poor sap popping the question and his beloved says "no?" (Lee)

Immigration Update:

So just how much of the 1,954-mile U-S border with Mexico does the government consider "secure?" Only about 129 miles.
   That was the word earlier this week from General Accountability Office official RICHARD STANA, who briefed the Senate Homeland Security Committee on the matter. However, Stana told the committee that the U-S Border Patrol has established "an acceptable level of control" along another 873 miles of the border.
   What's an acceptable level of control? Stana said that the Border Patrol uses that classification "when it has the capability to deter or detect and apprehend incursions at the immediate border or after entry." (Pacelli)

Jobs available... in Japan:

Need a job, have a thing for dangerous work and you're willing to travel overseas? Forget Libya or Afghanistan. Head to Japan.
   A U-S recruiter is hiring nuclear power workers here to help Japan gain control of the stricken Fukushima plant there.
   No wildcatters or roughnecks. They need senior technicians and engineers who have come up through the ranks in the nuclear industry.
   You'll need a passport, a family willing to let you go and willingness to work in a radioactive zone. The rewards: Higher than normal pay and the challenge of solving a major crisis.
   The firm doing the recruiting: Bartlett Nuclear, a specialist nuclear industry staffing firm based in Plymouth, MA. (Maiman)

Guilty Pleasures:

No winner in Wednesday night's drawing for the Powerball Lottery. That means Saturday night's drawing is valued at $187 million ($94.6 million cash value). Powerball is played in 44 states, Washington DC and the U-S Virgin Islands. Chances of winning the grand prize (all five numbers plus the powerball) are 1 in 195.2 million.

Reality Round-Up:

BETTY WHITE has a reality show in the works. Deadline.com reports NBC will air 12, half-hour episodes of "Betty White's Off Their Rockers," which will feature hidden-cameras following a band of seven senior citizens who make it their mission to play pranks on unsuspecting younger people.
   FYI: [note language]: The show is the same concept as a popular European series, known as "Benidorm Bastards."

Grace notes:

JAY-Z may have violated one of the cardinal rules of basketball. The New York Post says the rapper visited the locker room of the Kentucky Wildcats on Sunday at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey after the team landed in college basketball's Final Four. Ordinarily, that wouldn't be a big deal, but Jay-Z is part owner of the New Jersey Nets. NBA rules prohibit team personnel from having any contact with players who are not yet eligible to be drafted into the pros. The league is investigating. (Marino)