Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Apr 7, 2011

The White House -- The Government Shutdown:

Still no deal yet to avert a government shutdown but the president, House Speaker and Senate Majority Leader all said last night's White House meeting was "productive."
   PRESIDENT OBAMA said he would check in with the respective staffs of JOHN BOEHNER and HARRY REID this morning to arrange yet another meeting today. Staffers for all three men were reportedly working through the night to iron out differences, which the president described as "narrow."

A government shutdown would have wide ranging effects. Some 800-thousand federal workers would be forced to stay home and not get paid, including White House and Congressional staffers. It means many government websites would stop updating, and services would become unavailable.
   It may not mean much to you but consider: With an average weekly salary of $1,400 for government employees, that amounts to more than a billion dollars sucked out of the U-S economy every week during a shutdown.
   But members of Congress will continue to be paid.
   Checks for unemployment, veterans' benefits and small business loans would stop, though current Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security beneficiaries would continue to receive payments.
   All national parks and museums would close. That includes dozens of tourist attractions in the nation's capitol, from the Smithsonian Museum to the Washington Monument.
   The National Cherry Blossom Festival scheduled for Saturday along Constitution Avenue would be canceled. The bleachers are already in place.
   Snail mail tax-filers won't get their tax refunds; e-filers will. But a shutdown doesn't mean you're off the hook. Your taxes are still due on April 18th. (Maiman)

Guilty Pleasures:

There was one winner sold by the Indiana Lottery for last night's $221.7 million Powerball Lottery drawing. Winning numbers: 10, 18, 41, 55, 56; powerball: 15. Powerball is played in 41 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.

The Weather:

In its 28th year of predicting hurricanes, the Colorado State University team forecast that 2011 will bring 16 named storms, 9 of them hurricanes and 5 of those major.

Trash talk and satellite dish:

SCARLETT JOHANSSON and SEAN PENN are already coolilng off. Sources close to the May-December couple tell the National Enquirer the actor is really irritating his leading lady --particularly because he's a "control freak" that follows her to work daily and watches every move she makes.
   Meanwhile, his nineteen-year-old daughter, DYLAN, isn't pleased about daddy's new girlfriend. The tabloid reports the nineteen-year-old thinks her dear father is having an old-fashioned, mid-life crisis. (Lee)

Gossip Central: tabloids:

The show should be called "Teen Moms Gone Wild." According to In Touch magazine, MACI BOOKOUT, LEAH MESSER, FARRAH ABRAHAM and AMBER PORTWOOD are all addicted to plastic surgery after having their kids and want even more now that they're on TV so they can stay "famous."

The Reel Deal:

Warning: note sexual content:
   The LA Times says Warner Brothers has pulled a trailer for "The Hangover" sequel out of theatres after one of the bits included a monkey simulating sex. The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), which rates films, objected to the trailer being shown for general audiences, and the company had to pull the trailer out of theatres. It was airing before shows of "The Source Code," which is rated PG-13.
   To see it, head over to Entertainment-Weekly.