POLLS TIGHTEN IN PRESIDENTIAL RACE: Polls are showing a tightening presidential race nationally after a strong debate performance last week by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. However, President Obama's campaign argued that his challenger's momentum was stopped somewhat by a Friday jobs report showing the unemployment rate fell to 7.8
percent, the lowest level of Obama's presidency. Seeking to solidify his gains, Romney gave a foreign policy speech at Virginia Military Institute Monday (October 8th) in which he said the U.S. under Obama hadn't led aggressively enough on the world stage, saying that America should use its power, quote, "wisely, with solemnity and without false pride, but also firmly and actively."  Meanwhile, Obama told donors in San Francisco yesterday that it's time to get,
quote, "almost obsessive" in their efforts to persuade friends and relatives in battleground states to vote for him. He stated, "I very much intend to win this election."

CDC: UP TO 13,000 GOT POTENTIALLY TAINTED SHOTS IN MENINGITIS OUTBREAK: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday (October 8th) that as many as 13,000 people received potentially tainted steroid shots suspected of being responsible for an
outbreak of fungal meningitis, a rare, non-contagious form of the disease.  However, it's not clear how many of those people are at risk, since officials don't know how many of the shots may have been contaminated. Additionally, the number includes not only people who got the shots in the back, who are most at risk, but also those who got them in other places, such as knees and shoulders, who aren't believed to be at risk. The number of confirmed cases across several states rose to 105 on Monday, with nine deaths. Steroid maker New England Compounding Center has recalled the drug, and, as a precautionary measure, everything else it makes as well.

MEXICO ARRESTS CARTEL LEADER SUSPECTED OF U.S. JET SKIER DEATH: Mexican officials said Monday (October 8th) that they'd arrested a suspected drug cartel leader who's believed to be responsible for the murders of dozens of migrants as well as an American man
who was killed as he jet skied with his wife on a lake on the border with Texas. Salvador Alfonso Martinez Escobedo, known as "Squirrel," was arrested Saturday. Mexican authorities said he was the mastermind of the murders of 72 migrants from Central and South America in August 2010 in the one of the worst single acts of cartel violence in Mexico. They also suspect him in the murder of a Mexican police commander who was found beheaded as he was investigating the death of American jet skier David Hartley, and of Hartley himself. Hartley and his wife were jet skiing across Falcon Lake in 2010 when they were approached by men
in boats who opened fire as the couple tried to speed away. Hartley was shot twice before going under, and his body was never recovered.

NOBEL PRIZE IN MEDICINE AWARDED FOR ADULT STEM CELL RESEARCH: Scientists John Gurdon of Britain and Shinya Yamanaka of Japan were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine Monday (October 8th) for their discovery of ways to transform adult cells into
embryo-like stem cells. This avoids the need to destroy embryos to get stem cells, which it's hoped can eventually be used in the treatment of conditions like Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries. Gurdon began work in the field five decades ago, and Yamanaka capped it in 2006 with an experiment that produced mouse stem cells from adult mouse skin cells. The two men will share the $1.2 million prize.

MAN PLANS TO JUMP TODAY FROM RECORD 23 MILES UP: Skydiver Felix Baumgartner is set to attempt today (October 9th) to make the highest, fastest free fall in history from 23 miles up, which is more than three times the average cruising altitude for passenger jets. As the 43-year-old Austrian military parachutist and extreme athlete jumps from the stratosphere over New Mexico in a pressurized spacesuit, Baumgartner hopes to also become the first person to break the sound barrier outside of an airplane. If successful, the jump should provide information for scientists on spacesuit design that could help astronauts survive a high-altitude disaster. Energy drink maker Red Bull is sponsoring the jump, and will have a live Internet stream from cameras recording it. However, there will be a 20-second delay in case of a tragic accident. The current free-fall record is from 19.5 miles up,
set by Joe Kittinger in 1960.

WEALTH GAP BETWEEN CONGRESS AND AVERAGE AMERICANS WIDENS: A new Washington Post report says that the wealth gap between Congress and the nation's citizens has widened, with the median net worth of the current Congress rising five percent during
the Great Recession while it fell 39 percent for the average American. The Post analyzed the financial disclosure forms and public records for all Congressional members from 2004 to 2010, and among its findings were: by 2010, the median estimated wealth for members of the House of Representatives was $746,000 and $2.6 million for senators; there was virtually no difference between the wealth of Republicans and Democrats in 2010; and just 27 percent of Congressional members saw a decline in their net worth between 2004 and 2010.
The top 10 wealthiest members of Congress, according to the Post, are:

  1. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California) $448.1 million
  2. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) $380.4 million
  3. Senator John Kerry (D-Massachusetts) $231.7 million
  4. Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colorado) $143.2 million
  5. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Florida) $136.2 million
  6. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi      (D-California) $101.1 million
  7. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-West Virginia) $99.1 million
  8. Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-New Jersey) $85.6 million
  9. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) $73.2 million
  10. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-California) $69.0 million

JAILED VAN DER SLOOT REPORTEDLY TO BE A FATHER: A Dutch newspaper reported Monday (October 8th) that Joran van der Sloot, the Dutch national who's serving a 28-year sentence in Peru for murdering a Peruvian woman in 2010 and is the main suspect in the 2005 disappearance of American teenager Natalie Holloway, is going to be a father. The newspaper, De Telegraaf, said van der Sloot told them in a phone call over the weekend that a, quote, "test has proved" the pregnancy. Van der Sloot's Peruvian attorney,
Maximo Altez, told the Associated Press that a woman named Leidy Figueroa Uceda
is registered as a conjugal visitor for van der Sloot, but he can't confirm
that she's pregnant. Peruvian media last year identified Figueroa as Van der
Sloot's girlfriend and said they'd conceived a son together, but she denied it.

ANGRY BIRDS ANNOUNCES NEW STAR WARS-THEMED INSTALLMENT: Rovio announced Monday (October 8th) that the next installment in their wildly-popular Angry Birds video game franchise will be Angry Birds Star Wars, out on November 8th. Some of the details
known about the new game are that the Angry Birds characters will take on the roles of Star Wars figures, including the Red Bird as Luke Skywalker and a piggy Darth Vader, and familiar Star Wars locations will be seen. The Angry Birds franchise has been downloaded over one billion times since its December 2009 debut.

Teaser for Angry Birds Star Wars:

 

TEXANS DOWN JETS 23-17: The Houston Texans downed the New York Jets 23-17 in Monday Night Football last night (October 8th) in the Jets home stadium, leading Houston to a 5-0 start for the first time. Houston quarterback Matt Schaub was 14 of 28 for 209 yards and a touchdown, while Jets QB Mark Sanchez went 14 of 31 for 230 yards and one touchdown. Joe McKnight had a 100-yard kickoff return -- the second of his career -- in the third quarter in a losing effort for the Jets. The Texans and the Atlanta Falcons remain the only undefeated
teams left this season.

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL PLAYOFFS:

  • The defending World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals defeated the Washington Nationals 12-4 in St. Louis last night (October 8th) to tie their best-of-five National League Division Series at 1-1. Game 3 will be played Wednesday (October 10th) in Washington.
  • The Baltimore Orioles topped the New York Yankees 3-2 in Baltimore last night to tie their best-of-five American League Championship Series at 1-1. Orioles closer Jim Johnson, who'd given up five runs in the ninth inning in his team's loss to the
         Yankees a day earlier, had a 1-2-3- ninth last night. Game 3 will be played Wednesday in New York.

SANDUSKY DECLARES INNOCENCE AHEAD OF TODAY'S SENTENCING: Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky will be sentenced today (October 9th) after being convicted in June of 45 counts of child sex abuse for abusing 10 boys over 15 years. The 68-year-old is expected to be sentenced to life in prison. Before that happens,
however, Sandusky will speak in court to declare his innocence, his attorney said Monday. Sandusky was, in fact, already claiming innocence yesterday, on the eve of his sentencing, saying in a taped statement carried by Penn State's student radio station that he hadn't
committed the, quote, "alleged disgusting acts," and that his wife has been his only sex partner, adding, "That was after marriage." He lamented, "Why didn't we have a fair opportunity to prepare for trial? Why have so many people suffered as a result of false allegations? What's the purpose? Maybe [the case] will help others; some vulnerable children who could be abused, might not be because of all the publicity."

 

GREEN DAY CANCELS FESTIVAL SHOW AS BAND OPENS UP ABOUT BILLIE JOE: Green Day announced on Monday (October 8th) that the band was canceling its scheduled performance at the Voodoo Music and Arts Experience in New Orleans on October 27th. No specific reason was given, but it's likely that it is tied to frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's recent entrance into rehab. In a statement, drummer Tre Cool said, "Canceling shows is something we rarely do. We never want to let our fans down, and we are grateful for all of you being understanding during this time." Meanwhile, bassist Mike Dirnt spoke to BBC Radio One about Armstrong, who sought treatment for substance abuse last month following his profanity-filled meltdown at a radio festival in Las Vegas on September 21st. Dirnt confirmed that the band had canceled all promotional appearances for its new album Uno! because "we had to put the life of our friend in front of everything."

  • Dirnt explained that the pressure surrounding the arrival of the new album played a role in Armstrong's breakdown, saying, "It was a tremendous undertaking . . . it catches up with you  a little bit. We definitely jumped off a moving train." He added,
         "There were signs of things hitting the fan -- we hadn't slept in forever."
  • The bass player revealed that he hasn't seen Armstrong "in weeks" since the frontman entered rehab, the longest stretch in the past 20 years that he has not spent time with his bandmate.
  • Dirnt said he was confident that Armstrong would recover and added that the band was "getting ready for the next phase," which involved the arrival of a second new album, Dos!, on November 13th.

STONE SOUR’S COREY TAYLOR RECALLS ALMOST SINGING FOR ANTHRAX: While
Stone Sour and Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor was in the running at one point to take over the lead singer position in Velvet Revolver, and even recorded demos with the group, it has
been largely forgotten that Taylor was also rumored at one point to be joining a fourth band: the veteran thrash metal act Anthrax. That group parted with short-lived singer Dan Nelson just before recording was scheduled to begin on its latest album, and Taylor reportedly came close to stepping in.

But how close did he actually come? In a new interview with Radio Metal, Taylor explained, "It's one of those things that I would have loved to do, but never had the chance to do it. When they sent me some riffs and some music they had done, I thought it would be
fun, not only as a friend but as a fan too, to see where the demos could go
after my involvement."

  • Taylor added, "My label forced me out of this project so I wasn't able to do it . . . at first, I was really mad about it, but I let it go after a while. But it would have been interesting to  see what Anthrax and I could have done, for sure."
  • Anthrax eventually lured back Joey Belladonna, the singer from the band's "classic" lineup, to work on the album, which was called Worship Music and came out last year.
  • Meanwhile, the first half of Stone Sour's two-disc concept album, House Of Gold And Bones, arrives on October 23rd. The second record is tentatively due out next May.

BEAR GRYLLS GETS A NEW JOB: Bear Grylls has a new job. The former Man vs.
Wild star will host an NBC reality competition series next summer called Get
Out Alive, which will feature two teams testing their survival skills in
the wilderness. He said in a statement, "'Get Out Alive' will be raw,
tough and unrelenting, but it will also inspire and teach the essentials that
one day may just save your life. The goal is to empower people with the
ultimate in both survival and teamwork, and that brings incredible reward --
but first there must be some pain."

17% OF PARENTS DRINK MORE AFTER BABY: A report has found new parents are turning
to alcohol to ease the pain of parenthood. A survey of hundreds of parents of under-16s found that one in six increased their alcohol intake after the birth of their first child. The poll of 575 men and women found that while many drank less after the arrival of their first baby, 23 percent drank as much as usual -- and 17 percent increased their intake. Worryingly -- 5 percent of the mothers questioned saying they drank more than usual while pregnant. (Daily
Mail)

HAPPY PIGS=TASTIER BACON: UK pigs are being given toys to play with in their pens -- because apparently happier pigs make tastier pork. The toys are part of a project funded by the British Pig Executive (BPEX) to improve conditions for pigs. Anxious pigs release more of the stress hormone cortisol, which affects muscles and so the quality of meat. Pork from stressed pigs is paler and softer. BPEX welfare co-ordinator Dr Nina Wainwright said: "Stressed pigs are likely to start biting tails, and sometimes ears, of other pigs and
one of the main causes of stress is a lack of things to bite at." (news.com.au)

FACEBOOK 'LIKES' BECOME REAL HUGS! A US designer has unveiled a jacket that hugs
the wearer every time they receive a 'like' on Facebook. Designed by MIT student Melissa Chow, the 'Like-A-Hug' is a wearable social media vest that allows for hugs to be given via Facebook. The vest inflates when friends 'Like' a photo, video, or status update on the wearer's wall. Air pockets inside the jacket inflate when the phone sends a signal a page has been liked. The founder explained, 'Connecting it to Facebook conceptually was simply a way to explore how social media might push past the traditional graphic user interface.' Check
it out: http://bit.ly/QMbMZA

EQUALLY-EMPLOYED WOMEN LOSING OUT IN DIVORCES: Couples' assets at the end of a marriage are divided on the basis of equality with their various needs taken into account. Often the partner with the smaller salary can end up with a larger share of the equity of their home because they are judged to be less able to get a mortgage to buy somewhere new
to live. Both spouses will need rehousing and if the husband's income is lower than his wife's, his mortgage capacity will also be lower. However, many women still find it hard to believe that they will receive less than their husbands when they divorce, especially when they still seem to do the greater share of work around the house. (Telegraph)