OBAMA UNVEILS SWEEPING PLAN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: President
Obama unveiled a sweeping plan Wednesday (January 16th) to prevent gun violence, including the most comprehensive effort to tighten gun laws in nearly two decades, but acknowledged the fight will be a tough one to get them passed in Congress, saying, "This will be difficult." The major efforts that would have to be approved by Congress are a call for the ban on the sale of assault weapons to be renewed, for ammunition magazines to be limited to 10 rounds, and for background checks to be required for all gun sales. All three are opposed by the National Rifle Association, but Democrats are most hopeful about the background checks proposal, which polls show is strongly backed by the American public, being able to make it through Congress. Other proposals include a $150 million request to allow schools to hire more police officers, and actions to increase mental health services. Obama also signed 23 executive orders on more minor issues, such as making more federal data available for background checks, ending a ban on government research into gun violence, requiring
federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations, and nominating B. Todd Johnson to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which has been without a permanent director since 2006.

Speaking with the family members of some of the children killed just over one month ago
in Newtown, Connecticut, in the audience in front of him, and with four children on stage with him who'd written letters urging him to do something about gun violence, Obama urged Americans to act to try to help get his proposals passed, and spoke about his plan not infringing on the Second Amendment:

ISLAMISTS TAKE HOSTAGES, INCLUDING AMERICANS, IN ALGERIA: An Islamist militant group said that it is holding 41 foreigners hostage, including seven Americans, after an attack  Wednesday (January 16th) on one of Algeria's energy facilities in which two other foreigners were killed. The group claiming responsibility, called Katibat Moulathamine, meaning the Masked Brigade, said the attack was in revenge for Algeria's support of France's military operation against al-Qaida-linked rebels in the neighboring African nation of Mali. By last night, the Algerian army had surrounded the natural gas complex where the militants were hunkered down with the hostages. The gas field that was attacked is operated by BP, the Norwegian company Statoil and the Algerian state oil company Sonatrach. U.S. Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta declared that the U.S., quote, "will take all necessary and proper steps" to deal with what he called the "terrorist attack." The approximately 20 gunman who launched the attack were said to be operating under orders from Moktar Belmoktar, an Algerian who's al-Qaida's strongman in the Sahara.

FAA GROUNDS BOEING 787 JETS: The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday (January 16th) grounded  Boeing's 787 jets, the company's newest and most technologically advanced plane, after a series of incidents, saying the planes can't fly again until the
risk of battery fires is addressed. The FAA's emergency order affects only United Airlines, the only U.S. carrier to operate 787s, but it came on the same day that Japan's two biggest airlines, which fly almost half of the world's 787s, voluntarily grounded them until full safety checks can be carried out. Air India has also grounded its fleet of six 787s.  Boeing said it's working with investigators and insists the aircraft is safe.  In the most recent incident, an All Nippon Airways flight made an emergency landing Wednesday in Japan after pilots received a cockpit warning of battery problems and smelled something burning. That followed a battery fire earlier this month aboard a Japan Airlines 787 parked at Boston's Logan Airport.

ENERGY DRINK-RELATED ER VISITS DOUBLE OVER FOUR YEARS: A government survey out Wednesday (January 16th) found that the number of emergency room visits by people who'd consumed energy drinks doubled across the country from 2007 to 2011, over the
same time period as the drinks surged in popularity. Most of the ER visits -- which jumped from about 10,000 to more than 20,000 -- involved teens or young adults, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration survey. More than half of the patients had consumed only the energy drinks, while some 42 percent in 2011 had drunk the energy drinks with alcohol or in combination with drugs, such as the stimulants Adderall or
Ritalin. The report says energy drinks can cause fast heartbeat, nervousness, seizures, insomnia and headache. The survey results come as concerns over energy drinks has increased after reports last fall of 18 deaths possibly tied to them. The beverage industry insists energy drinks are safe and say there's no proof linking them to health problems.

COSTA CONCORDIA CAPTAIN SAYS HAS NO REGRETS: Just days after the one-year anniversary on January 13th of the Costa Concordia disaster, the captain of the cruise ship that ran aground off the coast of Italy when it went off its planned course so that people on land could get a better view of the vessel, leaving 32 dead, is saying he has no
regrets. Francesco Schettino is facing charges of multiple manslaughter, as well as wrecking and abandoning the ship, but he said in an NBC News interview that he was misunderstood. He said the blame should be shared with lower-ranking officers who, he claims, handed
control of the ship over to him just minutes before it ran aground. He also claims he tried to make an effort to ensure all the passengers were off when he left the ship, but that there was no way he could have known if that was true.  He said, "People don't understand that the ship is 58 meters wide [nearly 200 feet], so you don't have a chance to see who else is left on the other side. And in the moment the floor started to become steeper, you have no other
option: To die or to swim. So I regret nothing."

ALABAMA QB'S GIRLFRIEND GETS 'INSIDE EDITION' SUPER BOWL GIG: Katherine
Webb, the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, is continuing to take advantage of her newfound celebrity, announcing on Twitter that she'll be covering the Super Bowl in New
Orleans on February 3rd for TV's Inside Edition. Webb, a model and current Miss Alabama, shot to instant fame during the BCS Championship game that her boyfriend's team won earlier this month when ESPN's cameras found her in the stands and lingered on her, while announcer Brent Musburger profusely praised her beauty -- something he later apologized
for. As a result of her new fame, Webb -- who said Musburger had nothing to apologize for -- will also be appearing in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, which is coming out next month. 

'JERSEY SHORE' TOWN GETS CONTRACT TO REBUILD BOARDWALK: The New Jersey town of Seaside Heights, where Snooki, The Situation and the other stars of MTV's
Jersey Shore vacationed as their misadventures were filmed, was awarded a $3.6 million contract Wednesday night (January 16th) to rebuild its boardwalk, which was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. The mile-long Seaside Heights boardwalk, which is one of the most
popular and heavily used at the Jersey shore, is set to be rebuilt in time for Memorial Day weekend, which kicks off the summer season.

DAN BROWN'S NEW BOOK, 'INFERNO,' OUT IN MAY: The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown unveiled the title of his next novel on Tuesday (January 15th), Inferno, which is due out on May 14, 2013. The book takes place in Italy, using Dante's classic Inferno as its focus point, and marks the fourth outing for Brown's main character Robert Langdon, who first appeared in 2000's Angel & Demons, then was in 2003's Da Vinci Code, and was last in 2009's The Lost Symbol. Brown said in a statement, "With this new novel, I am excited to take readers on a journey deep into this mysterious realm . . . a landscape of codes, symbols and more than a few secret passageways."

WAS NOTRE DAME'S MANTI TE'O 'CATFISHED'?: The sports world was stunned yesterday (January 16th) by news that Notre Dame star linebacker and Heisman Trophy finalist Manti Te'o's girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, who had supposedly died of leukemia in September, apparently never existed, with Deadspin.com being unable to find any record of her and discovering that online photos of her really were of another woman. Te'o is claiming he was
the victim of a "Catfish" online romance hoax, and Notre Dame is standing by him, but there are questions about whether he was involved in the hoax. [Look in "Phoneburners"
for more on this story. (News/Talk stations, look in "Questions of the Day.")]

SERENA WILLIAMS, AZARENKA ADVANCE AT AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Despite injuring her right ankle in her opening Australian Open match Tuesday, Serena Williams scored a win Thursday (January 17th) in the second round, saying she wasn't bothered by the ankle problem. Williams stated, "Obviously when you go out to play you're heavy on adrenaline and you're really pumped up. Usually I feel injuries after the match but so far, so good." Defending champion Victoria Azarenka also advanced easily, as did top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki. On the men's side, Andy Murray won his match in straight sets, as did Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

LEBRON BECOMES YOUNGEST TO REACH 20,000 POINTS: The Miami Heat's LeBron
James became the youngest player in league history to score 20,000 points last night (January 16th) and also passed 5,000 assists as he led the Heat to a 92-75 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James, who becomes the 38th player to reach the 20,000 mark, entered the game needing 18 points to get there. He finished with 25 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds. Previously, the youngest player to score 20,000 points was Kobe Bryant, who was 29 years, 122 days old. James was 28 years, 17 days on Wednesday.

A-ROD HAS HIP SURGERY, OUT FOR HALF THE SEASON: The New York Yankee's Alex Rodriguez had surgery on his left hip Wednesday (January 16th) and is expected to be out until after the All-Star break in July. The 37-year-old third baseman had a torn labrum and impingement repaired. Dr. Bryan Kelly, who did the surgery, said the injury was responsible
for A-Rod's poor performance last fall, when he was benched in three of nine postseason games and pinch hit for in three others. Rodriguez is due $114 million over the next five years as part of his record $275 million, 10-year contract.

GUY OUTSOURCED HIS JOB TO CHINA SO HE COULD SURF THE WEB ALL DAY: A 40-something-year-old employee in the U.S. with a six-figure salary decided to outsource his job to China so he could spend more time updating his Facebook page and watching cat videos. According to reports, the employee -- nicknamed Bob to keep his identity hidden -- telecommuted for a "U.S. critical infrastructure company."  The company had just started to monitor employees and immediately noticed an active connection coming from China. It turned out that Bob had shipped his RSA token to China so the contractor he hired could log in
and do his work every day. Bob had also arranged to pay the Chinese worker one-fifth of his salary to do the job. An investigation looking into Bob's browsing history revealed that he spent his day watching YouTube and surfing Reddit, eBay, Facebook and LinkedIn. At the end of each day he would send an e-mail to management with an update on "his" work. At the end of hte investigation "Bob" was terminated. (Daily Dot)

WRANGLER LAUNCHES MOISTURIZING JEANS: Strange, but true -- and possibly useful? Wrangler has announced a new line of moisturizing jeans which will be soon available via UK shopping site, ASOS. The Denim Spa jean reportedly hydrating properties and comes in three different variations: Aloe Vera, Olive Extract and Smooth Legs. Wrangler says their Smooth Legs jean can prevent cellulite. Model Lizzie Jagger explained, "They definitely feel
cooler than regular jeans. After a day wearing them, my legs feel great - they
come out feeling more silky than usual." The moisturizing ingredients in the jeans last up to 15 days, and a reload spray is available. (Vogue UK)

OFFICE PRANKS THAT NEVER GET OLD: http://mashable.com/2013/01/16/office-pranks/

PRINCIPAL SUSPENDED DUE TO 'TERMINATOR' SPOOF: A principal at a school in Boston has been suspended without pay for two days after he made a video spoof of The Terminator to introduce himself for the morning announcements. In the video Principal Erick Naumann can be seen walking in the school hallway, dressed as The Terminator, saying "We're
all doomed." The media teacher who helped Naumann make the video has also been suspended for two days without pay. The principal's future with the school was discussed at a school meeting, where the superintendent advised, "Think before you act." Naumann reportedly has the support of many parents who believe he's made a difference in the lives of the students. (CBS)

BURGLAR IMPROVISES AFTER FORGETTING MASK: A former employee of Kenney's Seafood in Slidell, Louisiana was arrested after he forgot to take his mask along during a robbery of his former employer. 23-year-old Richard Boudreaux headed to the restaurant wearing gloves and camouflage but forgot his mask. He found a bucket at the restaurant and put it over his head, but surveillance cameras caught parts of his face which police were able to use to identify him. He was arrested and charged with two counts of simple burglary.
(Fox via FARK)

11 BIZARRE WAYS THEY TREATED THE FLU IN THE OLDEN DAYS: http://bit.ly/S4V5w1

THE SLIMMER HER WAIST, THE BETTER HIS SEXUAL FUNCTION? New research shows that the smaller a woman's waist is the more satsfied her partner is and the less likely he is to
suffer from erectile dysfunction. To find this, researchers had 770 Czech men fill out a questionnaire to rate their sexual satisfaction. They found that men who suffered the least performance issues were younger, and had younger partners with slimmer waists, and were more sexually satisfied. Lead researcher Stuart Brody, professor of psychology at the niversity of West Scotland says there are two main possible reasons for the "waist effect" - one is that women's abdominal body fat decreased their own desire on a hormonal level - perhaps hampering her libido.  The other possible reason is that men simply find slimmer women more
attractive. Researchers also noted that they found the larger a man's waist size, the lower his sexual satisfaction. (Daily Mail)

NATIONS THAT DRINK MORE MILK WIN MORE NOBEL PRIZES: A new study reveals that countries that drink a lot of milk also win a lot of Nobel prizes. Researchers looked at 2007 data from the Food and Agriculture Organization on per capita milk consumption in 22-countries and found a strong association between milk and Nobel laureates. Sweden has the most Nobel Prize winners per 10-million of its population, and though it hosts the Nobel committee, it also consumes the most milk per person. Switzerland comes in second place for both milk consumption and Nobel Prize winners, and China has the lowest number of Nobel laureates and also the lowest milk consumption of countries studied. Researchers say this
trend may be happening because milk is rich in Vitamin D, which has been shown
to boost brain power in other studies. (Daily Mail)

TWO FACEBOOK PRIVACY SETTINGS TO TWEAK BEFORE GRAPH SEARCH STARTS (Fox News):

• If you would rather not have your friends of friends be able to search for "single women in New York from Kansas who like big bang theory" and come up with your name, you'll want to take a closer look at your profile. First off, you might want to limit who can search for you in Facebook. To stop friends of friends from seeking you out:
  
       1. Click the lock icon on the top right of your profile.
  
       2. Click Edit next to "Who can look up your timeline by name".
  
       3. Select Friends from the drop-down menu that appears.
  
       4. Click Close.
• Next up, it's time to check out your Activity Log and make sure you're happy about all those photos your friends have tagged you in, the likes you've shared and the places you've checked in.  The tedious part here is that you'll need to review every item ever
       entered on your timeline. So, settle in, cause this could take a while.
  
       1. Click the lock icon on the top right of your profile.
  
       2. Click Use Activity Log next to "Review all your posts and things
       you're tagged in".
  
       3. Click on the icon of two people's heads to the right of any post, like,
       tag, comment, photo, etc. that you'd prefer to limit visibility.
  
       4. Click Report/Remove Tag (in the event of a photo; language changes
       depending on type of entry).
  
       5. Select "I want this photo removed from Facebook."
  
       Click Continue. A message will be sent to the person who posted that item,
       assuming it's not you, requesting that they remove it.
  
       The way Facebook work's its privacy settings these days, you automatically
       limit future posts to just Friends. But, you may not have the same
       settings on your past post. To lock out friends of friends from your frat
       party pictures, you'll need to:
  
       1. Click the lock icon on the top right of your profile.
  
       2. Click Limit Past Posts next to "Limit the audience for old posts
       on your timeline".
  
       3. Click Limit Old Posts. Note, this step cannot be easily undone, per a
       warning pop-up.

THREE DAYS GRACE SHARES MORE DETAILS OF ADAM GONTIER SPLIT: Three Days Grace has shared more details of how Adam Gontier told the band he was leaving, with the group's explanation raising more questions about Gontier's motivations and the way he ended his relationship with his bandmates of 20 years. According to Loudwire, the band posted a statement online that said, "It had been our desire to keep an internal band matter just that,
internal. However, after public statements by Adam we feel the need to give our
fans the facts. Here's the exact timeline of events over the past few weeks."

The band spells out that it received a letter on December 21st from Gontier's lawyer, which stated, "Please be advised effective immediately Adam is terminating his involvement with the band Three Days Grace. Adam has been wrestling with a health issue, outlined in the attached letter (a doctor's letter dated December 14), which would have precluded him from touring with the band in 2013 and he wants the group to continue moving forward as they see fit
while not holding them back."

• The post from Three Days Grace added that Gontier made no mention of any health issues during a brief December tour, and that bassist Brad Walst tried to reach out to Gontier via text to see if his decision was final.  Gontier texted back, "My decision is 100 percent. My relationship with Three Days Grace is over."
• The band concluded, "How would you feel if you were in our shoes? Someone you had known for 20 years, whom you had grown up with, gone through ups and downs with, shared dreams with, ends that relationship as if you had known him for a single day with a letter from a lawyer."
• Gontier has since said that his exit had nothing to do with his health, but rather his desire to "evolve" on his "own terms."
• The singer will participate in a charity show on Thursday (January 17th) in New York City as a solo artist.

DISTURBED’S DAVID DRAIMAN OPENS UP ABOUT NEW ACT DEVICE: Disturbed frontman David Draiman has begun talking about Device, the new act he launched last year with former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo. The industrial music project is the first non-Disturbed music that Draiman has created in 16 years and he told us why that was important to him: ["This really gave me the opportunity to step outside of my box from a creative aspect and from a musical aspect. It's still dark, it's still rhythmic, it's still got my characteristic vocal delivery at times, but I definitely go places vocally on this record that I've never gone with
Disturbed."] SOUNDCUE (:19 OC: . . . gone with Disturbed.)

• Lenardo will not be part of the Device touring band due to previous commitments.
• Other members of the live lineup include Evanescence drummer Will Hunt and Dope guitarist Virus.
• Device's debut album is due out April 9th and will feature guest appearances from Avenged Sevenfold singer M. Shadows, System Of A Down vocalist Serj Tankian, Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, Halestorm singer Lzzy Hale, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler and ex-Deep Purple bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes.
• The first single from the Device album, called "Vilify," arrives at rock radio on February 19th. A video is being produced as well.
• Draiman told Noisecreep that Device's touring plans have yet to be finalized, but that he doesn't expect to be headlining the same venues that Disturbed does. He explained, "I'm ready to open for other artists and I definitely don't have any delusions  of grandeur with this. It's like going back to the beginning."

P.O.D. PERFORMING NFL HALFTIME SHOW THIS SUNDAY: Christian rockers P.O.D. will perform during the halftime show at this Sunday's (January 20th) Falcons vs. 49ers NFC Championship Game at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. The group will perform the single "Higher" during the Fox broadcast, which starts at 3:00 p.m. ET. (Loudwire)

RIP CONRAD BAIN: Conrad Bain, best known for his role as Phillip Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes, has passed away. He was 89-years-old and his daughter reported that he died of natural causes.

'SCARFACE' TEAM REUNITING FOR JOE PATERNO STORY: Brian De Palma and Al Pacino are reuniting for a biopic on Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. The working title of the film is Happy Valley.

'TEEN MOM 2' STAR IS PREGNANT AGAIN: Jenelle Evans of MTV's Teen Mom 2 is pregnant again. Evans' son Jace is currently living with her mother. This is her first child with her new husband Courtland Rogers.