OBAMA DECLARES PROGRESSIVE IDEALS IN SECOND INAUGURATION: President
Obama was sworn in for his second term yesterday (January 21st) before an estimated one million people gathered on the National Mall, a crowd about half the size of the 1.8 million who turned out for his historic first inauguration four years ago, but still among the biggest inaugural crowds ever. They heard the president deliver an impassioned inaugural address declaring progressive ideals that some commentators called the most liberal speech he's
given as president.
INAUGURAL PARADE
The Obamas led the Inaugural Parade down
Service. They briefly went into the White House before emerging again with daughters Malia and Sasha to watch the parade from the reviewing stand. Although the president and first lady attended 10 inaugural balls in 2009, there were only two held last night amid the still-struggling economy, although they were much larger than the traditional ones. One was the
Commander In Chief's Ball for members of the armed forces, and the other was called simply The Inaugural Ball, open to the public through a limited number of tickets. The Obamas danced to Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," which was performed by Jennifer Hudson.
ALGERIA GIVES ACCOUNT OF HOSTAGE CRISIS THAT ENDED IN DEADLY RAID: Algeria's prime minister on Monday (January 21st) offered his government's first detailed account of the four-day hostage crisis at a remote gas plant that ended in a military raid Saturday in which 38 of the workers who'd been held hostage -- all but one of them
foreigners -- and 29 militants died and which he defended as the only way to end the standoff. Among the dead were three Americans, while seven made it out safely. Five foreigners are still missing. Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal said the attack was carried out
by 30 Islamist militants who wore military uniforms and knew the layout, included explosives experts who rigged it with bombs and a leader whose final order was to kill all the captives. They also had inside knowledge from a former driver at the plant. In a statement, the Masked Brigade, the group that claimed to have masterminded the attack, has warned of more such action against any country backing military intervention in neighboring
ISRAELIS HEAD TO POLLS TODAY, NETANYAHU SET TO
HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION
still not getting their diploma in four years. Officials said the steady rise of students graduating high school is a reflection of the struggling economy and a greater competition for new jobs. Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the Associated Press, "If you drop out of high school, how many good jobs are there out there for you? None. That wasn't true 10 or 15 years ago." Some 3.1 million students nationwide earned their high school diplomas in the spring of 2010, with 78 percent of students finishing on time. That's the best since a 75
percent on-time graduation rate during the 1975-76 academic year.
PRINCE HARRY RETURNING FROM
said, "Yea, so lots of people have. Take a life to save a life. That's what we revolve around, I suppose. If there's people trying to do bad stuff to our guys, then we'll take them out of the game." Harry also spoke about struggling to balance his job as an army officer with his royal role, saying he likes being deployed, stating, "It's as normal as it's going to get. I'm
one of the guys. I don't get treated any differently." While Harry's accommodations are the same as any other pilot, he does have a security detail that accompanies him on base, but not when he's flying.
STUDY: LONELINESS IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH: A new study suggests that loneliness might be bad for your health by harming the immune system. The research showed that people who are lonely had more reactivation of latent viruses in their systems, and were also more likely than others to produce inflammatory compounds in response to stress, a factor that's been implicated in heart disease and other chronic conditions. Study researcher Lisa Jaremka, a postdoctoral fellow at Ohio State University College of Medicine, said loneliness may act as it own source of chronic stress, and that it's long been known that stress has a similar harmful effect on the immune system.
GEORGE W. BUSH'S PICKUP TRUCK AUCTIONED FOR $300K: A pickup truck that was used by former President George W. Bush at his Texas ranch was sold at auction Saturday (January 19th) for $300,000 after he donated it to benefit the Fisher House Foundation, which provides free housing for families of military service members who are receiving medical treatment. The Barrett-Jackson auction house didn't disclose the buyer of the 2009 Ford F-150
King Ranch 4x4 SuperCrew. Bush said in a statement, "I haven't driven on a street in many, many years, but I have been able to drive this truck on my ranch." The right airbag panel on the truck was signed by the former president. The buyer also received a video showing Bush autographing the airbag panel and driving around the ranch.
brothers, who will be the first siblings to face each other as head coaches in the NFL championship game. 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, who'll be playing against big brother John Harbaugh, the Ravens' coach, said Monday (January 21st), "Well, I think it's a blessing and a curse. A blessing because that is my brother's team. And, also, personally I played for the
Ravens. Great respect for their organization. . . . The curse part would be the talk of two brothers playing in the Super Bowl and what that takes away from the players that are in the game. Every moment that you're talking about myself or John, that's less time that the players are going to be talked about." As for John Harbaugh, he was trying to play down the historical nature of it all, saying, "I like reading a lot of history . . . I guess it's pretty
neat. But is it really going to be written about? It's not exactly like Churchill and
FERRER, LI
either Novak Djokovic or Tomas Berdych. In the other quarterfinals, Roger Federer is
facing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray will play Jeremy Chardy. On the women's side,
sixth-seeded Li Na of
and Ekaterina Makarova. The other quarterfinals will have American 19-year-old Sloane Stephens taking on Serena Williams, and defending champion Victoria Azarenka against Svetlana Kuznetsova.
MALOOF FAMILY AGREES TO SELL SACRAMENTO KINGS TO SEATTLE GROUP:
Monday (January 21st). However, the deal must still be approved by the NBA Board of Governors. AP cited a person familiar with the decision as saying Hansen's group will buy 65 percent of the franchise, move the team to
OTHER DISTURBED MEMBERS REPORTEDLY MOVING ON
the attention last week was focused on Disturbed frontman David Draiman as he
unveiled his new industrial music project Device, word comes now via Blabbermouth that Disturbed guitarist Dan Donegan and drummer Mike Wengren are rumored to be assembling a new outfit of their own with current Evans Blue singer Dan Chandler. Draiman himself alluded to his bandmates' new project in an interview last week, although no further information on it is available yet.
Disturbed went on hiatus in the fall of 2011, although at the time Donegan told Pulse of Radio that it wasn't necessarily to pursue other musical ventures: "If we pursue other things, it's only because we're taking a break. It's not like we're stopping because we want to do other things. If we dabble with other things and we want to go down other avenues, then like I said, that's just mainly because we have time to do that and we may want to explore some of
those things just 'cause of our passion for it."
- Dan Chandler has been the vocalist for Evans Blue since 2009, when he replaced original singer Kevin Matisyn. The band's most recent offering was 2012's Graveyard
Of Empires. - Disturbed bassist John Moyer has been playing since last year with Adrenaline Mob, which also includes former Dream Theater and
Avenged Sevenfold drummer Mike Portnoy and others. - Draiman's Device project will release its debut album on April 9th, with a single called "Vilify" headed to rock radio next month.
GREEN DAY DOCUMENTARY PREMIERING AT ASPEN ‘X GAMES’: Green Day's new documentary, called Cuatro!, will have its premiere screening at the upcoming X Games in
occurred in the studio.
Bassist Mike Dirnt said in a statement, "Over the last year while we were recording our trilogy, we posted multiple clips every week so fans can see parts of the recording process of Uno!
Dos! Tre! . . . Cuatro! brings our fans one step closer by giving them even more access and revealing what it was like for us to make these records."
- The film will screen on January 26th at
- This will apparently be the first public appearance of the band with frontman Billie Joe Armstrong since his meltdown at a
- Green Day recently rescheduled some of the live dates that the band canceled in the wake of that incident, with a limited run of rescheduled shows beginning on March 28th in
CHECK IT OUT: Watch a trailer for Cuatro! at http://tinyurl.com/avvhop9
BARBARA WALTERS HOSPITALIZED: Barbara Walters was hospitalized on Saturday
night (January 19th) after cutting her head following a fall on the steps at the home of the British Ambassador in Washington D.C. Barbara was supposed to cover Obama's inauguration but remains in the hospital for observation.
OCTOMOM IS STRIPPING AGAIN: Only a few weeks after signing up for welfare again, Nadya "Octomom" Suleman has inked a deal to strip again. She will reportedly earn $20,000 to dance topless at T's Lounge in
KATIE COURIC SCORES INTERVIEW WITH MANTI TE'O: Katie Couric has landed the first on camera interview with hoax victim and Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o. The interview will air on her daytime talk show on Thursday, January 24th.
CONSTRUCTION WORKER SUES
'TRUE BLOOD' ADDS TWO FEMALE CAST MEMBERS: Two new cast members have been added to the upcoming sixth season of True Blood. Amelia Rose Blaire and Jurnee Smollett have landed the plum roles which will start out as recurring with the potential of becoming series regulars.
THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY ACQUIRES SUNDANCE FAVORITE: Harvey Weinstein
has won the bidding war for Sundance favorite Fruitvale. Weinstein apparently paid over $2 million for the picture.
DIRECTOR OF 'DEATH WISH' DEAD AT 77: Michael Winner, director of Death Wish, has died at his home in
FIVE WAYS FACEBOOK GRAPH SEARCH WILL AFFECT YOUR LOVE
1) See Who's Single & Similar. Will Facebook become the new OKCupid? With this
new tool, it's possible the popular social network that connects you to friends will move into dating terrority - if it hasn't already. With the new search tool, you can play matchmaker for yourself by searching your connections by relationship status and interest. Type in "friends who are single and play tennis." You may be surprised who has a lot in common with your or who's newly single. Hmm, maybe you should "like" the cute guy from the
coffee shop's status after all.
2) Meet Your Friends' Friends. Meeting through friends is still the most popular way for couples to meet, and after that comes online dating, with one in five couples now meeting online. Facebook Graph Search may be the way to combine the two. Not only can you browse your friends, but you can also search your friends' friends interests. With the search tool, you can type in "friends of friends who like The Office" or "friends of friends who are single." While it might be a more casual way of reaching out than it is on online dating sites, this tool will perhaps make it more acceptable to reach out to the cute guy in your friend's pictures online - or even off.
3) Meet New People. If you're really outgoing - and who knows, maybe this will feel more natural as we get used to the new feature - you can even find new people in your city who share similar interests. Type in "people who live nearby and like skiing."
4) Stalk Your Ex. Whether intentional or not, the graph search gives you more opportunities to virtually run into any exes you've remained Facebook friends with. Searching for friends who like skiing, have been to the best pizza place in town or live nearby can all lead you back to his profile.
5) Let Others Stalk You.With this new feature, all of these things apply
to your profile too. So even if you're not stalking your ex, he may see you now
like sushi or went to his favorite bar recently. And, depending on how thorough
and public your profile is, it could start to serve as your online dating
profile. Read: Expect more Facebook messages from strangers.
YOUNG PEOPLE WANT GUNS SOME DAY, SURVEY SAYS: One research has found that young Americans want to own guns. Researcher Jennifer L. Lawless and her team surveyed four-thousand high school and college students to find out whether they wanted a gun once they had a household of their own. Forty-percent of those surveyed said they planned on
owning a gun when they got older, and 20-percent said they were considering it.
Fifty-percent of those surveyed who said they're depressed, stressed-out, and/or have difficulty making decisions said they plan to have a gun when they're older. Additionally, the survey found that high school students who play four hours or more of video games per day are 50-percent more likely than others to plan on owning a gun. (Buzzfeed)
AFTER-MEAL EXERCISE
blood, normally seen after consuming fatty foods. They also found that exercising after eating reduced elevations in triglycerides more than exercising before eating. Researchers noted that because the study was small, further research is needed to know whether the results apply to the general population. (Fox News)
FIVE DATE NIGHT IDEAS FOR WHEN YOU BOTH HAVE THE FLU (YourTango):
1) Movie night. Nothing is better than curling up with a good movie,
lots of blankets and a hot cup of tea when you're not feeling well. Why not
include your man on the action? Run out to rent a movie or check out what your
cable provider has to offer, slip into your favorite cozy pajamas, get the
kettle going and cuddle up in bed or on the couch. We guarantee you'll be
feeling better in no time. Plus, he's more likely to agree to that chick flick
you've been dying to see when he's sick and in no mood to argue.
2) Sick day TV marathon. News channels and doctors have been warning
everyone: if you don't feel well, please stay home! Take advantage of a day at
home with your guy. Spend the day catching up on a series online or on your DVR
you both enjoy. After all, they say laughter is the best medicine.
3) Cozy up in the kitchen. Everyone knows delicious, hot soup is a great
cure for whatever ails you. Kick the canned stuff to the curb for the night and
try your hand at making some from scratch. Get out the crock pot, roll up your
sleeves and get to work together. You'll have plenty of time to catch up and
talk about whatever's on your mind while you chop up ingredients together.
4) Fireside date night. Just because you're sick and don't want to go
out, doesn't mean you can't set up a little date at home. All you need is a
fire place, pillows and blankets, your favorite feel-good foods and each
other's company. Don't have a fireplace? Light a bunch of candles; it may not
give off the same heat, but it sets the mood just the same! The romance doesn't
have to end when dinner is done; take the time to speak intimately to each
other.
5) Steam it out. Being sick doesn't have to stop you from feeling sexy.
Treat your man to a steamy shower or romantic bubble bath. The steam from the
hot water will get you both feeling better, at least while you're in there -
and how much closer could you really get?
