233 KILLED IN BRAZILIAN NIGHTCLUB
through the reportedly overcrowded, windowless venue, which apparently only had one exit. Inspectors believe that the fire was started when a band's small pyrotechnics show ignited foam sound insulating material on the ceiling, in a scenario disturbingly similar to what happened at a Rhode Island nightclub in 2003, when 100 people were killed in a fire caused by stage pyrotechnics used by the band Great White also igniting soundproofing on the ceiling and walls. As in that fire, many people died Sunday because they were caught in a stampede of people trying to escape the Kiss nightclub, with firefighters initially having trouble getting in
because of what was described as a "barrier of bodies blocking the entrance." Officials said most of the victims were killed within minutes by smoke inhalation. The band members managed to escape alive because they were the first to notice the fire, but one of them went back in to save his accordion and was killed.
three provinces that were hit hardest by a wave of unrest over the weekend that left more than 50 people dead. The unrest was sparked by rallies held on Friday (January 25th) to mark the second anniversary of the uprising against former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak,
as well as a court conviction and death sentence Saturday for 21 defendants involved in a mass soccer riot in
of authoritarianism seen for decades under Mubarak.
OBAMA, CLINTON SIT FOR JOINT INTERVIEW AS SHE PREPARES TO STEP DOWN: President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sat down for a joint interview that aired last night on CBS' 60 Minutes, with the president strongly praising his one-time rival as she readies to step down after four years as secretary of state. Obama called
her stamina, her thoughtfulness." He stated, "It has been a great collaboration over the last four years. I'm going to miss her. Wish she was sticking around. But she has logged in so many miles, I can't begrudge her wanting to take it easy for a little bit." It was Obama who suggested the joint interview -- the first he's done with anyone other than his wife -- but
both laughed off the suggestion that it was an endorsement from the president for a possible
CHECK IT OUT:
- Interview Part 1: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50139839n
- Interview Part 2: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50139840n
THOUSANDS RALLY FOR GUN CONTROL: About 100 residents of
The crowd was led by marchers carrying signs that read "We Are Sandy Hook." The signs paid tribute to the victims of the December school massacre in
STOCKS
at heights not seen for years. The key Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed at 1,502.96 on Friday. That is its first close above 1,500 since December 2007. The immediate cause was strong quarterly earnings reports from heavyweight companies including Procter & Gamble and Starbucks. But money managers note that positive signals about the jobs picture and the nation's housing market have boosted stock prices for four straight weeks now.
TODAY'S FYI:
NO ESCAPE FROM THE FLU: The flu is now officially everywhere in the
- A report from the Centers for Disease Control says that only 26 percent of the people who visit their doctors for flu treatment actually have the flu. Some of them have caught a new strain of norovirus, commonly called the stomach flu, which is spreading across the country. There's also the usual assortment of colds and viruses out there.
The Center also issued a reminder that prescription drugs can help influenza sufferers, but should be taken as soon as the symptoms hit.
WATCH OUT FOR THIS NEW FEE: This week, merchants who accept Visa and MasterCard are permitted to tack a surcharge onto their customers' charges. The charge cannot exceed their actual processing costs, estimated at 1.5 percent to 3 percent of the amount charged.
They'll have to post a sign about the extra fee, too. The change is the result of a class-action lawsuit by merchants against the credit card companies, which was settled last year. NBC News reports that some of the biggest American retailers, including Wal-Mart, Target, Sears and Home Depot, all have said they have no plans to tack on the new fees.
- Residents of 10 states don't have to worry about it. These states have laws against such fees:
CASEY ANTHONY FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY: Casey Anthony, who was acquitted in 2011 of killing her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, filed for bankruptcy protection in
- Also on Friday, a
VETERAN SENATOR
Tom Harkin of
in 2014, putting at risk what was considered a safe Democratic seat. The
73-year-old Harkin, who is one of the most liberal senators, was first elected
to the House of Representatives in 1974 and to the Senate in 1984. He focused
much of his nearly 40-year congressional career on farm policy, education and
expanding rights for people with disabilities. Harkin is the third senator
facing re-election next year who has announced his retirement, following
Democrat Jay Rockefeller of
SECRETARY CLINTON'S NEW GLASSES: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was wearing new eyeglasses during her appearance before Congress last week, but that was no fashion statement. A spokesperson told CBS News that the secretary of state had to replace her usual contact lenses with special eyeglasses as a result of "lingering issues" stemming from her recent concussion. A specialist said Secretary Clinton may be wearing a "Fresnel prism."
That's a special lens attachment that helps people see clearly when their eyes do not work properly together. If a person has perfect vision, each eye sees a slightly different image, but this is translated immediately into a single clear picture. So, in short, Secretary Clinton may be suffering from double vision.
SPORTS:
DJOKOVIC
IS WOMEN'S CHAMP: Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open on Sunday (January 27th) for the third straight year, beating third-seeded Andy Murray of Britain 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2. It was the top-ranked Serb's fourth Australian Open title overall, and sixth Grand Slam championship. No other man has won the Australian Open for three straight years. The women's champion was also a repeat, with top-ranked defending champion Victoria Azarenka of
NFC HAMMERS
unknown, however, is if this will be the last Pro Bowl. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the game wouldn't take place again if play didn't improve this year. Officials said
earlier in the week that the league wants to decide the future of the Pro Bowl
by the time next season's schedule is released in April.
TEEN SAYS ROB ZOMBIE’S HALLOWEEN INSPIRED HIM TO KILL: A teenager
accused of killing his mother and sister says that Rob Zombie's 2007 remake of Halloween was his inspiration for the murder. According to Huffington Post, 17-year-old Jake Evans allegedly murdered his mother Jamie Evans and his 15-year-old sister Mallory in
their home in
Jake's four-page confession in which he specifically cites fictional serial killer
Mike Meyers as his inspiration was released by Parker County Judge Graham Quisenberry on Thursday (January 24th.) Evans wrote, "While watching it I was amazed at how at
ease the boy was during the murders and how little remorse he had afterword
[sic]. I was thinking to myself it would be the same for me when I kill someone." He went on to say that he watched the film three times a week.
- Jake is being charged with one count of capital murder and two counts of murder. Bail was set at $750,000 but Evans' father -- who was out of town when the crime occurred -- refused to get his son out of jail.
- No trial date has been set yet
ASHTON KUTCHER HOSPITALIZED WHILE PREPPING FOR ‘JOBS’ ROLE: Following
the premiere of his new film jOBS at Sundance, Ashton Kutcher revealed that he was hospitalized prior to filming for trying out the fruitarian diet. Kutcher was getting into character by adapting the same food regimen as the late Apple
USA Today is reporting that Ashton's fruit-only diet took a toll on his health when he was admitted to the hospital with pancreatic problems two days before filming started. The actor
told reporters, "First of all, the fruitarian diet can lead to like severe issues. I was like doubled over in pain. My pancreas levels were completely out of whack. It was really terrifying...considering everything."
- Jobs died of pancreatic cancer in 2011.
- jOBS arrives in theaters in April.
ANNA PAQUIN
director Bryan Singer tweeted that Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, and Shawn Ashmore have been tapped to reprise their roles from the original X-Men trilogy in the upcoming sequel to X-Men: First Class. Singer also thanked former director Brett Ratner for keeping the characters alive in the franchise so they could appear in his new film.
'DEXTER' ADDS TWO NEW CAST MEMBERS FOR SEASON EIGHT: Charlotte Rampling
and Sean Patrick Flannery have scored roles on the upcoming eighth season of Dexter. The season will debut on June 30th on Showtime.
'ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS' HEADING TO THE BIG SCREEN: The hit British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous is being adapted for the big screen. The show's star Joanna Lumley broke the news and revealed that co-star Jennifer Saunders is already writing the script.
SARAH PALIN
BURT REYNOLDS HOSPITALIZED WHILE BATTLING THE FLU: Burt Reynolds
remains hospitalized but has been released from the intensive care unit while battling a bad case of the flu. A rep for the 76-year-old actor tells TMZ that doctors have given the go-ahead to leave ICU now that his fever has broken.
DO LIGHTNING STRIKES CAUSE MIGRAINES? New research, published in the journal Cephalalgia, shows lightning strikes may indirecty cause headaches in migraine sufferers.
Researchers say the lightning may cause changes in the air that would trigger headaches. For the study, headache specialist Vincent Martin looked at data from a previous study in which 90-migrain sufferers kept diaries of all their potential migrain triggers for three to six months. He then collected all data on lightning strikes in the areas the diary-keepers lived. Martin says he found that for each headache sufferer, a same day lightning strike occurred within
25-miles of his or her zipcode about 10-to-20-percent of the time. After controlling for other aspects of thunderstorms such as barometric pressure, researchers concluded that lightning is linked to a 13-percent jump in the chance of a migraine occuring. (Fox News)
HOW TO MAKE AMAZING GUACAMOLE: http://tinyurl.com/adzcxwm
MEN MORE LIKELY TO TURN DOWN SEX FROM THEIR PARTNER
stressed about work. But when men were asked about their genuine reasoning for
turning down sex they cited lack of body confidence, and having a low libido
most often. (Daily Mail)
WHY MEN
coughs because they have extra temperature receptors in the brain, and therefore experience worse symptoms. Ellison explains that once boys hit puberty, the area of the brain called the preoptic nucleus becomes larger due to testosterone. She says the extra receptors in the brain may be why men get higher fevers and feel "rough." (Daily Mail)
WHY WE
recession. Scientists from the
their experiment where people were subconsciously primed with messages such as
"live for today," they consumed nearly 40-percent more food compared with a group primed with neutral words. Additionally, when participants were given messges indicating that times were hard, but then told the food they were sampling was low-calorie, they ate about 25-percent less food. Researchers say that if we perceive food resources as scarce, we actively try to find foods with higher calorie counts, and that hearing depressing news stories could have the same effect. (Daily Mail)
WHY DO WE WANT TO SQUEEZE CUTE THINGS? If you just want to squeeze your new puppy because it's so cute there's actually a psychological reason why you have tht urge. New research presented at Society for Personality and Social Psychology's annual meeting
finds that seeing something cute actually brings out aggression in us. For their research, scientists had about 100 people look at pictures of animals classified as cute, funny and neutral photos of fluffy puppies. The participants then rated how they felt about the pictures by agreeing with statements such as "I just can't handle it!" Scientists found the
cuter the animal the more aggressive the response was from participants. Study
leader Rebecca Dyer of
1) Finger length. Women whose index fingers are shorter than their ring
fingers may be twice as prone to osteoarthritis in the knees, found a 2008
study in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism. Those with this predominately
male characteristic tend to have lower levels of estrogen, which may also play
a role in the development of osteoarthritis, say researchers.
2) Height. Women taller than 5-foot-2 may be missing a gene mutation that helps them reach their 100th birthday, according to a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
3) Leg length. If your legs are on the stocky side, you may need to take
better care of your liver. In a 2008 study published in the Journal of
Epidemiology and Community Health, British researchers found that women with
legs between 20 and 29 inches tended to have higher levels of four enzymes that
indicate liver disease. Factors such as childhood nutrition may not only
influence growth patterns, but also liver development well into adulthood, say
researchers.
4) Sense of smell. Older adults who couldn't identify the scent of
bananas, lemons, cinnamon, or other items were five times more likely to
develop Parkinson's disease within four years, according to a 2008 study in the
Annals of Neurology. The researchers believe that the area of the brain
responsible for olfactory function may be one of the first impacted by
Parkinson's disease - somewhere between 2 and 7 years prior to diagnosis.
5) Arm length. Have a hard time reaching the top of your kitchen
cabinets? Women with the shortest arm spans were 1 1/2 times more likely to
develop Alzheimer's disease than those with longer reaches, found a 2008 study
in the journal Neurology. (Find yours by spreading your arms parallel to the
floor and having someone measure fingertips to fingertips; the shortest spans
were less than 60 inches.) Nutritional or other deficits during the critical
growing years, possibly responsible for shorter arms, may also predispose a
person to cognitive decline later in life, say
6) Earlobe crease. Multiple studies show that linear wrinkles in one or
both lobes may predict future cardiovascular events (heart attack, bypass
surgery, or cardiac death.) A crease on one lobe raises the risk by 33 percent;
a crease on both lobes increases it by 77 percent, even after adjusting for
other known risk factors, found a study in The American Journal of Medicine.
Though experts aren't exactly sure, they suspect a loss of elastic fibers may
cause both the crease and the hardening of arteries.
7) Jean size. Adults who have larger abdomens in their 40s are up to 3.6
times as likely to develop dementia in their 70s, even if they weren't
overweight, according to a 2008 study published in the journal Neurology. One
possible reason for the link is that compared with subcutaneous fat (the
noticeable fat that lies just below the skin), visceral fat (the dangerous fat
that surrounds the organs) secretes more of the inflammatory hormones that are
associated with cognitive decline.
8) Bra size. A D-cup may also spell diabetes: Women who wore a bra size
D or larger at age 20 were 1.5 times more likely to develop type 2 than those
who wore an A or smaller, even after researchers adjusted for obesity, diet,
smoking, and family history, in a 10-year study published in the Canadian
Medical Association Journal. It may be that the fat tissue in a woman's breast
is hormonally sensitive and influences insulin resistance, which can lead to
diabetes, say researchers.
9) Calf size. Though it sounds counterintuitive, a 2009 French study in
the journal Stroke found that women with small calves (13 inches or less
around) tended to develop more carotid plaques, a known risk factor for stroke.
The subcutaneous fat in larger calves may pull fatty acids from the bloodstream
and store them where they are less of a risk factor, say researchers.
10) Blood type. People with type A, B, or AB were 44 percent more likely
to develop pancreatic cancer than those with type O, according to a recent
study of 107,503 adults by researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in
determines blood type may also carry a genetic risk for pancreatic cancer.
(Fox News)
