HAGEL
vote for the former GOP senator from
week in an unprecedented filibuster of the defense secretary nominee. Hagel is expected to get all 55 Democratic votes and the support of three Republicans -- Senators Thad Cochran of
THREE KILLED IN VEGAS RAMPAGE THAT STARTED IN
cars and a utility truck also collided at the intersection, injuring at least six more people as the Range Rover got away. The Maserati driver was pronounced dead at a hospital, while the search continues for the occupants of the Range Rover. Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie said that Thursday's incident was sparked by an argument in the valet area of the Aria.
DREW PETERSON GETS 38-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE: Former
third wife, Kathleen Savio, in 2004. Peterson, who became famous for his lighthearted, joking demeanor while suspected in the 2007 disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, screamed out his innocence before he was sentenced, shouting, "I did not kill Kathleen!" His dead wife's sister, Susan Doman, shouted back, "Yes, you did! You liar!" before
the judge ordered her removed from the courtroom. Savio's death was initially ruled an accident after her body was found in a dry bathtub at her home, a gash on the back of her head and her hair soaked in blood. But authorities took another look after Stacy's 2007 disappearance, and Savio's death was reclassified as a homicide. Stacey remains missing, and Peterson has not been charged in that disappearance, although he still could be.
THIS YEAR'S FLU SHOT DOING BAD
over six months old get a flu shot, since some protection is better than none, and even if someone who's vaccinated gets the flu, they may not get as sick. Overall, across all age groups, the vaccine's effectiveness was found to be 56 percent, which is considered moderate. The flu vaccine tends to protect younger people better, since the elderly have weaker immune systems that don't respond as well to the shots, and they are more vulnerable to the illness and its complications.
including crime rates, foreclosures, taxes, home prices, commute times, weather and decreasing populations. Other major cities that are high on the list are
BILLBOARD, NIELSEN CHANGE MEASURING METHODS TO REFLECT CHANGING TECHNOLOGY: Both Billboard and Nielsen have announced changes this week to how they, respectively, rank the top songs in the U.S. and measure TV viewership, to reflect changing technology.
Billboard has just incorporated songs' YouTube views into how it ranks the top 100, which
immediately pushed Baauer's 2012 single "Harlem Shake" to Number One on the Hot 100 because of its use in the "Harlem Shake" viral video meme. Billboard made the change as part of the effort to keep its charts relevant as more people listen to music in digital formats.
Nielsen announced yesterday (February 21st) that it will soon begin counting people who
watch TV programming via broadband in addition to the traditional broadcast or
cable. The number of
RUSSIAN METEOR BREAKS YOUTUBE RECORD: The meteor that exploded over Russia last Friday (February 15th) was the largest such event in a century, and it attracted such interest around the world that all the meteor videos that were uploaded to YouTube and DailyMotion got more than 130 million views over the weekend, according to social analysis service Visible Measures, which is the fastest rate of viral growth ever seen. According to Visible Measure, more than 400 videos of the meteor have been uploaded, some 160 of which have more than 100,000 views.
OBAMA ENLISTS 'KID PRESIDENT' TO ANNOUNCE EASTER EGG
Novak's original video, "Pep-talk from Kid President to You," in which he asks, "What will you create to make the world awesome," and, "If we're all on the same team, let's start acting like it," has over 10 million views on YouTube.
CHECK IT OUT AT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o
NEW CHIEF INVESTIGATOR APPOINTED IN PISTORIUS MURDER CASE: South African police appointed a new chief investigator Thursday (February 21st) in the Oscar Pistorius
murder case, replacing veteran detective Hilton Botha after it was revealed a day earlier that he's facing seven counts of attempted murder. Botha also put in a poor performance on the stand Wednesday, giving testimony that was damaging to the prosecution. The attempted murder charges against Botha and two other police officers in connection with a 2011 incident in which they allegedly fired at a minibus they were trying to stop had been dropped, but
they were reinstated on February 4th, something police and prosecutors didn't know about until after his testimony Wednesday. Meanwhile, the judge in Pistorius' case is expected to decide today whether or not to grant him bail. He's facing premeditated murder charges for the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, who he shot to death through the door of his bathroom toilet. Pistorius maintains that he thought an intruder was in the
bathroom, while the prosecution contends he killed her after a fight
BLAME EVOLUTION FOR YOUR BACK PAIN: Scientist say back pains are ancient history. Anthropologists at the recent American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting explained that a 1.5-million-year old skeleton and the famous three-million-year-old skeleton known as Lucy both show signs of back problems. Scientists explain that when the human spine evolved to be upright the body needed to balance over hips and feet, which is why the spine has curves, but that this system is not optimal. Scientists say that even just the simple act of walking each day results in a constant twisting of the spine which causes
problems. Scientists also attempted to explain other human evolvments that are not perfect, such as the structure of our feet and wisdom teeth. (CNN)
in-depth questions about what they ate and drank over the previous 24-hours. The survey found that adults between the ages of 20 and 39 get 15-percent of their calories per day from fast good, and young African-Americans get 21-percent of their calories per from Wendy's, Taco Bell and KFC. The Centers for Disease Control study also found that the average
HAVING AN AFFAIR HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT? New data from the dating website for married people, UndercoverLovers.com, finds having an affair tends to help people slim down.
The website surveyed three-thousand users of it's services and found that 62-percent of women say they lose weight after starting an affair, saying they lose an average of ten pounds, while men say the lose an average of six pounds. One health expert says this likely happens because people engaging in affairs are under a lot of stress, and tend to rush around which might cause them to miss meals, and additionally there might be pressure to look a certain way for their new love. (Daily Mail)
EFFECTS OF BULLYING CAN BE FELT IN ADULTHOOD: Some people view bullying as a rite of passage during childhood, but a new study finds the painful effects of bullying can be felt long into adulthood. Researchers from
victim of bullying- were the worst off with a higher risk for every depression and anxiety disorder that exists. (Fox News)
FOO FIGHTERS BEGINNING
Dave Grohl said late last year that Foo Fighters were going to take a break from recording and touring for a while, he apparently has changed his mind. After telling MTV News last month that he already had "the music for the next record," Grohl said at the Brit Awards in
London on Wednesday (February 20th), "I return to Los Angeles tomorrow to start work on a Foo Fighters record."
- Grohl has told Pulse of Radio in the past that he keeps his approach to songwriting basic: ["It's pretty simple with this band. If there's a melody and there's a good lyric, then we've got ourselves a song in a couple of minutes. If we could throw it together, and get an arrangement together, and put it down on tape, that's kind of what we do best, you know: that simple, melodic rock that gets stuck in your head."]
- The Foos' main main also told MTV News about the follow-up to 2011's Wasting Light, "We have really awesome, big plans for the next album and I'm really excited about it."
- In the meantime, Grohl has been promoting
- Grohl has been taking a rotating ensemble of musicians who appeared in the film, dubbed the Sound City Players, to
- There is no word yet on whether Grohl expects the eighth Foo Fighters album to come out in 2013.
SULLY ERNA RETURING TO POKER TOURNAMENTS: Godsmack singer Sully Erna
is taking some time to revisit one of his favorite hobbies -- playing poker. Erna told ESPN that after spending a few years away from the game, he's got the itch to start competing in tournaments again. Erna won nearly $18,000 in 2006 and $45,000 in 2007 at the World Series of Poker before bringing home $307,000 that same year at the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic.
So why did he walk away? Erna said, "I was finding that I was very impatient and
playing crappy hands. I was losing patience every time I was playing. I had to take a break. (But) I'm making a comeback! I've studied the game. I'm getting the itch to play poker again. In fact, I'm in
- Erna says that part of the reason he's doing solo dates at casinos is so that he can brush up on his game again, explaining, "I love that environment. It works to my advantage, also it's a transient audience. I can't wait."
- The singer has booked six solo shows on the East Coast, beginning on March 22nd in
- The concerts will feature songs from the entire span of Erna's career, including Godsmack tracks and tunes from his 2010 debut solo album, Avalon.
ORIGINAL '
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