THE SHOW: 01/22/2010 - YOU ARE THE FATHER!! / GOOD NEWS FOR EDUCATION SPENDING / DEATH PENALTY FOR TEENS

Local Buzz:
"State To Seek Death Penalty Against Teens"

*PULASKI, Tenn. - NewsChannel 5 has learned that the state of Tennessee will seek the death penalty against 18 year olds Matthew Wood and William Angel for their crimes. Angel and Wood are accused of killing Desere Thornton and her two sons, 16-year-old Jerrod and 9-year old Anthony, this past October.
A grand jury indicted the teens for premeditated first degree murder, felony first degree murder, aggravated arson, setting fire to personal property, theft, cruelty to animals and aggravated burglary. Police said Wood and Angel slit their victims' throats, killed the family dog, and then stole an X-Box game before setting the house on fire. Those close to the case said that is just the tip of the iceberg, that even more shocking details are expected in their trial.
They would be the youngest to receive the death penalty in Tennessee.

"Pills Removed From School's Haiti Relief List"

*THOMPSONS STATION, Tenn. - Prescription pills have been removed from Heritage Middle School's Haiti relief collection list.
Student Council members put together a plan to help Haiti shortly after the January 12 earthquake hit.
HMS Helping Haiti asked students and parents to donate supplies, food and clothing. The drive also asked for prescription antibiotics such as Ampicillin, Amoxicillin and Tetracycline.
Parent Paula Caldwell emailed officials complaining about the drug donations.
Caldwell wrote that asking students to bring in the drugs "is horribly inappropriate and illegal."
Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney took quick action removing the antibiotic item from the list.
"We are glad we caught it. We're glad that the parent called it to our attention," said Looney.
The superintendent said mishap aside; students deserve credit for their willingness to help the Haitian community.
"We are very proud of them and look forward to continuing to help as we can," said Looney.
The superintendent said students cut and pasted from a number of donation lists on the internet. Prescription antibiotics happened to be one of the items.

"New FHA Loan Requirements Won't Negatively Affect Most"

*NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Federal Housing Agency has announced changes to its lending practices for loans most popular with first time home buyers, but local experts said this will mean little change to most potential buyers. "With all the big banks we read about that are having problems and everything else, they want to make sure that these lenders and FHA, which is more of an insurance program for loans, is around for a long, long time," said Hart Weatherford, president of Nashville based Farmington Financial Group. "They're just trying to bolster up their reserves."
Among the changes, a higher mortgage insurance premium, or MIP. The rate will rise from 1.75 percent to 2.25 percent this spring.
"On a $200,000 loan, it's about $6 a month," said Weatherford. "Not a significant change. It's going to help them with their reserves."
The next change involves credit ratings. FHA will continue to offer their 3.5 percent down payment for people with credit scores above 580, but those with poorer scores would be required to put down 10 percent. Weatherford points out most lenders would not even consider financing someone with a credit score below 600, so the guideline would not change the lending landscape. Weatherford said earlier published reports of high down payment requirements were damaging rumors this week. "It scared some people. It shouldn't. FHA is going to be around for a long time, it's a great program," said Weatherford. "We've just got to make sure that we get solid borrowers into the FHA program." The seller concession, or money the seller ultimately puts towards closing costs, will reduce from 6 percent to 3 percent. Weatherford called the changes positive, noting investors can also benefit from new FHA guidelines which will allow people who buy foreclosed homes to turn around and sell them outside of the 90 day waiting period. The lifted restriction will last for the next year.
Weatherford said it's still a buyer's market. "We've probably seen the bottom of the real estate market," said Weatherford. "That's not to say that prices might not drop a little bit more, but if they do, so what? You're not going to hold this house for one or two years, this is an investment for a long time."
The FHA is also planning to keep a closer eye on lenders, holding them liable for mortgages they underwrite. They will include lender ratings on the HUD website beginning in February.

Top Stories:
"John Edwards acknowledges child from affair"
-'Itwas wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter,' the onetime Democratic senator and presidential hopeful says in a statement about his baby with videographer Rielle Hunter.

*Reporting from Atlanta - Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards admitted Thursday that he fathered a child with a former campaign videographer, confirming rumors and reports that had been swirling around the former North Carolina senator for months.
"I am Quinn's father," Edwards said in a prepared statement, referring to Frances Quinn Hunter, the toddler he fathered with the videographer, Rielle Hunter. " . . . It was wrong for me ever to deny she was my daughter and hopefully one day, when she understands, she will forgive me.
Edwards, 56, has been married for more than three decades to Elizabeth Edwards, 60, an attorney who played a high-profile role in his political campaigns, and who has been diagnosed with cancer. The couple had four children together, the eldest of whom, Wade, died in a car accident in 1996. The couple's two youngest children are not yet high school age. Edwards admitted to the affair with Hunter, 45, in August 2008, after the National Enquirer reported that he was the child's father. At the time, Edwards vigorously denied the allegation. The baby was born in February 2008, and Edwards said the affair took place "for a short period" in 2006. In his statement Thursday, Edwards -- who earned a fortune as one of North Carolina's most successful trial lawyers -- said he had been providing financial support for the child and had reached an agreement with Hunter to continue doing so.
"To all those I have disappointed and hurt, these words will never be enough, but I am truly sorry," he said.

"Donors Plan Boost in Campaign Spending"

*Corporations, labor unions and other political entities are gearing up to play a larger role in influencing elections in 2010 and beyond after a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down elements of campaign-finance law.
The Supreme Court on Thursday made it easier for entities to influence elections for Congress and the White House by stripping away rules that limited their ability to fund campaign advertisements. The court also struck down a part of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law that prevented independent political groups from running advertisements within 30 days of a primary election or 60 days of a general election.
The question now is whether corporations and labor unions will take advantage of their new freedom. For the past decade, labor unions have been more aggressive than corporations in finding legal ways to fund independent political campaigns. But the relaxation of campaign-spending restrictions could clear the way for groups from all points along the political spectrum to spend more, and target more of that spending in the critical final days of a campaign.
Joe Ricketts, the founder of TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., whose family owns the Chicago Cubs baseball franchise, is forming a political organization with other individuals to run advertisements against lawmakers who use spending earmarks to steer government funds to home-state projects, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Before the court decision, Mr. Ricketts's campaign couldn't directly tell people to vote against candidates. And he couldn't run his ads in the month before Election Day. Thursday's ruling sweeps away those limitations.
"The right to speak in association with other people was affirmed today by the court, and that will be incredibly important for us in the coming year," said Brian Baker, president of Mr. Ricketts's group. "We can advertise around election time, when it matters most," he said.
Corporations, unions and wealthy individuals have sought to influence elections for decades by funding their own independent campaigns for or against candidates.

"Evacuated Californians wait to go home as storms rage on"

*Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- Hundreds of evacuated southern Californians await word Friday on whether they can return home as the latest in a series of winter storms pound the state. Mandatory evacuation orders had been issued for Acton, La Crescenta and La Canada Flintridge -- areas at risk for mudslides after being stripped of vegetation by last year's wildfires. More than 500 residences had been evacuated.
Geologists, sanitation workers and street maintenance workers will head to threatened areas Friday morning to determine whether it is safe for residents to return, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said on Thursday. The weather has prompted California's acting governor Jerry Brown to proclaim a state of emergency in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Francisco and Siskiyou counties. In a statement, Brown said the storms "have brought high winds and significant amounts of precipitation statewide, and have caused the loss of human life, injuries, flooding, heavy snows and mudslides throughout the state. The effects of these storms are expected to continue for the next several days," according to the statement." Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is in Washington, D.C., pleading for more federal funding to help his state. Some southern Californians ignored evacuation orders.
"You're talking about blocking us out of here for five days, evacuating until next week," one man told CNN affiliate KABC-TV in Los Angeles. "You know what? That's too many days. That's a huge inconvenience. I understand they're looking out for our safety ... but I'm not out driving around. I'm staying put."

Celeb News:

"Simon Cowell signs stars for Haiti charity single"

*Rod Stewart, Leona Lewis, JLS and Michael Buble have all agreed to take part in the Haiti charity single, which has been organised by Simon Cowell.
The artists will record a cover of REM's ballad Everybody Hurts. The Sun newspaper, which has teamed up with Cowell, said Robbie Williams, Coldplay, Take That and Sir Paul McCartney have also been approached. Meanwhile, Madonna and Beyonce will take part in a global telethon to raise cash for the earthquake-hit country.

"Heidi Montag plastic surgery nightmare: 'I almost died after my procedure"

*Despite the fact that her recent plastic surgery spree nearly killed her, Heidi Montag says she is open to having more.
The 23-year-old reality TV tart told "Access Hollywood" that she almost didn't wake up after the 10 procedures she had in one day.
"I almost died after my procedure," Montag said. "I had too much Demerol like Michael Jackson did and my breathing was five breaths per minute which is like almost dead. [I was] in an aftercare center, there were nurses that were supposed to be tending to me at all times."
"So thank God, Charles, one of my security guys used to be an EMT, and he was timing my breath on his watch and he called the nurses," she added. "They had to put oxygen on my face and called my plastic surgeon to come in for an emergency. So, it was a very traumatic experience for me."
Since the surgeries in November, Montag is now starting to regain most of the movement in her face.
"I'm starting to move my face more and more," she said. "[But,] I feel very plastic ... especially when I first came out, it was so hard for me even to smile and it's still hard for me to chew sometimes. But it's feeling more and more natural everyday because the swelling is going down."
Montag's procedures included a mini brow lift, Botox, nose job, fat injections in her cheeks and lips, a chin reduction, liposuction to her neck, her ears pinned back, buttocks augmentation, liposuction to her waist and thighs and breast augmentation revision.

"Us Wrap: Mischa Barton Sued for Skipping Rent"

*--One reason to miss Mischa Barton's canceled series The Beautiful Life? Its demise put the actress in the red. Barton is being sued for the three months of back rent she is refusing to pay on her $7,000-a-month pad in New York City's Tribeca neighborhood.

Good News:
"Lawmakers Pass Bredesen's Higher Ed Proposal"
*AP) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Lawmakers have approved a plan to overhaul the state's higher education system to improve Tennessee's poor college graduation rates and sent the measure for Gov. Phil Bredesen's signature. Both chambers overwhelmingly approved their versions of the governor's proposal on Thursday and later agreed to minor changes between the House and Senate versions. The bill's passage brings to a close a two-week special legislative session called by the governor to address education issues. A key element of the plan changes the way the state pays for higher education by basing the funding formula on graduation rates and student retention, rather than the number of students enrolled at a school. The graduation rate at public four-year schools in Tennessee is 44 percent and 12 percent at community colleges.

A health note:
"More Sex Could Mean Less Heart Risk"
-Study Shows Men Who Have Sex Twice a Week Have Less Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

*Sex isn't just good, it's good for your heart, a new study of men indicates.
Reporting in the American Journal of Cardiology, researchers say they've found that men with a low frequency of sexual activity have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Men who reported sexual activity of once a month or less had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than men who reported having sex twice a week or more, writes study researcher Susan A. Hall, PhD, of the department of epidemiology at the New England Research Institutes.
Previous studies have examined the link between erectile dysfunction (ED) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), but the new study is the first to look at frequency of sexual activity and heart risk independently from ED, the researchers say.
Hall and colleagues analyzed men taking part in the Massachusetts Male Aging Study, looking at erectile dysfunction plus other sexual function variables, such as libido. The study included 1,165 men (average age in the 50s) without any history of cardiovascular disease (such as heart disease, stroke, peripheral arterial disease) at the start of the study. Of the participants, 213 had ED at the start of the study. The men were followed for 16 years, on average.
The researchers found that there was an increasing risk of cardiovascular disease with decreasing frequency of reported sexual activity. Compared to men who reported sexual activity at least 2-3 times a week, men with sexual activity of once per month or less had a 45% increased risk of cardiovascular disease during the study period. The findings took into account factors such as age and ED status.
"Our results suggest that a low frequency of sexual activity predicts [cardiovascular disease] independently of [erectile dysfunction] and that screening for sexual activity might be clinically useful," the researchers write.
The researchers also looked at the role of sexual desire and the capacity for sexual activity as possible factors in heart risk. Hall tells WebMD that "men who are sexually active likely have libido and the capacity for physical activity. So the ability to have sex might be a marker for overall health."
Hall also says that "men who are having regular [sexual] activity might be more likely to be in a supportive intimate relationship with a regular partner; this might improve health through stress reduction and social support."

Today in Black History:
"Sam Cook, Father of Soul Music, born."

*January 22, 1931~Singer Sam Cook, the son of a minister and believed by many to be the first father of soul music, was born in Chicago, Illinois. Cook began his singing career with a gospel group known as the Singing Children. His fame came in 1965 with "You and Me," "Only 16," and his very famous "Stand By Me" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll." Cook was fatally shot in a Los Angeles motel in 1964.

Mess of the Day:
"Fashionista"

*Don't worry everyone, I've already forwarded this pic over to Burberry. I figured it would be rewarding for them to see this and remind themselves why it was they got into the fashion and design business in the first place. I'm sure they will be ecstatic seeing their vision come to life.~Florida

Thought for the day:

"Mistakes are a part of being human. Appreciate your mistakes for what they are: precious life lessons that can only be learned the hard way.~ Al Franken