Focused On Urban Issues, Nightlife, & Kenny Smoov

THE SHOW: 02/19/2010 - LADIES TRAVEL IN PAIRS / JUST SAY NO!! / LINDSEY'S DUI / IDRIS AND MUSIC...HMMM WE SHALL SEE!

LOCAL NEWS:
"Vigil To Be Held One Year After For Slain TSU Student"

*NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Students and friends will come together Friday to remember a slain Tennessee State University student.
Racquel Johnson's body was found inside an abandoned duplex on Herman Street on Feb. 20, 2009. Police believe convicted felon Deshaun Lewis killed Johnson and then dumped her body. Lewis and Johnson were acquaintances, and Lewis was allegedly seen driving the 18-year-old's car after she went missing. On Friday night, the Brothers and Sisters Unit of TSU and Fisk University will hold an anniversary candlelight vigil. The vigil is set for 7:30 p.m. along 33rd Avenue North next to TSU's Boyd and Watson Halls. Any donations made will go toward helping Johnson's family purchase a headstone for her grave.

"Downtown Nashville Dark During Power System Repair"

*NASHVILLE, Tenn.- Nashville Electric Service repaired a circuit failure Friday morning at it's central substation. The circuit failure caused downtown Nashville to lose power for over an hour on Thursday. According to officials with NES, the central substation near 1st Avenue North experienced a power outage just after 2:30 p.m., and the power remained off for about one hour.
Power to downtown Nashville was also turned off at 12:03 a.m. Friday for repairs. Everything was restored just after 1 a.m.
Downtown Nashville looked eerily quiet with only headlights from vehicles lighting the way on most streets. Traffic lights, walk signals, bars and nightspots all stood dark for the hour.
A number of people visiting downtown Nashville were caught up by the power outage, as they were forced to head home early from a night on the town. Jacob Barker and his friends were leaving a nightclub and walking out to their vehicle when the lights went out.
"Sure enough the lights turned off on us, it was rough. It's kind of scary out here, you know you can't see nothing, you know...it's pitch black!", Barker said.

"Overnight Collision Injures Four People"

*MADISON, Tenn. - Four people were injured after an overnight collision in Madison. Two people in a car driving north on North Gallatin Pike swerved into oncoming traffic around 3 a.m. Friday and struck a truck. Emergency officials transported three people to Skyline Medical Center and one person with serious injuries to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. According to authorities, the person seriously injured was in the car that caused the head-on. Immediately after the crash the two men in the car tried to runaway, but a local security guard at Rivergate Toyota told police where to find the suspects. Officials said they believe drugs or alcohol may have been a factor behind the crash. The wreck also managed to cause damage to a truck parked in the Car Trust Auto Sale parking lot.

TOP STORIES:
"Student wounded in NIU shooting; suspect in custody "

*CHICAGO (Reuters) - A student at Northern Illinois University was shot and wounded Friday, triggering a brief lockdown of the campus that was lifted after the suspected assailant was caught, school authorities said. The shooting outside a residence hall appeared to be "an isolated incident between two individuals," the school said on its website. The victim was taken to a hospital. The school said classes were to be held as usual at the 24,000-student university, which is in DeKalb, 65 miles southwest of Chicago. On Feb. 14, 2008, a former graduate student at NIU opened fire in a lecture hall, killing five and wounding 19 before turning the gun on himself.

"Russia "very alarmed" at Iranian nuclear stance"

*Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei repeated Iran's insistence that suspicions about its nuclear program were baseless. But the U.S.-led campaign for more sanctions against Tehran appeared to be gaining ground. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated that Moscow's patience was wearing very thin. "We are very alarmed and we cannot accept this, that Iran is refusing to cooperate with the IAEA," Lavrov told the Ekho Moskvy radio station in an interview. "For about 20 years, the Iranian leadership carried out its clandestine nuclear program without reporting it to the IAEA," he said. "I do not understand why there was such secrecy." The IAEA on Thursday made public its concerns over a classified analysis which concludes that Iran already has explosives expertise relevant to a workable nuclear weapon. "Some questions remain on the table and Iran has so far not reacted to them but they are rather serious and we need to understand how several documents concerning military nuclear technology found their way to Iran," Lavrov said. "Clear explanations are needed."
Russia -- which wields a veto in the United Nations Security Council -- has in recent weeks raised suspicions publicly about Iran's nuclear activities, after for years saying it had no evidence Tehran was seeking to build a nuclear bomb.

" Niger's capital calm one day after coup"

*NIAMEY, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Markets, banks and schools in Niger's capital opened as usual on Friday, a day after troops ousted President Mamadou Tandja in a military coup, and the only soldiers on the streets were few and lightly armed. The international community unilaterally condemned the overthrow, but diplomats and analysts said it could create an opportunity to hold elections that were postponed by Tandja's unpopular constitutional reform in 2009. "It is likely the new military government will be under pressure from the international community to restore the rule of law and hold elections in the medium term," said Samir Gado, Vice-President of Rencap Securities. The head of the military junta that seized Tandja during Thursday's gun battle called for calm and said the work of government ministers and regional governors ousted in the coup was being done by their secretary generals. After months of political wrangling over Tandja's amendment of the constitution, which provoked international sanctions and demonstrations, there was a sense of relief and hope for change in the uranium-producing west African desert nation. "I hope the soldiers restore some order ... clean up the political environment," said taxi driver Moussa Issa.
"We need to start from scratch, without being compromised by the current political class which has been discredited over the last 20 years," he added. The junta, calling itself the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSDR), gave no indication of how long it intended to hold power but called on Niger's people and other countries to support its actions.

CELEB DISH:
"ELBA LAUNCHES MUSIC CAREER"

*Recently released in his native England, Idris Elba's debut album, High Class Problems, Volume One, will be available in the U-S later this year under his musical moniker, Driis. Elba tells Uptown magazine, "There's a lot of celebration of love songs [on the disc]. Secular music now is all about, 'Let me [screw] you, take you to the crib, do this and that.' I deejay, so I have to play [that music] sometimes, but when I write my songs, they're more about a connection... It's self-funded -- no one else tells [me] what to do... If people love it or hate it, it doesn't matter, because it comes from the source."

"HARRY POTTER WRITER SUED FOR PLAGIARISM"
*Harry Potter writer J-K Rowling is facing a possible billion-dollar lawsuit that accuses her of plagiarism. She's been named in a copyright-infringement suit originally filed against Bloomsbury Publishing, Potter's U-K publisher. The estate of writer Adrian Jacobs says she stole ideas for Potter from Jacob's book The Adventures of Willy the Wizard. Rowling calls the claim "absurd."
"GOSSELINS SELL FIRST HOME"
*The Gosselins finally unloaded their first home, which has been on the market for almost a year. The Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania house, where much of Jon and Kate Plus Eight had been shot, sold for 258-thousand dollars -- 22-thousand less than what the former couple paid for it in 2006. The family moved into a much bigger and more expensive house in Wernersville, Pennsylvania.

"Simon Cowell's Wedding Woes"

*Simon Cowell is not preparing to walk down the aisle with his girlfriend, American Idol make-up artist Mezhgan Hussainy. Despite reports in the British press, his publicist says, "I asked him: 'Look, are you engaged? Is it true?' and he said, 'No! No. I'm not engaged.'"

"Lindsay Lohan's DUI"

*Lindsay Lohan was looking good at her D-U-I progress hearing yesterday (Thursday). Judge Marsha Revel gave the party girl a good report, saying Linds was "in full compliance. Everything looks good."

GOOD NEWS:
"New Gun Law Could Help Hunters"

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Senate has unanimously approved a bill that supporters say would keep the state's gun laws from preventing hunters from enjoying their sport. The bill makes it clear that ammunition can be transported with rifles or shotguns, provided the gun itself is not loaded. Current law states only licensed handgun owners can transport rifles or shotguns. The proposal, sponsored by Dickson Democrat Doug Jackson, lets anyone transport a rifle or shotgun as long as there's no ammo in the chamber. The Senate passed the law 32-0.
Supporters say without the distinction, hunters and farmers would have been technically breaking the law anytime they carried a gun and a box of shells.

RELATIONSHIPS:
"Long Distance Relationship: Keeping The Romance Alive"
Keep Your Long Distance Relationship Healthy
*A long distance relationship is a common, but difficult, type of relationship. Very few of us set out intentionally to meet and fall in love with someone who lives far away, yet life has a way of throwing us curve balls. If you find yourself contemplating a long distance relationship, be sure that both you and your partner are prepared for the realities. Long distance relationships require work, dedication and above all, trust.
-Trust your partner fully
Trust is an essential cornerstone of any relationship. In a long distance relationship, trust is all you really have. Any insecurities or doubts will erode your relationship slowly and painfully. It is critical that you and your partner work towards building and maintaining excellent trust at all times.
-Be completely trustworthy
Never give your partner any reason to mistrust you, no matter how slight. If you will be busy and unable to communicate regularly for a period, let him know this in advance.
-Don’t be needy Needy, clingy behavior negatively affects even the most solid relationship and it can be deadly to a long distance relationship.
-Utilize all available avenues of communication
The telephone may be the most convenient, but daily phone calls at a set time can become redundant and boring. Spice things up by sending him a handwritten love letter on perfumed stationery. Use text messaging or instant messaging to keep in touch throughout the day. Forward funny e-mails to your partner. Invest in webcams so that you can see each other regularly. Take goofy photos and send them along by e-mail or snail mail.
-Make plans to see each other regularly
How often you see each other will depend on your respective locations, the distance between you and available funds. However, it is irrelevant whether you see each other once a month or once a year. The point is that you should always be planning the next visit.
-Do not put expectations on visits
When you see each other infrequently, it is very easy to attach unrealistic expectations to every visit. You want the experience to be perfect, and assign strict meanings to every look, word, inflection and tone of voice.
-Plan a future together
If you are not ready to commit to spending the future with your partner, then why put yourselves through the stress of a long distance relationship? Long distance relationships are challenging and often filled with pain and loneliness. Therefore, it makes no sense to have a long distance fling.
-Love does not conquer all
There is a tendency, especially among younger and less experienced lovers, to believe that the love one has is undying and all conquering.
-Is He Your Soulmate?
The term "soulmate" often carries visions of mystic astrological card readings, reincarnation and destiny. But you don't have to believe in anything supernatural in order to have a soulmate. Your soulmate is someone who lights the fire inside of you, whom you love unequivocally and who shares your worldview.

HEALTHY MATTERS:
"CIGARS AND PIPES ARE NO SAFER THAN CIGARETTES"

*In recent years, cigarette smoking has declined -- and pipe and cigar smoking have increased, partly because of a false belief that pipes and cigars are safer than cigarettes. According to a new study, switching from cigarettes to cigars or pipes isn't going to help your lungs because the smoke from pipes and cigars actually damages lung function just like cigarettes -- and is associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD is a progressive disease that causes damage to the airways and makes it more difficult to breathe and is the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. Researcher Michael Steinberg from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School explained, "Smoke, whether from cigarette, pipe, or cigar, will result in absorption of one of the most addictive chemicals known, nicotine, and will produce measurable lung damage.
"The results are especially important because the tobacco industry is challenged by decreasing cigarette sales and is actively promoting product substitution and concurrent use as an alternative to complete tobacco cessation."~ WebMD.com

TODAY'S BLACK HISTORY MOMENT:

Vonetta Flowers - February 19, 2002 ~Vonetta Flowers became the first black gold medalist in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. She and partner Jill Brakken won the inagural women's two-person bobsled event.

HOT MESS OF THE DAY:
"Fashion Fail"