THE SHOW: 12/08/2009 - VIVICA SHAKES THINGS UP / Life Without Parole / Tiger Woods' Drama / VACCINE SUPPLY INCREASES

Is Kanye's Father Curtis Blow???

Local Buzz:
"Tennessee lacks resources to fight animal abuse"

*Tennessee has relied on The Humane Society of the United States over the last two years for nine rescue missions — more times than the nonprofit has been called in to assist in any other state in the country.
The cases included three puppy mills, one animal hoarder, three cockfighting operations, a farm with starving horses and a post-tornado animal rescue across a devastated community.
The group took on oversight of 1,203 animals — not counting the scores of fighting roosters that had to be dealt with.
During that time, California was second with five rescue assists, followed by Louisiana, Arkansas, Indiana and North Carolina, with four each, according to the group's emergency services division.
"Tennessee just doesn't have the infrastructure to address animal cruelty," said Leighann McCollum of Nashville, the Tennessee director for The Humane Society of the United States.
Unlike in Virginia, for instance, 40 of 95 Tennessee counties have no government-funded animal control program. Many that do merely have dogcatchers who have no authority to investigate animal cruelty, she said.

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"Gang Member Sentenced To Life Without Parole"

*NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A federal judge has sentenced a drug kingpin and gang member to life in prison without parole for nine counts of murder.
U.S. District Judge John Nixon on Monday sentenced Jamal Shakir of the Rollin' 90s Crips who was accused of arranging drug deals, murders and executing power over a gang enterprise authorities say stretched from Los Angeles to Nashville.
In October, a federal grand jury indicted two people on charges they plotted to steal a helicopter to help Shakir escape.
Gang Leaders Continue Plotting Crimes Behind Bars
Prosecutor Sunny Koshi told the judge that officials found a handwritten note in Shakir's cell on Monday with instructions on how to get out of handcuffs.
Shakir was shackled at the wrists and ankles and guarded by several U.S. Marshals in the courtroom Monday morning.
Family members of some of Shakir's victims had the chance to tell a Judge about the pain Shakir and his gang had caused them.
Shakir's attorneys asked that he not attend the sentencing, but Judge John Nixon ordered Shakir to hear from the victims families.
"We're just continuing to make sure that he never gets out again to hurt anyone else," said Thea Gibson.
Gibson came to Nashville from Los Angeles for her 24-year-old daughter. Prosecutors said Shannon Walker was one of nine people Shakir either killed or had killed in states across the country.
"He killed to make sure they would never speak and never be able to say what he did," said Walker's cousin Nicole Bevans.
As family members spoke, Shakir shook his head and lashed out. He interrupted Thea Gibson as she testified saying he didn't want to go through this.
"The outburst in court today shows he has no respect for the court," said Gibson.
A jury convicted Shakir last year after an eight month trial. Prosecutors said since the conviction Shakir has tried to continue running his gang from behind bars and order new murders.
"He's still trying to ruin peoples' life, that's what he's trying to do because he has no remorse. He thinks he's above the law," said Gibson.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates obtained tape recorded phone conversations between Shakir who was in the Metro jail to who prosecutors said are gang members outside jail.
"You want to tell them look, look the homies we rebuilding whole s*** this way. We fixing to rebuild it. It ain't going to be no loose outfit," said Shakir.
One of Shakir's victims lived in Cheatham County. Prosecutors asked the jury to impose the death sentence, but the jury could not unanimously agree.

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"Nashville Chimney Sweep Gets Failing Grade"

*HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. - A Sumner County family said they learned the hard way the dangers of hiring a private contractor they had not researched online.
Phillip Ooi felt he was swindled out of $1,100 after hiring Chimney Works of Nashville, a company given a failing grade by the Better Business Bureau.
Ooi claimed owner John "JD" Little accepted the check, spent an hour on the roof, then never returned. He never returned the family's phone calls, either.
"Then, when we called him on a Sunday, he says, 'Well, I'm in church right now. Can I call you back in a short while?' He never called me back," said Ooi. "I called him back again, he - he never answered the phone."
NewsChannel 5 asked Little if he had been scamming homeowners.
"Absolutely not, I wouldn't - no sir, I'm not trying to scam anybody, and when a complaint does come in, I try to address it," said Little.
Nashville's Better Business Bureau has five complaints on file, since June 2008. Two complaints are branded unresolved, two are labeled resolved and one remained still open.
The BBB gave JD Little and his Chimney Works of Nashville an F, or a failing grade. Little admitted, he had fallen behind lately, but he insisted he would be willing to finish the job.
The Oois do not want the work completed; they simply want a full refund. Little told NewsChannel 5, he would give back half the money, since half the work was finished. Ooi said he wants to see a total refund, or he will take Little to small claims court.

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"MTSU continues to collect veterans' memories of war"

*Middle Tennessee State University is collecting the interviews and memories of veterans and civilian war workers of every war in the past century.
The university is a partner in the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project, gathering first-hand accounts from those who fought and served in the conflicts from World War I through the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The school is asking veterans and civilians who served during the war — war industry workers, USO volunteers, flight instructors, medical volunteers and others — to share their stories.
To date, the staff at MTSU's Albert Gore Research Center has interviewed more than 400 veterans and civilians from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
Anyone interested in sharing their memories with the Veterans History Project should send their name, phone number and mailing address to Betty Rowland at browland@mtsu.edu. General questions about the project can be directed to the center's staff by calling 615-898-2633.

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Top Stories:
"Woman Taken to Hospital from Tiger Woods' House"
*There are reports that a blond woman — it is not known who — was rushed to hospital on "advanced life support" after a 911 call at 2.36am.
NBC, via Orlando news station WESH, say the woman, who was logged only as an adult female, went to nearby Health Central Hospital. A black Cadillac Escalade — similar to the one Woods was driving when he crashed into a tree and fire hydrant at 2.25am on November 27 — pulled up at the hospital shortly after she arrived.
This comes on the back of news today that Woods was treated for some kind of overdose after his accident, and that his wife Elin has bought a house in her native Sweden. Looks like the Guardian was wrong and the Woods saga continues.
UPDATE: Via ABC News:
Witnesses told WFTV that the Escalade was driven by an attractive blonde who bore similarities to Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, and the car's license plate was one number off from the plate on the car Woods was driving the night of the crash.
Tiger Woods showed up 45 minutes later, according to the New York Post. The woman, who remains unidentified, has now been released from hospital.

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"Obama Looks At Highways, Small Biz In Jobs Plan"

*WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama is expected to unveil a plan Tuesday to help small businesses grow, improve bridges and highways and make homes energy-efficient. It's a broad pitch to get more Americans back to work.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters, "The president is not going to unveil the silver bullet idea."
A White House official called Tuesday's speech an "outline for the way forward."
The White House is considering using money left over from the government's bank bailout to help create jobs. The administration had been against the idea until last week's government report showing a slightly lower unemployment rate.

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CELEBRITY NEWS:
"Tiger's Wife Moves Out"

*TIGER IS NOT IN SEVENTH HEAVEN WITH LATEST MISTRESS REVEAL
Tiger Woods' wife Elin Nordegren has finally had enough. Just after the golfer was linked to a seventh mistress, porn star Holly Sampson, Elin packed her bags and moved out of the couples' Windermere mansion.
And the news keeps getting worse for Tiger. Now there are reports that there are explicits photos of the swinger being offered to Playgirl. The magazine's Daniel Nardico tells Us magazine, "We're in the process of authenticating the photos to see if the offer is real." According to Perez Hilton, another, unknown, mistress has offered cellphone shots of Tiger's genitals.
Oprah Winfrey has reportedly reached out to Tiger, to offer him advice and a chance to tell his side of the story.

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"HARRY POTTER AND THE NUDE SCENE"

*Daniel Radcliffe has done it on stage. Now he's going to do it on the big screen. In the next installment in the Harry Potter franchise, we'll get to see the young wizard disrobe. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows director David Yates tells Britain's The Telegaph that the 20-year-old will appear nude during a "very sex" love scene with co-star Emma Watson. "Dan has appeared nude in the past [in the play Equus]. There are a couple of scenes in the new film in which he will undress, but we're still thinking about how we present it."

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"JOHN STAMOS TARGETED BY EXTORTIONISTS"

*John Stamos was targeted by extortionists who claimed to have compromising photos of the actor, according to The Smoking Gun. The suspects demanded 680-thousand dollars in exchange for photos of the Full House star taken at a party. But the alleged blackmailers, Allison Coss and Scott Sippola of Michigan, were arrested last week after F-B-I agents revcovered three photos of Stamos and other evidence at their home.

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TODAY'S BLACK HISTORY MOMENT:
"The First Black Cowboy is Honored"

On December 9th, 1971, Bill Picket became the first African-American elected to the National Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Pickett wowed crowds with his famed "bulldogging," a move he invented where he'd bite a cow on the lip and then fall backwards.
Pickett was a well-liked performer who toured around the world and appeared in early motion pictures. However, his ethnicity often resulted in him being barred at many rodeos and he was often forced to claim that he was of Comanche heritage in order to perform.

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"VIVICA SHAKES THINGS UP"

*Vivica A. Fox -- whose brief romance with 50 Cent a few years back earned her the cougar moniker -- has teamed with Hollywood's Millions of Milkshakes to launch her signature Cougar Crunch drink. The milkshake is blended raspberries, blueberries and fat-free frozen yogurt topped with granola. Vivica is among a number of stars to add a specialty drink to Millions of Milkshake's Wall of Fame.

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Healthy Matters:
"CANCER RATES DOWN"
*Cancer rates have declined over the last few years, according to joint report from national cancer and health groups. The report says that drops were seen in both new diagnoses and death rates from lung, prostate and colo-rectal cancers in men, and breast and colo-rectal cancer in women. Doctors attribute the decline to public health campaigns that encourage lifestyle changes and early detection.
"SWINE FLU VACCINE SUPPLY INCREASES"
*The H-1-N-1 flu vaccine may be available to the general public in many more states across the U-S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say 73-million doses of the vaccine are now available -- up from 42-million last month. Until recently, the vaccine had only been available to people in high-risk groups.

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Good News:
"Investment adviser sees brighter economy in the future"
*Like most investment pros, Jim Russell of U.S. Bank's wealth management operation was caught a bit off guard by a surprising dip to 10 percent in the nation's unemployment rate for November — but only a little.
The 48-year-old Nashville native, who works as regional investment manager for Minneapolis-based U.S. Bank, already was among a minority of Wall Street specialists who felt the nation would soon see a slightly brighter jobs picture. He expects actual job growth — rather than monthly job losses — to start in the first half of next year.
Russell, who was born at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 1961 while his father was in medical school here, has worked for U.S. Bank almost three years after earlier stints with Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati and SunTrust in Atlanta.
Russell, who manages accounts for high net worth clients and supervises other portfolio managers at U.S. Bank, discussed what lies ahead in 2010 for Wall Street and the economy with Tennessean Business Editor Randy McClain.
How much more unemployment risk do you expect in 2010 for the Nashville area and the nation as a whole?
December or January will represent the peaking of unemployment nationally for this business cycle. Anything after that period, we're likely to see some sideways movement and then more moderation as we head into spring. Tennessee and Nashville, in particular, will follow that national trend.

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Relationship:
"TALK TO YOUR MAN SO HE'LL LISTEN"
Ever feel like you're talking to a wall when you're trying to say something important to your guy? Follow these tips from Women's Health and he'll tune in instead of out:
1. Talk side-by-side. If you're broaching a sensitive subject, avoid doing it face-to-face. Looking him directly in the eye can make him feel threatened, so talk to him while you're doing something side-by-side, like walking, driving or sitting on the sofa.
2. Cut to the chase. To ensure that he hangs on your every word, make your point as quickly as possible -- grab his attention using direct statements and don't drag your feet!
3. Let him know you need to vent. When a woman presents a man with a dilemma, he interprets it as a request to fix her problem, not simply to listen. Clue him in by letting him know what you need before you make your point.
4. Stroke his ego. If it seems like he ignores you every time you ask for a favor, you may need to butter him up more. Men are competitive and compliments help them feel important and superior. Positive reinforcement and a vote of confidence are key!
??How do you get your guy to listen when you really need to talk about something important? Does he tune you out? Do you ever tune him out?

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HOT MESS OF THE DAY:

Marc Anthony~"Hey Marc -- never let them see you sweat!"

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Thought for the day:

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.~Denis Whatley