Today's Show 11/30 - SERENA LOOSES HER COOL / TIGER BITES HIS TONGUE.../SHAQ IS SANTA EARLY / THE HOFF UNDER PSYCH HOLD!!

Local Buzz:
"TN killer set to die next week asks for stay of execution"

*The man scheduled to be executed in Nashville on Wednesday morning has asked for a stay of execution, saying to kill him by lethal injection after 29 years on death row is cruel and unusual punishment.
Cecil Johnson Jr. was convicted in 1981 for a triple killing at Bob Bell's Market the previous year and was given three death sentences by a jury. It wasn't until 2008 that his legal options were exhausted and an execution date was set. His attorney, Jim Thomas, argued in the complaint filed in federal court Wednesday that the execution should be stayed in part because "the state's manipulations and conduct" have delayed the case.
Johnson, now 53, was 23 when he was given the death sentence. Gov. Phil Bredesen denied Johnson's plea for clemency this week. Thomas said that all the delays were caused by courts that failed to rule on Johnson's case for up to three years at a time after hearing some of the arguments, and by the state's attorneys.
"Mr. Johnson has spent this time in mortal suspense, constantly waiting for that uncertain day on which he will be strapped to a chair or a gurney and killed — a day that could arrive next week, next month, next year, but also maybe never," court filings said. "Being forced to persist in a state of constant apprehension of imminent death for nearly three decades amounts to torture."
One witness switched sides
Eighteen years of the delay, according to Thomas, can be attributed to the fact the state concealed police reports that could have cast doubt on the identification of Johnson as the killer.
Victims and eyewitnesses testified in 1981 that it was Johnson who walked into Bob Bell's Market on July 5, 1980, and forced a 12-year-old boy to empty the cash register. Bobby Bell Jr. was working with his father that evening. Johnson then shot the boy in the head, wounded his father and a friend in the store, and gunned down James Moore and Charles House outside while they sat in a taxicab.
The state withheld initial reports in which one of three witnesses who identified Johnson said he hadn't gotten a good look at the gunman and failed to identify him in the first two lineups he was shown. He later identified Johnson after seeing him on television, arrested in the case.
A witness intending to testify on Johnson's behalf also became a state witness a week before the trial after he was interrogated and offered immunity by a prosecutor who was later indicted on bribery charges.
A panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Johnson's appeal in a 2-1 decision.

*The Contributor, a newspaper written and sold by the homeless and formerly homeless, continues on an upswing in the midst of a slumping economy.
After being featured in The Tennessean in September, sales have risen and an attorney volunteered to help the group establish tax-exempt status so it can accept donations, according to Tom Wills, volunteer treasurer.
"In the meantime, we have a sponsoring organization that allows us to start fundraising through them," he said.
A foundation has also signed up to match gifts of up to $5,000. A push is on to raise $10,000 in funding to pay a part-time director.
A total of 7,000 copies of the November issue were printed, the largest number ever, Wills said.
Vendors are being seen spreading from downtown, with sales taking place in locales like Hillsboro Village and Green Hills.
"Our goal is to sell 50,000 papers for the year," Wills said. "That would equate to about $100,000 into our vendors' pockets."
The paper's price is $1, though often people give tips along with the cost. To keep their jobs, vendors are required to be polite, sober and not ask for handouts.
The December issue has just been released.

*NASHVILLE, Tenn. – More than 80 horses found clinging to life on a Cannon County farm have been getting treatment at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds in Nashville.
Volunteers and veterinarians are giving the horses around the clock care and most are doing pretty well despite the odds against them. "I made the call that we were probably going to lose about 10 percent and so far we haven't lost a single one, so that makes my day," said Rowdy Shaw with the Humane Society. Rescue workers have been dealing with 84 horses that were so underweight that most were on the verge of death. One horse had a baby four days ago, but could not produce enough milk to feed it.Several other horses were too tired and weak to stand up. A few have infections, and almost every horse has suffered from a skin disease. The animals were found at a Cannon County Farm on Tuesday. The local sheriff's office charged a father and son in the case. Charles Gene Howland and Clint Howland each face 84 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty.
"It's disgusting [that] people now take animals, and they use them as throw away tools," said Shaw.Humane Society officials said they will need more quality hay donations by Monday. It will probably take another week of assessment and care before horses can go to foster homes.

*The paths of Lacey Jenkins and Steve Ngwira crossed purely by chance.
Ngwira was working in his home country of Malawi, an impoverished nation in southeastern Africa. He was bright but largely self-taught; he'd dropped out of school years earlier to get a job and support his family.
Jenkins was a 20-year-old college student from Nashville, visiting the country with a small contingent of missionaries from her local church. The two became fast friends, and when she got home from Africa, Jenkins made it her mission to get the 24-year-old an American education. With the help of two Nashville churches, she raised money to finance Ngwira's first year of studies at http://www.tntech.edu/">TennesseeTechnological University in Cookeville.
"When I got back, I couldn't quit thinking about him, that he needed to be in school," Jenkins said. "If anybody could make a difference in Malawi, it is this guy."
The congregations helping her are small — they have a combined membership of about 120 — but their efforts to educate Ngwira and others show that little churches can accomplish big goals, said the Rev. Rosemary Brown. Brown is the pastor at both http://www.monroestreetumc.org">MonroeStreet United Methodist Church and Jordonia United Methodist. Through various programs, they've raised more than $73,000 to educate Ngwira and others, and to improve conditions in his native Malawi. "We chose three things that we thought were plausible," Brown said. "I'm so proud of our folks. We have some wonderfully generous, involved people."
The two congregations got involved after Brown, Jenkins and another church member attended a mission trip sponsored by http://www.belmontumc.org/">BelmontUnited Methodist Church in the summer of 2008 to Lilongwe, Malawi.
When they came back, they decided it would be better for them to send money directly to the country, rather than spending it to get over there, Brown said. Churches' good deeds To date, the churches have paid for boarding school educations for eight children in Malawi, and paid for the digging of three deep wells there, Brown said.The churches also created the http://www.monroestreetumc.org/MustardSeed.html">MustardSeed Ministry, a program to fund American college educations for Malawian citizens. Ngwira was its first beneficiary. He was a youth minister at a church there and had worked as the missionaries' guide and translator.
So far, Brown said, there are no concrete plans to bring more students over, though they hope all three programs expand. Ngwira got to America in August, thanks to $27,000 Jenkins and others raised for him.Jenkins said individuals gave the bulk of that; the churches had two small fundraisers to collect money. "It's been exciting … everything's been great," Ngwira said. Ngwira is studying manufacturing technology at Tennessee Tech. After he graduates, he said he hopes to return to Malawi and help people become more productive. "It's a third-world country — very, very poor," he said. On Thursday, he spent his first American holiday at Jenkins' Nashville home. "Steve is the greatest guy you would ever meet," said Jenkins' mother, Lisa. "He is definitely part of our family." The Jenkinses and Ngwira said a quick bond formed as the family worked to bring him Stateside for an education. "It's been a blessing. We've built a relationship I'd never imagined," Ngwira said. "It's God's provision." "Brrrr! Nashville's later than normal first freeze ties record"
When the temperature at the National Weather Service station dipped briefly to 31 degrees at 5:53 a.m. Friday, it was the first freezing temperature this fall. Weather service meteorologist Bobby Boyd said that ties this Nov. 27 with the same date in 1902 for the first freezing weather recorded in Nashville. The city's average date for its first 32-degree or colder weather is Oct. 28. The earliest date for a first freeze in Nashville is Oct. 2. That occurred in 1984.

*NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Small business owners across Middle Tennessee have found social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are an effective way to connect with customers.
On West End Avenue in Nashville the owner of Studio 615 Boutique has several ways she keeps in touch with her customers. The store specializes in affordable fashions for women. Whenever a new shipment of merchandise comes in, it goes on Facebook. "I can upload an album. Say we get twenty new things, I can upload twenty pictures. Customers can ask questions, I can put prices. It's just really interactive.", according to Darnice Harris, Studio 615's owner. Harris is also on Twitter. She Tweets about specials and sales at her boutique. A quick message had customers lined up on Black Friday.
"We opened at nine and I had people here for the sale at 9 o'clock," Harris said. Friday, the owner of The Green Wagon in Nashville's Sylvan Park area sent a Tweet to her 850 followers.
"We've given away almost $300 in gift cards today. Be sure to stop by before our holiday open house is over at 10pm tonight," the Tweet read. Jennifer Casale uses Twitter to get out fast facts about the green and organic products she sells at her store. Casale also gives her followers some insider-only information.
"We'll usually have a Twitter deal of the day and it will be something random and it will only be on Twitter. So the people who follow us there can come in and take advantage of these little offers that we have," Casale said. To a small business owner, social networking is a fast and easy way to get to their customers.
"I mean that process takes me maybe an hour. So it's really easy," said Harris.
Another benefit small business owners find with this social networking-turned store advertising... it's free. Any new business they get from the sites is money in their pockets, because they have no out-of-pocket cost involved with a simple post on-line.

*A day after Lou Dobbs hinted he might consider running for president at some point, his spokesperson tells the New York Times that the U-S Senate might be his first stop. Robert Dilenschneider tells the paper, "I think Lou is realistically saying, that's a long way off, but if he did run for office there'd have to be an intermediary step, such as the [New Jersey Senator Robert] Menendez seat." A G-O-P official in the former C-N-N host's home state of New Jersey seemed to pooh-pooh the idea, saying, "I don't even know anything about him politically. I know he was a Republican and now he's an independent. So, say he comes back to be a Republican. Is that really who he is?"

*The Kentucky census-taker whose body was found bound and hanging from a tree with the word "fed" written on his bare chest in September has been ruled a suicide. It was initially thought that 51-yearold Bill Sparkman was murdered, but authorities now believe he staged his own death to resemble a homicide so that his life insurance benefits would be paid. The evidence includes a "credible witness" who knew of his plans. Sparkman was a lymphoma survivor but reportedly believed the disease had returned.

*HOTHEAD Serena Williams was today handed a three-year suspended ban from the USOpen after her verbal tirade at a lineswoman at this year's event.
The incident occurred during her semi-final defeat to Kim Clijsterswhen Williams was called for a foot fault, handing her opponent a matchpoint. Williams was also fined s53,000.
Replays indicated the foot fault call had been a harsh one and it certainly incensed the American second seed, who quickly moved towards the linesperson, waving her racquet angrily at the woman, who was then beckoned by the chair umpire to explain what had been said.
Williams earlier picked up a first code violation for smashing her racquet at the end of the first set and this time tournament referee Brian Earley was called to the chair.
After discussing the situation with the player, linesperson and chair umpire, Williams was handed a second code violation, the resultant point penalty handing victory to a bemused Clijsters, 6-4 7-5.
The International Tennis Federation's Grand Slam Committee met last week to agree on a punishment and found her guilty of "the Grand Slam major offence of aggravated behaviour".
She will face a ban from her home slam if she commits another "major offence" before the end of 2011.
--Please review and discuss...it this were anyone else do you think they would have been fined and banned?? hmmm let me know your thoughts..seriously..

*Golf superstar Tiger Woods was treated in a Florida hospital Friday after crashing his Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree near his home. Although the incident was not reported by the Florida Highway Patrol for 12 hours, Woods' condition was initially described as serious. Later in the afternoon, however, his agent told the media his injuries were minor and that he had already been released from the hospital. The incident is under investigation, although authorities have ruled out alcohol as a factor.
...Tiger followup...hmmm"Tiger Woods' wife, Elin Nordegren, changed the story she told the first officer on the scene, according to law enforcement sources."
*The Windemere Police Department says Tiger's wife went outside, saw that her husband had struck a fire hydrant and a tree, and then went back inside the house for a golf club to use to try and extricate him from the vehicle. But we've learned Nordegren told a very different story to the Florida Highway Patrol, and it does not involve going back in the house for a club. Our sources will not allow us to be more specific.
And we've learned there was no blood found on the steering wheel of Tiger's SUV -- putting into serious doubt that Tiger sustained his injuries from the crash.
As we first reported, Tiger had a conversation with a friend yesterday, in which he said his wife had confronted him over reports he was involved with another woman ... and that his wife scratched his face up during the argument. Tiger told the friend he then left the house, started driving off and his wife then came out with a golf club, striking the vehicle. Tiger then became distracted and hit the hydrant and then a nearby tree.
We're told cops will interview Tiger and his wife later today.
UPDATE: A neighbor tells TMZ they saw cops show up at Tiger's house this morning -- only to get turned away again. Tiger's wife, Elin, was spotted (below) driving out of the Isleworth subdivision in Windermere earlier today.

"Joe & Trey Songz Brawl it Out"

*There's some R&B beef. On Saturday night two R&B singers, Trey Songz and Joe, got into it. According to our spies, both Joe and Trey were seated together in the VIP section at a New Jersey club. Everything was fine at first, with the two guys hanging together and drinking. But as the liquor flowed and the night went on, one of Joe's friends got into an argument with one of Trey's friends.
And before long, all heck broke loose. The entire VIP section started brawling -- including Joe and Trey Songz. But it gets even better. Our insider tells us that Trey didn't get anything too bad, but that Joe and his people were beat up pretty badly.
Wow . . . who knew that Trey had it in him? And Joe? He's probably singing, 'I wanna know who socked me in the eye.'

*David Hasselhoff's boozing had gotten so out of control that he was placed under an involuntary psychiatric hold over the weekend at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Radar Online says The Hoff was taken by ambulance from his home on Friday and that he had been downing large amounts of alcohol before he was hospitalized. Last week, Hasselhoff -- who's been hospitalized for alcohol poisoning at least five times -- went on a several-day bender that resulted in a seizure. He was released yesterday.
Meanwhile, The Hoff's ex-wife, Pamela Bach, had her own problems with alcohol on Saturday. She was arrested for D-U-I, but later released on her own recognizance.

*Shaquille O'Neal has reportedly paid for the funeral of five-year-old Shaniya Davis, who was raped and murdered earlier this month. Shaq says he was so touched by the tragic story that he took care of the funeral costs, estimated at 45-hundred dollars. The Cleveland Cavalier star tells the Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Being a law enforcement guy that investigates crime against children, I wanted to be able to help in some way." Shaniya's funeral, which was attended by more than two-thousand people, was held last Sunday in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

*16 years ago today, rapper/actor Tupac was shot five times while leaving a midtown recording studio in New York City, the incident believed to have exacerbated the so-called "East coast/West coast rap beef."
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16th, 1971 - September 13th, 1996) is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling rap/hip-hop artist ever, with worldwide sales of 75-million records.
He was born in Harlem, attended an arts high school in Baltimore and then moved to California in 1988. In 1990, Tupac was hired as a dancer for the Bay Area group Digital Underground, and made his rhyming debut on a 1990 remix of "The Way We Swing." Calling himself 2Pac, he released his own album, 2Pacalypse Now, the following year.
In 1993, Shakur was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman and shot five times outside a Manhattan recording studio, the first visible incident in the long-running East Coast - West Coast beef. After serving eight months, Shakur was bailed out by Death Row C-E-O Marion "Suge" Knight. Tupac aligned himself with Tha Outlawz out of prison and released the diss track "Hit 'Em Up," a blatant attack on Notorious B-I-G and Sean "Diddy" Combs.
In late 1993, after releasing Strictly 4 My N-I-G-G-A-Z, Tupac formed Thug Life with his friends Big Syke, Macadoshis, Rated R and his step-brother Mopreme. The group released an album, Thug Life: Volume 1, on Interscope in 1994. Back on his own, he issued Me Against the World in 1995. Then he joined Death Row, and released the double-disc All Eyez on Me (1996).
In Las Vegas, on September 7, 1996 Tupac was shot four times in a drive-by and died six days later. Afeni Shakur founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation in 1997 to preserve her son's legacy. She opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) in Stone Mountain, Georgia in 2005.
Pac made his film debut in 1991's Nothing but Trouble, and then starred in Juice. His other film credits include Poetic Justice (with Janet Jackson), Above the Rim, Gridlock'd, Bullet and Gang Related. An authorized 2003 film, Tupac: Resurrection, received an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary.
Tupac was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002.
Anthony Mackie portrayed Pac in Notorious, the bio-pic on B-I-G.

A HEALTHY NOTE:
"VIAGRA FOR WOMEN?"

*A new drug that was recently tested as an anti-depressant could end up being like Viagra for women. The drug is called flib-an-serin -- they gave it to a bunch of women for depression but found it also raised women's level of sexual desire. (This is kind of how Viagra was discovered-it was originally meant to lower blood pressure.)
So, now they're investigating to see if flib-an-serin can be marketed kind of like Viagra for women.
Just Asking ... Ladies, if Viagra for women existed, would you try it? Why or why not?

*We're not sure what this woman's waiting for at an Atlanta Wal-Mart, but we hope it's a new outfit and hairpiece.