Fri, March 23, 2012

WHITNEY HOUSTON DEATH
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/whitney-houston-death-cocaine-contributed-heart-disease/story?id=15984196
The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office has finished the autopsy report on the body of singer Whitney Houston. The report says she died from an "accidental drowning" due to cocaine use, and heart disease (which long-term cocaine use causes). The cocaine use indicated an acute use, which means a current use just before she died. She also had other drugs in her system, including Marijuana and Xanas. Whitney Houston was 48.

NASHVILLE MOM FINDS MAN HIDING IN KIDS' CLOSET
http://www.wkrn.com/story/17227089/police-search-for-man-hiding-in-kids-closet
Metro police are searching for a man who a local mother found hiding in her children's closet early yesterday morning. She heard noises coming from the kids' room... just after 2am.. went in and found the intruder. He ran, and no one was hurt. The incident happened at the 6000 block of Bradford Hills Drive off Nolensville Road in south Nashville.

NASHVILLE SOUNDS HOSTING NATIONAL ANTHEM AUDITIONS
http://www.wsmv.com/story/17215176/nashville-sounds-hosting-national-anthem-auditions
And this is tryout weekend to sing the National Anthem at a Nashville Sounds home game this season. Tryouts are tomorrow from 9 to 2 at Greer Stadium. (Buddy Yelton at 615-690-HITS ext. 124. The Sounds begin their home schedule by hosting New Orleans on Friday, April 13, at 7:05 p.m.)

TENNESSEE DRIVER'S EXAMINER FIRED OVER SEXUAL COMMENTS
http://www.wsmv.com/story/17233948/state-drivers-examiner-fired-over-sexual-comments-made-to-teen-drivers
A Tennessee state driver's examiner has been fired for making sexual comments to teenaged girls as they took their driver's tests. Examiner Stephen Guionnaud CLAIMS he was only trying to warn the girls about the ramifications of sex... by saying things to them like, "Just say my hands started going places, what are you going to do?" He says NOW he realizes it was wrong, but since he allegedly never actually touched any of the girls, he's not charged with anything.

ONLINE LOTTERY TICKETS ONLINE STARTING IN ILLINOIS
People in Illinois who like to play the lottery will soon be able to do so in the comfort of their homes. Beginning Sunday lottery tickets can be purchased online in the state. Illinois is the first state to legalize online lottery sales, which is expected to bring in at least one-million new players when jackpots are high. Only Illinois residents over 18 will be allowed to play.

UTAH GIRL'S SKI VIDEO GETS HER INVITED TO MEET HER HEROES
A ten-year-old Utah girl whose video of her first time ski jumping has gone viral gets to meet her heroes, the Women's U.S. Olympic Ski Team. They invited Zia Terry to Olympic Park yesterday to make her an honorary member of the team.

AMAZON BREAKS GROUND ON MURFREESBORO DISTRIBUTION CENTER
http://www.wkrn.com/story/17232275/amazon-breaks-ground-on-murfreesboro-distribution-center
Amazon's two new distribution centers are both underway. One in Lebanon is under construction, and ground has now been broken for the new center in Murfreesboro off Joe B Jackson Parkway and Manchester Pike. They're expected to create 1300 new jobs.

HEALTH: PREEMIES STRUGGLE WITH LANGUAGE SKILLS
Children born prematurely appear to have more trouble with complex language skills until they're as old as 12. The new study looked at kids who were born before the 37th week of pregnancy. The local March of Dimes says that's why its continuing its mission to prevent premature births, and reminds you to please help by signing up for its March for Babies fundraiser next month at Centennial Park. (link)

VOLKSWAGEN TO HIRE 800
Volkswagon is hiring 800 more workers for its Chattanooga plant, which officials say is another sign Tennessee's economy is improving, sales are up, and now manufacturing has to keep up. Many of us held onto our cars longer during the recession, so now there's a boom of buyers looking for more fuel-efficient models.

ARMY SGT CHARGED TODAY
The military will officially charge Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales with 17 counts of murder and other charges today for the massacre of Afghan civilians.

FLORIDA POLICE CHIEF AND ATTORNEY STEPPING DOWN
The Sanford, Florida Police Chief and State Attorney are both stepping aside in the case of the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. The Governor is appointing a special prosecutor to handle the situation. Martin was gunned down last month by a man who told cops he was a neighborhood watch volunteer..and just defending himself.

RALLY FOR FLORIDA TEEN
And the Reverend Al Sharpton led a rally last night for the teenager... thousands of people turned out, and many made donations to the family.

LEGISLATION FIGHTS TICKET SCALPING
Lawmakers are pursuing legislation attempting to limit ticket scalping. Ticketmaster and several musicians are supporting the measure cracking down on online vendors buying up tickets and re-selling them at significantly inflated prices. The bill's requirements include mandating ticket resale websites to post the face value of the ticket and the sale price, and requiring notice of who owns it and where the seat is. It also allows venues to decide how to admit ticket holders like using paperless tickets requiring proof of purchase to prevent mass scalping.

LOS ANGELES WOMAN THROWS WHITE POWDER ON KARDASHIAN
Authorities in Los Angeles detain a woman accused of throwing a white powder on Kim Kardashian last night. According to TMZ.com, Kim was at West Hollywood's London Hotel for an event promoting her new fragrance when the woman threw the powder at her from behind. The fire department was called to examine the substance and eventually determined that the powder was actually cooking flour.

WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER BRAGGING ABOUT GETTING OUT OF JURY DUTY
A Colorado woman who recently bragged about getting out of jury duty could soon find herself on the other side of the law. According to "The Denver Post," author and cosmetologist Susan Cole told a Denver talk radio host she lied about suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to get out of her civic duty last summer. But unfortunately for her, the judge who dismissed Cole was listening to the show. Judge Anne Mansfield recognized the story and decided to report Cole to the authorities. She was officially charged this week with felony counts of perjury and attempting to influence a public servant.

CASEY ANTHONY HEARING TODAY
There's an important hearing this morning in the civil suit filed against Casey Anthony. A judge will hear arguments to determine if Zenaida Gonzalez's suit can even move forward. Gonzalez is suing Anthony saying her reputation has been ruined since Anthony claimed a Florida woman with her same name abducted her daughter Caylee back in 2008. Caylee was eventually found dead and Casey Anthony ended up being acquitted of murder charges.

LEANN RIMES TAKES HIT ON HOME
LeAnn Rimes has taken a hit on her home's selling price. The singer's more than 13-thousand-foot house in Franklin has sold for four-million-100-thousand dollars. The home at 512 King Richards Court was originally listed for close to seven-and-a-half-million. Rimes split with husband Dean Sheremet in 2009 and married actor Eddie Cibrian last year.

TN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE KEEPS DROPPING
The number of unemployed people in Tennessee fell to 8 percent last month, the lowest since November of 2008.

BODY PULLED FROM CUMBERLAND RIVER WAS RAPIST
Metro police say the body pulled from the Cumberland River Wednesday was convicted rapist Dwight Farris of Antioch who didn't want to keep going to trial for his latest charges involving a child. He was out on bond and had told a friend he'd rather jump off a bridge than go to prison.

HEALTH: NO MORE ANTIBIOTICS IN ANIMAL FEED?
A federal judge has orders the Food and Drug Administration to start pulling approval for the use of common antibiotics in animal feed. The judge says it's putting human health at risk by creating antibiotic-resistant "superbugs." ...and the order will stand unless the drug MAKERS can prove their use is safe.

HUNGER GAMES EXPECTS HUGE OPENING
And all your friends who've been RAVING ABOUT the books, "The Hunger Games" can see it today, and rave about the movie all weekend. It opens today after raking in more than 15-million-dollars in pre-sales... making it one of Fandango.com's top five pre-sellers of all-time.

WALMART FINED MORE THAN TWO MILLION FOR OVERCHARGING
Walmart is being fined more than two million dollars for overcharging customers in its California stores. A judge is also making them have a price checker at each California store, after they were caught not honoring their "Get it Free" program. You're supposed to get your item free if you find they overcharged you for it at checkout.