Thurs, February 16, 2012

HASLAM TABLES CLASS SIZE PROPOSAL
Governor Bill Haslam is backing down from his proposal to lift class size restrictions in public K through 12 schools. Local school boards were afraid the move would lead to government funding cuts. Haslam says his administration will work on the idea for next year, but make some adjustments.

CHAPPY'S STAYING OPEN
Chappy's on Church Street is staying open, in spite of losing the property to foreclosure. Dialysis Clinic, Incorporated won the property at auction with a one-point-three million bid. Owner John "Chappy" Chapman says the new owners are friends of his, and they're letting him stay. ( Capital Bank bought out Greenbank, which issued his loan, and sold the property on the courthouse steps after foreclosing on him. )

PAYROLL TAX CUT AND UNEMPLOYMENT
Congress has completed a deal to extend the payroll tax cut and long-term unemployment benefits for an additional ten months. Lawmakers still have to pass the measure and send it to President Obama. The extension maintains the current cut in the payroll tax rate from six-point-two-percent to four-point-two-percent which is about 40-dollars a paycheck for most people.

ONE IN TEN CHILDREN LIVING WITH ALCOHOLIC PARENT
Researchers from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration ... have done a new study, and say one-in-ten children in the U.S. is living with at least one alcoholic parent.

KENNEDYS RETURNING TO CAPITOL HILL
The Kennedys may be returning to Capitol Hill. Democrat Joseph Kennedy the Third, Robert Kennedy's grandson and President John F. Kennedy's great nephew is expected to announce his candidacy today. The current Congress is the first in almost 50 years without a Kennedy serving in the House or Senate.

SPRING ALLERGY SEASON KICKS OFF EARLY
Allergy season has officially started EARLY here in Nashville. Milder winter temperatures have us overlapping winter cold season and spring allergy season... so some people have been sniffling for about a month straight. Dr. John Fahrenholz, an allergist at Vanderbilt University, says it's especially bad right now for people allergic to tree pollen.
http://www.vanderbilthealth.com/asap/

ELECTRIC CIGARETTE EXPLODES IN FL MAN'S MOUTH
Be careful if you use one of those electronic cigarettes... one exploded in a Florida man's mouth. His face was severely burned, he lost some front teeth and part of his tongue... when the BATTERY exploded.

HUNDREDS OF BIRDS DROPPED DEAD IN MARYLAND
Officials with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources are trying to figure out why hundreds of birds suddenly dropped dead yesterday along I-95 in the Laurel, Maryland area. They were Starlings. (Some area residents are saying they believe environmental issues or toxins may be to blame.)

CHIA PET SEEDS NEW POPULAR HEALTH FOOD
Have you heard about the new hot miracle food? Chia SEEDS. Instead of smearing them onto a Chia pet and letting them grow, you mix the seeds themselves into yogurt, cereal, soup, anything. They're high in protein, Omega-3, healthy fats and oils, they provide fiber and a local health expert says they retain water and can make you feel full. Chia seeds are being sold at places like GNC and Whole Foods.

HASLAM REVISITS TAX CUTS
Governor Bill Haslam says although earlier in the year it looked like the budget situation would keep us from tax cuts this year... now....he says improving revenues are making cuts possible. Like reducing the state's estate tax and a small reduction in the sales tax on groceries. The grocery tax cut would save you about 20 cents on a 100-dollar grocery bill.

HOUSE PANEL EXAMINES BIRTH CONTROL CONTROVERSY
A House panel dives into the controversy over birth control today, examining whether the Obama administration crossed the line separating church and state with a federal mandate that EVERY employer provide health insurance coverage for contraceptives. President Obama announced a compromise, where religious-affiliated employers will not be required to provide contraception coverage, but insurance companies WILL have to offer those employees birth control health care for free.

PAYROLL TAX CUT AND UNEMPLOYMENT-2
Congress has come up with a plan they agree on to extend payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits for ten more months... now Lawmakers have to pass the bill and President Obama will have to sign it into law.

UNDERWEAR BOMBER SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
The man known as the Underwear Bomber is scheduled to be sentenced to life in prison today in federal court in Detroit. Umar [[ OO-mar ]] Abdulmutallab [[ ahb-dul-moo-TAH-lob ]] pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a Detroit-bound jet carrying nearly 300 people with an explosive device hidden in his underwear.

WOMAN CAUGHT DRINKING WINE BY KENNY CHESNEY'S POOL, ARRESTED
Cops arrested a California woman for trespassing at Kenny Chesney's home in Williamson County. She was drinking wine and smoking cigarettes, hanging out at the pool at 2am. By herself. Drunk. She claims she has a relationship with Chesney and he invited her. HE wasn't even home at the time and his publicist says Melissa Mansfield has NO connection to Chesney at all. She's charged with criminal trespassing and public intoxication.

TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY PLAYERS ON DRUGS?
AA Fort Worth police affidavit suggests more than half the players on the TCU football team were using drugs. Linebacker Tanner Brock reportedly told an undercover officer that a surprise drug test would end up with about "60 people being screwed." Brock and teammates D.J. Yandrey, Devin Johnson and Ty Horn were arrested Wednesday morning and accused of selling marijuana, cocaine, Ecstasy, LSD, and prescription drugs.

STORE WILL STOP SELLING "KIDNAPPED BABY" CLOTHES
A British online store has agreed to stop selling baby clothes that bear the words, "Help, I'm being kidnapped. These are not my parents." Critics say the shirts make light of kidnapping and are completely inappropriate. The store says they meant no offense and the shirts are gone.

WHITNEY FUNERAL ON TV AND STREAMED (NOON EASTERN)
The funeral service for Whitney Houston is going to be televised and streamed online, from New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey. About a dozen celebrities will be among the 15-hundred people filling the "invitation only" seats at the church. We'll have links so you can watch online.

DOCTORS MAY USE COMPUTER PROGRAMS TO ASESS DEPRESSION
Doctors may soon be using computer programs and brain scans to determine whether a child is at risk for developing depression or anxiety. Scientists have taught a computer program to identify brain scans of adolescents who are at higher risk of developing the disorders. The study appears in the journal "Public Library of Science ONE."

BUTT-DIAL LEADS TO DRUG BUST
A couple was arrested in Florida, after the woman accidentally pocket-dialed 9-1-1 from her phone, and police dispatchers HEARD them making a drug deal. When cops caught up to them, the woman said, it couldn't have been us, MY phone's been disconnected..Police reminded her that in her state.. 9-1-1 still works even if the phone bill's not paid.