Thursday, May 24, 2012

in

AIR QUALITY ALERT
There's an air quality alert today. The air can cause problems for people with lung problems, and the rest of us are asked to REDUCE OUR TOXIC EMISSIONS. Don't idle in drive throughs or when you're picking up the kids, don't use gas-powered lawn equipment and try to use less electricity. We burn coal for our electricity.. and that REALLY trashes the air.

HUNDREDS MOURN PASSING OF DONNA SUMMER
Hundreds of people attended the funeral service for Donna Summer yesterday at Christ Presbyterian Church in the Forest Hills community of Nashville.  Summer, who won Grammys for songs like "Last Dance" and "Hot Stuff" lived in Nashville for close to 20 years.

MANY HOLIDAY TRAVELERS LEAVE TODAY, FRIDAY
Traffic on the roads should be really heavy this weekend. The busiest travel times will be later this afternoon when everybody's leaving town, and early Monday when everyone's getting back.

WHEN DO METRO SWIMMING POOLS OPEN?
Today's the last day of school for kids in Metro Nashville Public schools. That means they'll be looking for something to do. We have a link to all the Metro swimming pools, where they are, when they open for the summer, and what their hours are HERE

AMERICAN IDOL WINNER
Phillip Phillips has won this season of "American Idol."

JOHN LEGEND, ROBIN THICKE TO FIND PAIRINGS ON DUETS
John Legend, Robin Thicke, Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Nettles star in a new reality show that starts tonight on ABC. It's called "Duets," and features the singers in search of duet partners.

RECORD HEAT PREDICTED FOR HOLIDAY WEEKEND
We have record high heat possible this holiday weekend.... and a lot of people are expected to spend much of it outdoors... so health officials want you to be ready to stay cool.. with more WATER to drink than alcohol..... and plenty of shade, hats and sunscreen.

HOLIDAY BOATERS WARNED ABOUT LAKE LEVELS
And the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is urging boaters to be careful too, because some lakes are lower than normal. Lake Barkley is over a foot-and-a-half below normal for this time of year, and Center Hill Lake and J. Percy Priest Lake are both over three-and-a-half feet lower than normal. That means boating could be dangerous and diving could be fatal if you dive in the wrong place. facebook.com/nashville corps.

112-YEAR-OLD MURFREESBORO ESTABLISHMENT SHUT DOWN
After 112 years of serving breakfast, the City Cafe on the town square in Murfreesboro is closed, for not paying taxes.

PRESCRIPTION DRUG EPIDEMIC ESCALATING
Tennessee's efforts to control the prescription drug epidemic are falling short. New figures show our rates of prescription drug abuse are some of the worst in the nation... with nearly 18-million prescriptions for substances like OxyContin and hydrocodone filled just last year. .. that's 23-percent more than the year before. We're expected to have more requests for pill addiction treatment next year than alcohol.

HORSE TRAINER MCCONNELL KICKED OUT OF CELEBRATION
Horse trainer Jackie McConnell has been kicked out of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration Hall of Fame and suspended for life... for violating the federal Horse Protection Act. He made national news when he was shown beating and soring horses at his farm in Collierville. He probably will NOT face any jail time because of his guilty plea. 

HURRICANE BUD
If you're planning your vacation I'll bet these hurricane stories catch your attention: there's tropical Storm Bud that's just become a hurricane, with 75-mile-an-hour winds affecting parts of the coasts of Mexico. 

C-SECTION BABIES AT GREATER RISK OF OBESITY
Were you a C-section baby? New research suggests babies born by C-section may be at greater risk to become obese when they're older. (The research is published in the journal, "Archives of Disease in Childhood.")

FLORIDA PROSECUTORS
Florida prosecutors are releasing detailed evidence in the case of Robert Champion's death.  He was the Florida A&M Student from Georgia who was killed last November in a hazing incident.  The medical examiner says Champion was beaten severely by fists and drumsticks, and died from blunt-force trauma.

PREPAID DEBIT CARD CHANGES
Federal regulators are considering new rules for prepaid debit cards. The new rules would require more transparent fee disclosures and protection from unauthorized transactions.

SECRET SERVICE FINDS ATM IN MAN'S CLOSET
http://www.wsmv.com/story/18609217/secret-service-finds-atm-in-mans-closet
The Secret Service found an ATM in a Nashville man's closet and say he was apparently using it to perfect his fake credit cards. Pavan Voleti is already in jail, serving time for making and possessing the counterfeit cards.

FIRE, BOMB THREAT REPORTED AT MADISON OFFICE BUILDING
http://www.wsmv.com/story/18610513/fire-reported-at-madison-office-building
There was a bomb threat and a fire at a Madison office building on South Gallatin Pike yesterday. No one was hurt, but officials are investigating.

WOMEN SUE TO FIGHT
Two women Army reservists are suing to fight.  They claim the military policy on women in combat violates their constitutional rights, deprives them of promotion opportunities and restricts how much they can earn.   

COLIN POWELL ON SAME SEX MARRIAGE
Retired General Colin Powell says he supports making same-sex marriage legal.  The former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former Secretary of State made the statement in an interview with CNN. (In 2010, Powell said he favored repealing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law that banned gays from serving openly in the military.)