Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

GAS PRICES STILL FALLING
You may soon see gas prices below 3 dollars a gallon again. They're still falling, and are as low as $3.09 a gallon in Nashville ($3.06 at Sams Club), according to www.NashvilleGasPrices.com. People on the west coast are still paying closer to 4 dollars a gallon. (http://gasbuddy.com/gb_gastemperaturemap.aspx)

CO-OWNER OF GERMANTOWN CAFE FOUND DEAD INSIDE COOLER
An autopsy will be performed today on the co-owner of the Germantown Cafe. 47 year-old Jay Luther got locked inside the cooler at the store: the inner release didn't work, and he didn't have his cellphone with him. Officials say he likely died from carbon monoxide poisoning -- a by-product of the dry ice he was using to preserve food in the cooler -- during a power outage.

COUNCIL TO VOTE ON BUDGET TONIGHT
Tonight Metro Council is expected to make its final vote on the city's budget. Last night the Metro budget and finance committee recommended an alternate plan from Councilman Sean McGuire. The plan still includes the property tax increase but cuts nine-million dollars and puts that money into reserves. If a decision is not made before the end of June, the mayor's proposal automatically goes into effect.

NES 12-HOUR OPWER OUTAGE TONIGHT
If you live or work in Brentwood, you need to plan for a 12-hour power outage that starts tonight. Nashville Electric Service is cutting the electricity along both sides of Franklin road from 7 tonight till 7 tomorrow morning.

FRANKLIN POLICE CITE MOM FOR LEAVING INFANT IN CAR
Police are reminding you that it's okay to call 9-1-1 if you see a child left in an unattended car in this heat. A 25 year-old woman was ticketed this weekend for leaving her infant in the car when she went into a gas station. The baby's okay, but now the mom is facing a Class B misdemeanor, and a $200 fine.

LONE STAR TICK BITE LINKED TO MEAT ALLERGIES
Just like here, ticks are a problem this time of year across the U.S. But doctors in Virginia and other states are having to deal with a strange side effect of Lone Star tick bites: a sudden onset of meat allergies. As far as doctors know this has never happened before

STUDY: ALCOHOL ABUSE RISES AFTER WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY
If you knwo someone who's had weight loss surgery... they may need a little extra support in an area you wouldn't expect: a new study finds people who've had gastric bypass surgery are more likely to abuse alcohol. (Results of the study are published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association.")

GIRL WAKES FROM COMA WHEN ADELE SINGS
And Adele's voice has done something pretty spectacular. A seven year old English girl who was in a coma after brain surgery... WOKE UP when her mother played Adele's Rolling in the Deep on the radio. The mom and her daughter had always sung the song together.  Now, two months later, the little girl is relearning how to walk and talk, and has even gone back to school.

THIS SUMMER'S DIRTIEST THINGS IN HOTEL ROOMS REVEALED
Before you head out on your vacation, researchers from the University of Houston say add disinfectant wipes to your packing list. Their latest list of most contaminated items in hotel rooms include TV remotes and light switches. "Most hotel rooms are better cleaned than most homes," Jeffrey R. Starke, MD, director of infection control at Texas Children's Hospital told WebMD. "The towels and sheets are changed daily, and the room is cleaned somewhat every day."

SCHOOL TO GIVE SMARTPHONES TO EVERY STUDENT
Seton Hall University in New Jersey is giving every entering freshman in the class of 2016 a new smartphone and the AT&T cell service they need to run it. School officials say their job is to prepare students for success in a rapidly-changing world, and giving them the tools they need is part of that.

ROGER CLEMENS ACQUITTED
Roger Clemens' has been acquitted on all charges that he lied to Congress about using performance-enhancing drugs.

FIRST BLACK SOUTHERN BAPTIST LEADER
The Southern Baptist Convention is expected to elect its first African American President this week. Current Vice President Fred Luter Junior is running unopposed for the top spot. Church leaders said choosing New Orleans pastor Fred Luter Jr. to head the Southern Baptist Convention would make an important statement about the denomination's efforts to distance itself from its racist past and become more diverse.

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY CELEBRATES 100TH ANNIVERSARY 
Tennessee State University is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this morning with state and local officials in a ceremony on the steps of McWherter Circle. There are more than 9,000 students enrolled at TSU.  (TSU is the Mid-State's only public university that offers 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs.)

WHITE HOUSE DRUG CZAR WANTS BATH SALTS BAN
Bath salts are already banned in more than 40 states, including North Carolina, but the drug czar for the white house would make it a federal ban if he gets his way. Health experts say the drug is so dangerous it can leave users suffering from zombie-like effects. It's like cocaine and meth together, but lasts longer and does more damage to the user. Police think the case in Florida where a man chewed the face off other man may have been linked to bath salts.  The chemicals in bath salts are believed to cause paranoia, hallucinations and sometimes violent behavior.

TENNESSEE SENATOR SUPPORTS NEW COAL EMISSION REGULATIONS
New regulations by the EPA that would limit how much pollution can come from coal power plants is being backed by Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander. The Tennessee Valley Authority has been, historically, one of the biggest polluters in the country. Alexander, who is the only Republican to support the measure, says Tennessee is already cleaning up its smokestacks and the regulations would require other states to do the same.

ARSENIO HALL NEW SHOW
Arsenio Hall is coming back to late night TV. His show will launch next Fall.

COUNTY COURTHOUSE ILLNESS INVESTIGATED IN NEW JERSEY
Officials are trying to figure out what caused at least 65 people to become ill yesterday at a New Jersey courthouse... 25 of them were taken to the hospital for skin rashes and difficulty breathing. More than a dozen people suffered similar symptoms on Friday. The courthouse is closed today, and being checked for toxins. 

FASTEST COMPUTER IN WORLD AGAIN IN U.S.
The U.S. is back on top in the battle to have the world's fastest supercomputer.  The BBC reports that IBM's Sequoia has beaten a computer from Japan's Fujitsu.  The U.S. was knocked out of the number-one spot two years ago by a Chinese machine.   The new fastest machine is at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.  It's going to be used to work on nuclear weapons simulations.  The IBM supercomputer can do in an hour what more than six billion people using calculators and working nonstop for 320 years can do.

TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION CHANGING GUILDELINES FOR INSPECTORS 
Metro's Transportation Licensing Commission is changing its guidelines for inspectors.  The move comes on the heels of recent allegations that inspectors were impersonating police officers.  Under the changes, inspector badges will no longer say "police" or look like police badges, and inspectors must go through training to be able to carry a firearm.

ASIANS NOW OUTNUMBER HISPANICS AMONG NEW ARRIVALS IN THE UNITED STATES
Asians now outnumber Hispanics among new arrivals in the U.S., a new study shows.  The Pew Research Center says it's the result of a nose-dive in immigration from Mexico.  The reasons for the shift may be due to more Mexicans leaving the U.S. because of the weak U.S. job market and an increase in deportation.

GIRLS' DAY OUT AT VANDY FOR MAMMOGRAM PARTIES
The Vanderbilt Breast Center is holding a "Girls' Day Out" this Saturday, to give you some pampering while you're waiting for your mammogram. The event is Saturday,10 to 1 at Vanderbilt's 100 Oaks facility on Thompson Lane. You get a complimentary brunch, massage and door prizes, but you DO have to pre-register. (suite 25000 in Vanderbilt Health One Hundred Oaks. To register, call 322-2064.)