Tuesday, September 11, 2012

MTSU STUDENT DIES FROM BACTERIAL MENINGITIS, OTHERS AT RISK
A Middle Tennessee State University student has died from bacterial meningitis. 18-year-old Jacob Nunley was admitted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Monday, and died just two hours later. Nunley was a member of a fraternity and lived on campus, so he may have come into contact with a LOT of other students. They're now told to contact their doctors to see whether they need antibiotics. Bacterial meningitis progresses EXTREMELY fast, and can be deadly. There's a vaccine but few people get it, since it's not mandatory.  Some of his friends say the death was so sudden they only heard about it when they went to facebook him, and saw posts saying RIP... Jacob.

LOCAL 9-11 EVENTS
11 years ago today our world was shaken. We sat, shocked, in front of the TV, watching the planes crash into the World Trade Center towers, and then watched it over and over again in slow motion. We had special reports here on Mix 929 as the death toll rose. When it was all over with, nearly 3,000 people had died, and our illusion of being immune to such things was gone.

9/11 SERVICES
There are memorial events all around the country: one at the World Trade Center, at the Pentagon Memorial and at the crash site of United Flight 93 in Pennsylvannia. Here, locally, there'll be ceremonies at Fort Campbell, since soldiers from there were among the first to deploy to Afghanistan. There'll be remembrances at Lipscomb University, at the Rutherford county sheriff's office, one in Crossville, one in LaVergne, and one at the main fire station in Clarksville. (Nashville firefighters remembered their fallen brothers with an annual stair climb this weekend.) 

CANCERS ADDED TO 9/11 HEALTH BILL
On the 11th anniversary of 9/11 there is some progress for people who didn't die immediately, but just got sick from the attacks. The list of covered illnesses for people exposed to toxins at the World Trade Center site after the 9-11 attacks now includes 58 types of cancer. First responders, volunteers, survivors of the attacks and residents who lived nearby and who meet certain qualifications will be eligible for coverage.

FIRST BUILDING ON ORIGINAL WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE TO OPEN WITHIN MONTHS
We're close to having another building open on the World Trade Center site. Officials are saying Number Four World Trade Center will be the first building to open on the site, and it's being called one of the safest office buildings ever built in America.

GM REPORTEDLY LOSES ALMOST $50,000 ON EVERY VOLT SOLD
This is not good news for Tennessee, and the people who have jobs with GM.
General Motors is reportedly paying a big price for every Volt car it sells.  Estimates from Reuters [[ ROY-ters ]] suggest that GM is losing as much as 49-thousand dollars for each of the plug-in hybrids. The cost of development is a factor: General Motors has invested more than a billion dollars in the cars. Even though the Volt sells for about 40-thousand dollars, sales have not reached GM's early projections. The company now says it might be around three years before it breaks even on the vehicle.

STUDY; MARIJUANA USE PLAYS ROLE IN TESTICULAR CANCER RISK
Researchers say there's evidence that men who use marijuana recreationally, double their risk of testicular cancer, and it tends to be types of testicular cancer that have worse prognoses than non-pot-related cancer.  

FREE HAIRCUTS FOR KIDS FROM JC PENNEY SALONS
If you didn't get your kids to a JC Penny salon for a free back to school haircut last month, you're going to get another chance. The store says they had an overwhelming response, and will offer free kids' haircuts every Sunday starting Nov 4th, and free haircuts to breast cancer survivors in October, breast cancer awareness month.

TOBACCO CONSUMPTION FALLS WITH TAX HIKE
A giant federal tobacco tax hike has spurred a historic drop in smoking, especially among teens, poor people and those dependent on government health insurance, a USA TODAY analysis finds.
President Obama signed the tax hike — the biggest to take effect in his first term — on his 16th day in office, reversing two vetoes by President Bush. The federal cigarette tax jumped from 39 cents to $1.01 per pack on April 1, 2009, to finance expanded health care for children. Since then, the change has brought in more than $30 billion in new revenue, tax records show.
 Yet the tax hike and its repercussions remain mostly unknown to the non-smoking public. The tax increase's size and national reach lifted prices 22% overnight, more than all state and local tax hikes combined over the past decade when adjusted for inflation.
Result: The tax hike has helped restart a long-term decline in smoking that had stalled in recent years. About 3 million fewer people smoked last year than in 2009, despite a larger population, according to surveys by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SHERYL CROW BELIEVES CELL PHONE CAUSED BRAIN TUMOR 
Sheryl Crow says she thinks excessive cellphone use led to her benign brain tumor. No doctor has confirmed that, but she says that's her theory, since the tumor is in what she calls the cellphone area of her brain, and she says she spent HOURS on end, talking on that phone, back when she was promoting her first cd.

READING PROGRAM STARTS TODAY
A new citywide reading program is set to begin Tuesday in Nashville, and it will start with an assignment. Mayor Karl Dean is scheduled to announce the title of a book he'll then encourage everyone to read at once.
It's an idea that Dean encouraged once before, when the Nashville Public Library Foundation gave its annual Literary Award to John Irving. At that time, it was suggested that the city as a whole try to read any of Irving's books. This time, the mayor's office says he'll again tie the reading choice to the prize, but will name a single book.
The Library Foundation is set to give its 2012 award to novelist Margaret Atwood. Her most famous book is The Handmaid's Tale. The provocative, dystopian novel is a favorite of critics. At the same time, enough people have insisted it be removed from schools and libraries that both the American and Canadian Library Associations have included on their list of "Most Challenged" books

NEW BOBBIE'S DAIRY DIP TO OPEN SEPT 24TH
Bobbie’s Dairy Dip, the venerable West Nashville spot for ice cream and burgers, is staking out a second location downtown.
Bobbie’s, which has operated in the same stand on Charlotte Pike for more than 60 years, is working to open a new location in the former Wise Burgers space on Fourth Avenue North.
Sam Huh, who bought Bobbie’s in 2006 and is also the general manager, said he was motivated to open the new location partly as a way to serve his customers and employees all year round. (Bobbie’s closes for three months every winter.)
Huh, who also owns J&J’s Market & Cafe, said the menu at the new place will feature the popular items Bobbie’s has served for ages: burgers, fries (including the sweet potato version), luscious soft-serve ice cream, sundaes and milkshakes. Bobbie’s Dairy Dip Downtown is scheduled to open Sept. 24 at 223 Fourth Ave. N.

NEW DAYTIME TALK SHOWS SPLITTING AUDIENCE
As the fall TV season gets under way, there's no stand-out favorite among the new talk shows arriving on the airwaves.  Katie Couric's "Katie" and "The Ricki Lake Show" are the top draws in a new www.AccessHollywood.com poll, with each show taking 26-percent of the vote, while "Steve Harvey" follows at 25-percent.  However, there's much less interest in Marie Osmond's latest run on daytime TV.  Just 12-percent say they're excited to see her new show on the Hallmark Channel.  Similarly, just eleven-percent are curious about "Survivor" host Jeff Probst's efforts in his new role as a daytime talk show host.

BELLEVUE STABBING SUSPECT OUT OF HOSPITAL, IN JAIL
The man accused of stabbing three of his neighbors to death earlier this month is behind bars.  Police say Craig Garber was discharged from General Hospital Monday afternoon and booked into Metro jail.  The 41-year-old is accused of killing Marylea Jordan, her daughter Michelle Pinkowski, and Pinkowski's 14-year-old son Jonathan Culpepper on September 2nd.  Garber had been hospitalized since then with apparent self-inflicted stab wounds.

FORMER METRO POLICE OFFICER FACING CHILD PORN CHARGES
 A former Metro police officer originally arrested for domestic assault is now facing drug and child pornography charges.  William Patterson was arrested Sunday after he allegedly pushed his girlfriend down during an argument.  During the investigation, the woman told police Patterson sells illegal drugs and has a sexual interest in children.  On Monday, a laptop containing pornographic images was found, as well as a marijuana grow cabinet and drug paraphernalia.

CRANBERRY JUICE, TABLETS SEEM TO PREVENT KIDS' UTI
Women have long turned to cranberry juice and supplements to help prevent recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) - though studies have been mixed on whether they work. But now, a new study finds cranberry juice may help prevent repeat urinary tract infections in kids. Researchers found that cranberry juice made with high concentrations of proanthocyanidins (PACs) cut kids' risk of repeat urinary tract infections by two-thirds, versus a comparison juice.  Recurrent UTIs can eventually damage the kidneys in some children, antibiotics can have side effects, and using them long-term can breed drug-resistant bacteria. So researchers are looking at whether cranberry products can be a good alternative.They also say cranberry tablets seem to work as well.

SENATOR SCHUMER WANTS CHILD-SAFE CAPS FOR DETERGENT PODS
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require child safety caps on the packaging of dishwashing and laundry detergent gel pods.  Schumer says the gel pods are small and come in a variety of bright colors, making them attractive to young children who may mistake them for candy.  The gel pods, which contain a single dose of detergent, are particularly dangerous to young children because detergent is highly concentrated.

MOBILE STRIPPR POLE
Just in time for your tailgate parties, there's a new mobile stripper pole!
The pole is a great way to make a scene, according to Keith Scheinbert, CEO of Platinum Stages, which manufactures the pole. Scheinbert told The Huffington Post. "If you want to be the center of attention at any tailgate, you bring that pole." The product description boasts that the pole "can be attached to the ball hitch of any truck or SUV."  There's an extension arm, then the pole is attached to it.