Wed, January 4, 2012

MITT RONMEY WINS FIRST-THIS-YEAR CAUCUS
Mitt Romney has chalked up a victory in the Iowa Republican Party presidential caucuses. The former Massachusetts governor won by just 8 votes, over second-place finisher Rick Santorum.

PRESIDENT OBAMA TAKES CAMPAIGN TO OHIO
President Obama is working on his re-election campaign... in the swing-state of Ohio today. Obama will speak at a high school, and is expected to make a pitch that he's still the better choice as leader, in spite of the economy's slow recovery.

300 TENNESSEE GUARDSMEN RETURNING HOME WEDNESDAY
In case you'd like to do something really cool today with the kids, consider taking them to Smyrna to help welcome back home HUNDREDS of members of the Tennessee National Guard who've been stationed in Kuwait for the last year. Three-hundred men and women will arrive by bus, in Smyrna at 4 this afternoon.

HEALTH: U.S. HEART ATTACK SURVIVORS READMITTED MORE OFTEN
American heart attack survivors appear to be more likely to be REadmitted to the hospital within a month, than survivors from other countries... including Canada, Australia and severael European countries. American heart attack sufferers also have far shorter hospital stays during initial treatment for their heart attacks, but it's not clear whether that affects them going back in later. (The study appears in the "Journal of the American Medical Association.")

FATAL CHRISTMAS FIRE STARTED AFTER ASHES REMOVED FOR SANTA'S SAFETY
This is a sad post script on a sad story: officials now say the Christmas morning fire that killed three little girls and their grandparents in Connecticut started from a trash bag of ashes, that had been removed from the fireplace so the girls wouldn't worry about Santa Claus coming down the chimney and getting burned. The embers started blazing after everyone went to sleep, killing 10-year-old Lilly and 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah Badger and their grandparents. The girls' mother and a friend escaped. A funeral service will be held tomorrow (Thursday) in New York City for the girls.

UT MEN'S SWIMMING COACH FIRED FOR MISCONDUCT
Longtime Tennessee men's swimming and diving coach John Trembley has been fired for "gross misconduct." No word yet why the 23-year Volunteers coach was let go.

DOLLAR GENERAL TO OPEN 635 NEW STORES, CREATE 6,000 JOBS
Goodlettsville-based Dollar General Corporation says it's planning to open 625 new stores and create more than 6,000 new jobs this year. The chain currently operates 9,800 stores nationwide.  Including the project job growth in 2012, the company will have created more than 21,000 new positions since 2009.

HEALTH: NO LINK BETWEEN BABY ILLNESSES AND FORMULA
Testing by multiple government agencies has failed to find a connection between infant formula and recent cases of rare bacterial infections that killed two newborns and severely sickened two others. Enfamil had been recalled, just in case, but was NOT the source of the illnesses, so doctors are still looking.

JEFF FISHER INTERVIEWS WITH DOLPHINS
Jeff Fisher was at the Miami Dolphins' complex yesterday. A person familiar with the team's coaching search said Fisher was interviewing for the job. He's believed to be the Dolphins' top choice, and they're said to be willing to pay big money, but competition from other NFL teams may be fierce.The Buccaneers and Rams fired their coaches on Monday, increasing to five the number of top vacancies.)

PASSENGER CAUSES NASHVILLE FLIGHT DIVERSION
Charges have not yet been filed against a passenger who caused a flight from Nashville to La Guardia airport to be diverted last night. Authorities say he refused to claim two cell phones he left in the plane's bathroom, leading the pilot to demand his removal from the plane after being diverted to Raleigh. Investigators were called in for questioning and his name has not been released.

TN REDISTRICTING MAPS TO BE UNVEILED WEDNESDAY
You should find out some time today whether you're in a new district, which would mean you have different representatives at the statehouse and in Washington. Redistricting maps are set to be unveiled today (Wednesday).... and the legislature votes on the new maps when they come back into session.

FORMER DICKSON HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER ARRESTED FOR SEX WITH STUDENT
Former Dickson County High School teacher and assistant football coach Shane Bishop has been arrested for sexual battery and statutory rape. The 25 year old's charged with having an affair with a 17-year-old female student last year. Bishop resigned from the school system November 28th.

CHICKENS OCCUPY NASHVILLE?
It's the great Chicken Debate of 2012! In spite of many people opposed to the idea, Metro Council members have approved the second of three readings needed to make it legal for one to raise up to six chickens per property, inside Nashville city limits. You'll need a permit, there are lot-size restrictions and you can not have roosters in town. At least one council member says he'll try to exempt his district if the measure becomes law.

REPORT LINKS EXERCISE, BETTER MARKS IN SCHOOL
At least three recent studies have found kids who get an hour-and-a-half of exercise per week.... score better on spelling, reading and math tests in school. The second and third graders in the study also gained less weight over a three-year period.

NASHVILLEBOATSHOW.COM
The Nashville Boat and Sports Show is coming to Nashville Jan 12-15th, at the Nashville Convention Center.

ELTON JOHN WANTS TO CAST JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IN HIS BIOPIC
And 64 year-old Elton John says he has the perfect person to play him in an upcoming movie about his life. He says number one on his wish list is Justin Timberlake. Elton says he already has a director on board for the bio-pic… which will tentatively be called. Rocketman. Scottish actor James McAvoy is also said to be in the running for the role.

AMERICANS LESS LIKELY TO MAKE RESOLUTIONS AS THEY GET OLDER
Did you make New Year's resolutions this year? A recent poll finds the older we get the less we do. 60-percent of people under 45 say they're likely to make resolutions, but just 30 percent over 45 do. It wasn't clear whether that's because we've reached our goals, found a way to reach them through the year, or if we've just given up.