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What's trending for May 28, 2012
Is Jeff Barth’s latest ad the best political ad ever or just bizarre? The video which features the South Dakota House seat candidate strolling down a forest trail also showcases a mannequin, a white horse and a rubber chicken, among other strange props and has gone viral.
Lady Gaga announced on Twitter that she would be canceling her concert in Indonesia, due to threats from the Islamic Defenders Front. After Gaga refused to tone down her show, the group called her “the devil’s messenger that wears bra and panties”. The concert was sold out, with over 50,000 tickets purchased.
Jeremy Hilton becomes first male Military Spouse of the Year
Nominated by his wife, Jeremy Hilton, an Air Force Academy gradate and former navy officer, became the first man ever to become Military Spouse of the Year. “It was quite a shock considering the other five ladies who I was going up for the overall award are all pretty amazing,” Hilton says. “So, to be selected as the final Military Spouse of the Year is obviously quite an honor.”
Hilton and his wife, Lt. Colonel Renae Hilton, have two children, 9 year old Jack and two year old Kate, who was born with several disabilities. Hilton says that the decision to stay home and take care of Kate was a practical one. “It’s a lot of fun,” Hilton says of being a stay-at-home dad. “There are days when you want to pull your hair out, like any other single parent but the good certainly outweighs the bad.”
Other than being a stay-at-home dad, Hilton’s mission is to help military children with disabilities. “My larger goal relates to helping military kids with disabilities take care of themselves long term.” The Caring for Military Kids with Autism Act is currently a bill being considered in the Senate that will help families with disabled children continue to receive aid for therapies and treatments, even if the parent is forced to retire.
Pope's butler arrested on suspicion of leaked documents- Barbie Nadeau reports live from Rome
Rome bureau chief for Newsweek and the Daily Beast’s Barbie Nadeau was live this morning from the Italian capital reporting on the latest findings in the ongoing papal leak investigation. The purported leaked documents range in subject matter from gossip to cronyism and financial corruption.
Nadeau says the leaks which were allegedly masterminded by the pope’s own butler Paolo Gabriele have “really shaken the very core of theVatican.” Gabriele reportedly leaked these documents to reporter Gianluigi Nuzzi, who published the book “His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Pope Benedict XVI” last week.
15-year-old wins big prize for pancreatic cancer detection test
Students from across the country competed in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair last week in Pittsburgh, and out of the 1,500 kids who competed from more than 70 countries, 15 year old Jack Andraka was named the top winner, landing the $75,000 grand prize.
Andraka, a high school freshman, created a non-invasive and cheap way to detect pancreatic cancer, the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
The test uses a dip-stick sensor, based on diabetic test paper, to test blood or urine for signs of early stage pancreatic cancer.
Boasting a 90% accuracy rate, the patent-pending sensor is 168 times faster, 26,000 times less expensive and over 400 times more sensitive than previous tests. Andraka believes the sensor can also be extended to detect ovarian and lung cancers.
Andraka talks to Alina Cho on Early Start today about his big win and what’s next for him.
SpaceX shuttle set to make space history
Earlier this week, the rocket carrying SpaceX's dragon capsule launched into space and headed toward the International Space Station carrying supplies like food, computer equipment and tools for experiments that are to be handed off to astronauts.
If the unmanned shuttle successfully links up with the space station this morning, it will be the first time a private spacecraft has accomplished such a feat.
Astronaut Dan Tani calls into Early Start this morning to explain the mission and to discuss the significance of the historic day.
What's trending for May 25, 2012
Earlier this week, the interesting choices for Maxim's "Hot 100 list" were trending on the web, but today it’s AARP’s "21 Sexiest Men Alive Over 50" list that’s making headlines. Why? Because former Utah governor and GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman came in at #20 on AARP's list, just behind George Clooney.
Also trending, another bear video has gone viral this morning. In Steamboat Springs, Co., wildlife officials were called in to get a sleeping black bear out of a neighborhood tree. An officer shot the bear with a tranquilizer gun and then gave him a nudge, sending the massive animal tumbling out of the tree. Thankfully, the bear was perfectly fine after his fall and the bear was taken out of the city and into the wild.
MYB: Mortgage rates at record lows
In today’s Minding Your Business segment, Christine Romans has very good news: the housing market may finally be healing.
Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are down to 3.78 percent, almost a full point below where it was just a year ago. Romans explains that this is a significant difference, with the potential to save tens of thousands of dollars in lower interest payments over the lifetime of a loan.
The spring selling season is also finally showing a pulse, with home sales up 10 percent.
Romans' "one thing you need to know" about your money today? Morgan Stanley is reviewing every single trade that was made on Facebook's IPO. So if you paid too much because of the NASDAQ’s technical problems, you may be getting some money back.
Is Romney's promise to reduce the unemployment rate to 6% realistic? Christine Romans explains
In an interview with Time magazine yesterday, Mitt Romney pledged to get the unemployment rate down to 6% after his first term if he's elected.
Acknowledging that the Congressional Budget Office has already predicted that unemployment will be down to 5.3% by the end of 2017 regardless of who's in office, Christine Romans says that Romney's goal is doable on Early Start today.
Growing concern over al Qaeda's presence in Syria- Barbara Starr reports live from Jordan
Al Qaeda is taking advantage of the unrest in Syria and a senior Jordanian official tells CNN's Barbara Starr that there are nearly 1,500 al Qaeda members and sympathizers in the country.
As a result, Jordan is pumping up its security on the Syrian border with the help of U.S. forces. Barbara Starr reports live from Jordan this morning about this growing security concern.
MYB: Facebook fiasco continues to grow
The New York Stock Exchange is courting Facebook, hoping to convince the social network to leave NASDAQ after a rocky public start.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the NYSE has been emailing with Facebook saying that they are better for trading because they use people, not computers.
The social network is also dealing with investor outrage, with at least three people are suing Facebook and its underwriters and accusing them of withholding information before the IPO launch.
In today's Minding Your Business, Mary Snow explains why the technical issues with NASDAQ are only the start of Facebook’s problems.
