Trending This Mornin'
A brief cool down, but warmer for the weekend. Today will be the coolest day of the week. Sunshine and 50. Chilly night for the Vinton Christmas Parade. Lo 37. More clouds tomorrow. Hi 56. For the weekend, mostly cloudy. Highs mid 60s. A good chance of rain Monday. Much cooler Tuesday with highs at 47.
Guatemalan police arrested U.S. software guru John McAfee on Wednesday for illegally entering the country. They plan to expel him to Belize. He reportedly fled Belize after being sought for questioning over a neighbor's murder.
Smith Mountain Lake water levels are dangerously low. That's raising concerns for the lake folks.
Big changes coming to GED tests. Word is, the tests will get harder in 2014.
Roanoke Area Ministries, or RAM House is celebrating it's Twenty-Fifth anniversary of giving meals to those who need them. They served their first meal to 23 people in December 1987. Last year they fed 40,000 mouths. For the 25th anniversary meal on Friday they'll serve hot dogs and beans. That's the exact meal they served the first day they were open. **Roanoke Area Ministries will be featured this Sunday at 7A on Around Town. You can learn more about their new cook book too.
This is scary. There is a new virus going around that "Hijacks" your PC. I kid you not. It then demands you pay a ransom. However, DON'T pay the ransom. You will need an expert to remove the virus, and then there are no guarantees they get get rid of the virus. Experts say DO NOT open stray links or emails that arrive as only a link. Whoever is doing this is making lots of money. Yikes. More on the story. Here's what the BBB has to say about Ransomeware.
Football Fever: Both Brookville and Heritage High Schools are in State Championship games this weekend. Brookville and Heritage will each face their opponents at Liberty stadium on Saturday.
Salem-based competition cheerleading team "Iconix Allstars" has won a bid to 2013 Worlds competition. The Worlds Competition takes place at Walt Disney World in Florida this spring.
Lookin' Back
Today is St. Nicholas Day. Saint Nicholas is the former Bishop of Turkey and the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children and students. His reputation for secret gift-giving to those in need became the inspiration for the modern day Santa Claus.
There are 25 days remaining in 2012. There are 18 Shopping Days Left Until Christmas. Today is National Pawnbrokers Day
-- 1945, the microwave oven was invented
-- 1956, the first bra and lingerie catalog came out
-- 1960, Thomas Monaghan founded Domino's Pizza
Cuttin' Cake Today
JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill) is 64; Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is 60; Janine Turner (Cliffhanger, Northern Exposure) is 50; Director Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) is 45; comedian Steven Wright is 57
Joke of the Day
What do you get if you cross Father Christmas with a detective ? Ans - Santa Clues !
Smarter Than Question
67% of women say this was their worst fashion purchase ever. What was it? Congrats to Elizabeth and Tammy Jo, they got it. The answer is "leather pants."
Entertainment Buzz
Nominees announced last night by Taylor Swift and L.L. Cool J on CBS in top categories for the 55th annual Grammy Awards:
Record of the Year: "Lonely Boy," The Black Keys; "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," Kelly Clarkson; "We Are Young," fun. featuring Janelle Monae; "Somebody That I Used To Know," Gotye Featuring Kimbra; "Thinkin Bout You," Frank Ocean; "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," Taylor Swift.
Album of the Year: "El Camino," The Black Keys; "Some Nights," fun.; "Babel," Mumford & Sons; "Channel Orange," Frank Ocean; "Blunderbuss," Jack White.
Song of the Year: "The A Team," Ed Sheeran, songwriter (performed by Ed Sheeran); "Adorn," Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel); "Call Me Maybe" Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen); "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," Jorgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson); "We Are Young," Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (fun. featuring Janelle Monáe).
New Artist: Alabama Shakes, fun., Hunter Hayes, The Lumineers, Frank Ocean.
Pop Vocal Album: "Stronger," Kelly Clarkson; "Ceremonials," Florence & The Machine; "Some Nights," fun.; "Overexposed," Maroon 5; "The Truth About Love," Pink.
Rock Album: "El Camino," The Black Keys; "Mylo Xyloto," Coldplay; "The 2nd Law," Muse; "Wrecking Ball," Bruce Springsteen; "Blunderbuss," Jack White.
R&B Album: "Black Radio," Robert Glasper Experiment; "Back To Love," Anthony Hamilton; "Write Me Back," R. Kelly; "Beautiful Surprise," Tamia; "Open Invitation," Tyrese.
Country Album: "Uncaged," Zac Brown Band; "Hunter Hayes," Hunter Hayes; "Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran," Jamey Johnson; "Four The Record," Miranda Lambert; "The Time Jumpers," The Time Jumpers.
More Entertainment
SPOILER: On Survivor last night - at Tribal Council - It is between Carter and Abi to go to jury. 4 votes to 1. Make room for Carter.
Barbara Walters has named Honey Boo Boo one of her Most Fascinating People of 2012. Others that made the cut include Hilary Clinton, Ben Affleck, One Direction, Chris Christie, 50 Shades of Grey writer E.L. James, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas and “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane also made the cut. There's one more name and that will be revealed next week on her ABC special.
The Broadway musical Scandalous, written by TV's Kathie Lee Gifford, is closing after lackluster ticket sales.
Anderson Cooper went temporarily blind while on assignment in Portugal last week. He said he was shooting a story on the water for two hours and hadn’t realized the damage the sun was doing to his eyes. He woke up during the night, feeling like his eyes were on fire. Thinking he possibly had sand or something in his eyes, he flushed his eyes with water. Only to learn, his eyeballs were sunburned!
Eddie Murphy tops Forbes' list of the year's most overpaid actors again. Forbes calculates that for every dollar Murphy was paid for his last three films, they returned an average of $2.30 at the box office.
Eddie Murphy -- Returns $2.30 for every $1 paid.
Katherine Heigl -- Returns $3.40 for every $1 paid.
Reese Witherspoon -- Returns $3.90 for every $1 paid.
Sandra Bullock -- Returns $5 for every $1 paid.
Jack Black -- Returns $5.20 for every $1 paid.
Nicolas Cage -- Returns $6 for every $1 paid
Adam Sandler -- Returns $6.30 for every $1 paid.
Denzel Washington -- Returns $6.30 for every $1 paid.
Ben Stiller -- Returns $6.50 for every $1 paid.
Sarah Jessica Parker -- Returns $7 for every $1 paid.
Jazz composer and pianist Dave Brubeck, whose pioneering style in pieces such as "Take Five" caught listeners' ears with exotic, challenging rhythms, has died. He was 91.
BEST MOVIE SANTAS
A movie website ranks the best movies Santas.
15. Trading Places (Dan Aykroyd)
14. A Christmas Story (Jeff Gillen)
13. A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas (Patton Oswalt)
12. Jingle All The Way (Jim Belushi)
11. The Year Without a Santa Clause (Mickey Rooney, claymation)
10. Fred Clause (Paul Giamatti)
9. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (James Cosmo)
8. Bad Santa (Billy Bob Thornton)
7. Miracle on 34th Street (Richard Attenborough)
6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey)
5. The Polar Express (Tom Hanks)
4. Miracle on 34th Street (Edmund Gwenn)
3. Elf (Edward Asner)
2. The Nightmare Before Christmas (Ed Ivory)
1. The Santa Clause Trilogy (Tim Allen)
Tonight on TV
ABC: All new tonight including Last Resort, Grey's Anatomy, and Scandal.
CBS: All new including The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Person of Interest, and Elementary
NBC: All new - 30 Rock, Up All Night, The Office, Parks and Rec, and Rock Center
FOX: The X Factor is live followed by a new Glee
CW: The Vampire Diaries and Beauty and the Beast are both new
News from Nashville
(Photo: Wade Payne, Invision/AP)
Not only did Hunter Hayes perform during the CBS Grammy Nomination Special, but he also landed a nomination for Country Album of the Year, along with "Uncaged," Zac Brown Band; "Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran," Jamey Johnson; "Four The Record," Miranda Lambert; "The Time Jumpers," The Time Jumpers.
Taylor Swift and L.L. Cool J hosted Grammy nomination night and they had a little fun with one of her songs as well.
More Grammy News:
Taylor Swift is nominated for all-genre record of the year for "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." She and the Civil Wars are up for best country duo/group performance for "Safe & Sound."
Eric Church's "Springsteen" and Ronnie Dunn's "Cost of Livin'" received two nominations each in the country solo performance and country song categories.
Here's a list of the country nominees:
Country Solo Performance
"Home," Dierks Bentley
"Springsteen," Eric Church
"Cost of Livin'," Ronnie Dunn
"Wanted," Hunter Hayes
"Over You," Blake Shelton
"Blown Away," Carrie Underwood
Country Duo/Group Performance
"Even if It Breaks Your Heart," Eli Young Band
"Pontoon," Little Big Town
"Safe & Sound," Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars
"On the Outskirts of Town," the Time Jumpers
"I Just Come Here for the Music," Don Williams Featuring Alison Krauss
Country Song
"Blown Away," Carrie Underwood Songwriters: Josh Kear, Chris Tompkins
"Cost of Livin'," Ronnie Dunn Songwriters: Phillip Coleman, Ronnie Dunn
"Even if It Breaks Your Heart," Eli Young Band Songwriters: Will Hoge, Eric Paslay
"So You Don't Have to Love Me Anymore," Alan Jackson Songwriters: Jay Knowles, Adam Wright
"Springsteen," Eric Church Songwriters: Eric Church, Jeff Hyde, Ryan Tyndell
Country Album
Uncaged, Zac Brown Band
Hunter Hayes, Hunter Hayes
Living for a Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran, Jamey Johnson
Four the Record, Miranda Lambert
The Time Jumpers, the Time Jumpers
Lee Brice was celebrating with his record company in Nashville Tuesday night over his song "Hard To Love" hitting Number One. It happened to be Mike Curb's 317th Number One Single. Curb started Curb Records in 1964.
SICK BAY: Chris Young has postponed three concerts on his Liquid Neon tour after his doctor placed him on vocal rest for the remainder of this week.
Top stars from the entertainment and sports worlds gathered Monday night (Dec. 3) for the 2012 CMT Artists of the Year special. Rascal Flatts and Nashville actress Hayden Panettiere hosted the celebration. Among those participating in this year's CMT Artists of the Year special are Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Luke Bryan, Rodney Carrington, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, baseball great Roger Clemens, Sheryl Crow, the Eli Young Band, Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson, Mike Fisher of the Nashville Predators, Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Sammy Hagar, Merle Haggard, Hunter Hayes, Metallica's James Hetfield, former Atlanta Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, Toby Keith, Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert, rapper Ludacris, Kacey Musgraves, Duck Dynasty star Willie Robertson, Kenny Rogers, Thompson Square, OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, Carrie Underwood and Chris Young. The 2012 CMT Artists of the Year special premieres Saturday at 10 p.m.
Darius Rucker has teamed up with OneHope Wine to develop a new signature series offering, with the proceeds going to a great cause. Proceeds from Darius's OneHope wine go to Pattison's Academy, an organization providing education and rehabilitation programs for children with multiple disabilities.
Lar's This & That
Worst Thing That Could Go Wrong When Hosting A Holiday Party
The worst thing that could go wrong when you're hosting a party is . . . a broken toilet. More people worried about that than running out of food, or having a major appliance break down.
TWO out of FIVE people say it's happened when they've thrown a party.
Surviving The Holidays
The 10 Christmas gifts you should NEVER give anyone! And if you've already purchased one of these, we hope you kept the receipt:
A puppy. If they haven't expressed a desire for a pet, keep driving past the pet store
Cooking classes. A guy will see right through the cooking class you purchased for the two of you.
A scale or gym membership. That's a ticket straight to the doghouse.
"This Christmas" by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. 'Nuff said.
Snuggies. Even if they're printed in their favorite sports team's logo.
A Shake Weight. Unless, of course, you really hate the person you got as your office Secret Santa
Keeping Up with the Kardashians on DVD. Even if your friends love them, please don't contribute anymore to Kim's pocketbook.
A guinea pig. They smell bad and they chew through their cages and will end up in your dress shoe.
An Atkins Diet Book. See "gym membership" above.
Tickle Me Elmo. Not this year...because...well, you know.
Who's The Toughest To Buy For
The average person will buy gifts for EIGHT people.
The hardest person to shop for is the "person who has everything" . . . especially if it's your husband or wife.
Just so you know, people say they're more likely to get a bad gift for Christmas than for Valentine's Day or their anniversary.
(PR Newswire)
What's Your Resolution for 2013? Is It Your Christmas Wish?
We're coming up on the end of 2012...which means we press reset on our lives and make new resolutions for 2013. What promises are you making to yourself next year?
To lose some weight? Read a few more books? Get your boss fired? Learn how to cook --- wait, what? get your boss fired? Yep! A survey found that for 2% of us, that's our main goal for 2013 -- to help oust the boss.
A better alternative, if you ask me, is to just look for a new job -- which is what 23% of will do. What is our top work-related wish? Work hard and get a raise. Tried and true.
Popular Gift Cards
A new survey asked people what gift cards they wanted most for Christmas . . . and McDonald's came in THIRD. Walmart was the most-requested gift card, followed by Target. (PR Newswire)
One More Thing
Ultimate guard dog or Teddy Bear? He's made of rolled hay. You'll find him standing guard in a field near the Huddleston Post Office on Tolers Ferry Rd.. Thanks to my friend Brad Elkins for sharing.
Weird, But True News
A Texas homeowner said a thief recorded stealing the inflatable decorations from her front lawn was not able to steal her Christmas cheer.
The San Antonio woman, who asked to be identified only as Diana, said the security camera footage from outside of her home depicts a man approaching her house just prior to 3 a.m. Sunday in a white car and stealing her inflatable sled, snowman, train set and Santa Claus.
The woman says, "He ran across the street to the other neighbors house taking their inflatable and ran back to his car," she said. "Her snowman was also missing and they just put theirs out a couple nights ago."
Diana said the decorations are replaceable and the theft will not ruin her family's Christmas. She said she reported the incident to the police to help protect her neighbors from further thefts.
**I'd say he's guaranteed a spot on Santa's "naughty list"
Staying Healthy Today 
According to a groundbreaking new study out of Italy, FRENCH FRIES ARE GOOD FOR YOU. But not frozen fries that contain preservatives and are stripped of nutrients, like the ones at fast food places.
If you fry fresh potatoes yourself, they only absorb about 5% of the oil they're fried in, and they hold on to their nutrients. (Brisbane Times)
Good News Story 
Let's rename Andre Johnson most valuable player.
(Photo: Redditlebkong)
The Texans’ wide receiver hosted his annual shopping spree for 12 at-risk youths on Tuesday morning, allowing 12 kids to run wild in Toys “R” Us for 80 seconds while filling their carts with as many toys as they could. The final bill? A whopping $19,521.
Johnson picked up the tab on behalf of the Andre Johnson Charitable Foundation, which hosts many similar events throughout the year. According to the Texans’ official site, the 12 kids selected by Child Protective Services have all dealt with parental abuse of some form and now live with an extended family member. Because of the hardships that the kids have overcome, the All-Pro admits this Christmas shopping spree is his favorite.
He adds, "This is what the season is all about."
Lar's Thought of the Day 
"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other."
