Trending This Mornin'
Weekend Forecast: Nice weather for December. Mostly sunny. Highs upper 50s. Clouds move in Sunday, setting up a 60% chance of rain Monday. Cooler Tuesday with rain showers. Hi 48. Wednesday, Partly sunny. Hi 47. Mostly cloudy Thursday. Hi around 50.
Ferrum College lockdown was lifted about 6A this morning. Last night, just before 10p, an attempted robbery near Riddick Hall took place, according to the school's alert system. No changes to the exam schedule otday.
Gov McDonnell will ask for a 2% pay raise for teachers.
Travel analysts are predicting packed highways and planes this Christmas.
Mill Mountain Zoo makes a plea to the community for donations to help keep the zoo running.
Roanoke's 202 Market owner - Stephen Rosenoff - was arrested and charged with aggravated sexual battery and abduction last Saturday. A woman claimed her mother, the victim in this alleged incident, was being held against her will in the Hunting Hills area.
The co-inventor of the bar code that labels nearly every product in stores has died. Norman Joseph Woodland was 91.
NFL: Late turnovers by the Eagles cost 'em. The Bengals scored 17 straight points off turnovers to beat Philadelphia 34-13.
As of Thursday, Virginia Tech says it's sold just under 3,000 tickets to the Russell Athletics Bowl game in Orlando, Florida, set for December 28. Virginia Tech takes on Rutgers.
St. Thomas vs Mt Union - tonight at 7P - Salem Stadium - for the NCAA Division III championship in the 2012 Stagg Bowl.
Lookin' Back
There are 10 Shopping Days Left Until Christmas. 7 days until Winter begins.
There are 17 days remaining in 2012. Today is Buy a Christmas Tree Day
--1929, the first miniature golf course opened
--1947, NASCAR was founded
--1959, the Motown record label was founded in Detroit, Michigan
--1962, the value of the Mona Lisa was assessed at $100 million
--1967, DNA was first created in a test tube
--1977, Saturday Night Fever premiered
--1999, Charles M. Schulz announced he was retiring the ''Peanuts'' comic strip
Cuttin' Cake
Vanessa Hudgens 24, Dee Wallace Stone 64, Patty Duke 66
Joke of the Day
Why are Christmas trees like bad knitters? - They both drop their needles!.
Smarter Than Question
According to a survey by HomeAway.com, 1% of holiday travelers have had to do this while visiting the family. What is it? ans - sleep in the bathtub
Entertainment Buzz
Ready for the X-Factor Top 3 shocker? Fifth Harmony, Tate Stevens, and Carly Rose make it to the finals. Ensemble 3 head home.
L.A. Reid will soon be an "ex-judge" on X-Factor. Reid is currently the chairman and CEO of Epic, a division of Sony Entertainment.
Golden Globe nominations were announced yesterday. Lincoln, Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty were heavily nominated.
Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and Jon Bon Jovi helped raise more than $30 million for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts at a star-studded New York concert.
The Hunger Games star, Liam Hemsworth, was involved in an altercation over the weekend in Philadelphia. Hemsworth, who is on location in the City of Brotherly Love shooting his new film, Paranoia, was leaving a bar when he claims that someone began throwing rocks at him. Local police did break up the fight but no charges were filed.
Carole King has been named the 2013 recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. She's the first woman to win the prize.
28 year old Olympic Skier - Lindsey Vonn - says she's battling depression. She tells People magazine, depression runs in her family. It surfaced after her 2002 Olympic debut amid her parents' marital problems. She currently takes an anti-depressant to manage her symptoms.
Holiday Specials on TV.
Click here for Friday.
Click here for Saturday.
Click here for Sunday.
New Movies Opening This Weekend
"Hitchcock" (PG-13)
"The Hobbit" (PG-13)
New DVD's this week...
The Bourne Legacy (Jeremy Renner is the new Matt Damon)
Ted (Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane)
Ice Age: Continental Drift
News from Nashville
Tim McGraw's upcoming new album 'Two Lanes of Freedom,' set for a Feb. 5, 2013 release. The standard version will include 11 songs including 'Truck Yeah,' 'One of Those Nights' and a song called 'Highway Don't Care,' which McGraw recorded with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.
Keith Urban's "For You" will compete with Taylor Swift and the Civil Wars' "Safe & Sound" for a Golden Globe award next year. The songs were nominated Thursday (Dec. 13) in the category of original song.
Was it Clay Walker's 'Fall' that landed Tate Stevens in the X-Factor finals next week? It was a nice job.
Keith Urban’s 2013 calendar to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is officially out. The calendar has helped raise over $750,000 for St. Jude in the last 10 years.
Lady A shows for next summer have been cancelled due to Hillary Scott expecting her first child.
The National League of Junior Cotillions , which trains young people in etiquette and social skills, has named Taylor Swift their "Best Mannered Celeb" for 2012. The only other musician on this year's top 10 list was Justin Bieber, for "consistently showing courtesy to his many fans." Other big names on the list include Olympic Gold medalist Gabby Douglas, Matt Damon, Kate Middleton, Daniel Radcliffe and Michelle Obama.
(Photo: Broken Arrow Records)
Congratulations to Jason Aldean on the platinum certification of his latest album, Night Train, just four weeks after its release. Jason will launch his Night Train tour February 21 in Bossier City, LA with special guests Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett.
Brantley Gilbert tickets on sale this morning at 10 at the Roanoke Civic Center for his "Hell on Wheels" tour on April 26. Special guest Kip Moore.
New Songs on the Radio for December 2012:
Easton Corbin, ‘All Over the Road’
The Henningsens, ‘American Beautiful’
RaeLynn, ‘Boyfriend’
Rascal Flatts, ‘Changed’
Train (Feat. Ashley Monroe), ‘Bruises’
Lar's This & That
Odds Of U.S. White Christmas Vary By Region
The probability of a white Christmas – with snow at least an inch deep on Christmas Day – is low for many areas of the United States, forecasters say. While northern New England, the Upper Midwest, the Rocky Mountains and Intermountain West have a 75% of a white Christmas, New York City, Philadelphia and the District of Columbia have less than a 25% chance, AccuWeather.com said.
Survey says...
A study out of Australia found people will stop almost everything to update Facebook or respond to a tweet, including while they're doing the deed! Almost 3% surveyed (64% of them men) have actually interrupted sex to access a social networking site. At work (51.6%) or in the bathroom (21.5%). Really? This is where we are in 2011?
Surviving Christmas
5 things that will get worse over the holidays... Yay! Fun list. Yahoo! says the holidays, as cheery as they are, can make some things worse, including...
Your relationships -- with your loved ones and partner. Partners not living up to expectations, and old family wounds surfacing can make for a stressful holiday.
Your health -- Viruses peak around this time of year, so you may start looking like a red-nosed reindeer. Get sleep and eat right. Oh, and wash your hands.
Your heart -- More people have fatal heart attacks during the winter months than any other time of year.
Your waistline -- Hmmmmm...wonder why?
Anxiety about finances -- Gifts, travel, and normal bills create stress. Get some exercise and don't go over budget
There are five more here
Naughty or Nice? Safe, Not Safe!
Know this before buying a toy this Christmas... A few tips from Consumer Reports for buying toys that won't cause injury this Christmas.
Avoid toys with magnets and toys that have them
Avoid toys with marbles, small balls, and small pieces
Follow the age recommendations
Buy new, not used
Clean up packaging immediately
Keep younger siblings in mind when buying toys for older ones
Best And Worst Holiday Smells
Nothing conjures up memories of past holidays like the smells of grandma’s house, mulled cider and fir trees, but what about wrapping paper or wet wool? Febreze set out to uncover the best and worst smells of the holiday season.
Some of their findings:
54% of those surveyed said they like smells that remind them of the holidays, even if they are deemed "unpleasant."
65% of respondents said that the scent of freshly baked goodies took them down memory lane, but 1 in 10 said that the smell of an attic or storage room also conjured up the sentimental holiday memories.
Another unique scent that helped jog nostalgic memories included the smell of wrapping paper and tape, which 43% of Americans said reminds them of the holidays.
Nearly 60% of women agreed that freshly fallen snow reminded them of the holiday season, but their least favorite scent? Wet wool.
The Eyes Have It!!!!!
The women of America have spoken -- they love men who wear glasses! 87% of women think men in glasses are sexy. As you would expect, this survey is sponsored by an online eyewear retailer.
Ready For A Mistletoe Moment? How to kiss.
Compliments of 1942. A before and after here. You're welcome.
Weird, But True News
A Washington state farmer said a typo in the proposal message he wrote using a tractor on his 200-acre field did not stop his girlfriend from saying "yes." Loren Lentz said he spent an hour and a half plowing the message into his Deer Park field and his 10-year-old daughter was the first to notice he had used a backwards "J" to spell "Jody."
Lentz said he thought his daughter was mistaken, but when he took his girlfriend, Jody Schaefer, up in an airplane to get a look at the proposal he realized the girl had been right. However, he said Schaefer still accepted his proposal. "Had the ring in my hand at that point and turned around and handed her the ring and she gave me a great big hug over the seat," he said. **Even the Bachelor reality show can't write stuff this good.
Staying Healthy Today 
If this time of year "gets you down", you might want to try some foods to beat your bad mood.
Stressed - let chocolate relax you. Just 1.4 oz of dark chocolate - about the size of a Hershey bar - will help you feel calmer and less frazzled.
Feeling sluggish - re-energize with popcorn. A one cup serving will do the trick. Popcorn is packed with vitamins and fiber that increase your brain's supply of serotonin.
Foggy - sharpen your focus with guacamole. This healthy fat converts during digestion into a hormone called oeoylethanolamid, which heads to the brain to help with memory.
Cranky - mellow with pistachios. They have high levels of antioxidants, healthy fat, protein, magnesium and fiber.
Blue - Get happy with a tuna sandwich. Omega 3's and lots of good fat for you.
Got PMS? Stop it with a handful of pumpkin or sunflower seeds - with 50 mg of vitamin B6. Magnesium will relax your muscles and the B6 helps your brain produce calming chemicals.
(Source: Woman's World)
Good News Story 
A Missouri animal rescue group said a stray dog seen befriending a deer in a cemetery has been captured and will eventually be available for adoption. Officials at Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City said the abandoned dog had befriended a cemetery deer dubbed Ella by staff and the pair had often been seen together in recent weeks.
However, Kansas City rescue group Wayside Waifs said officials feared the dog would not be as equipped to survive the harsh winter as Ella, who has been a cemetery mascot since her mother died in traffic, and the canine was ensnared in a humane trap. "Ella was standing right by the van when the dog departed, looking kind of forlorn," said John Weilert, president of the Elmwood Cemetery Society. Wayside Waifs said the canine is receiving veterinary attention and being socialized in preparation for being adopted.
Lar's Thought of the Day
"Remember while December brings the only Christmas day...during the year, let there be Christmas in all the things you do and say." Give a little bit of YOU as a gift everyday.
