Trending This Mornin'
Secure those holiday inflatables. High wind warning continues thru Saturday at 6P. Winds 25 - 30 mph, with gusts to 60 mph. Especially strong along the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The Forecast: Windy today with snow flurries. Hi 39. Lo 29 tonight. Saturday: Partly sunny and windy. Hi 44. Lo 26. Sunday: Mostly sunny 48. Christmas Eve: 30% chance of showers. Hi 48. Christmas Day: 20% chance of showers with a mix of sun and clouds. Hi 47. Wednesday: 60% chance of rain. Hi 43. Lo's in the 30s at night.
One week ago this morning at 9:30 at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT...it seemed like just another school day. Say a prayer with us at 9:30. We too will observe a moment of silence in programming.
Dish Network and WDBJ parent company have reached an agreement. The two sides were facing a midnight deadline last night. The announcement came just after 11p. If an agreement had not been reached, nearly 70,000 viewers would have not been able to watch WDBJ today.
Definition of hustle and bustle of the holidays. UPS delivered 300 packages per second.
Wow! The midwest and plains are getting hammered by this blizzard. We'll feel the CHILL of December.
Did the world end? Nope. But winter began at 6:11a, According to the doomsday prophecy, the ancient Maya predicted the end of the world would occur this morning. Folks who've studied this say it simply means the end of that 5000 year calender and it's on to a new one. More.
As for the Mayan's? They have some beautiful and interesting ruins all over Mexico. Here's one I visited a few years back in Belize. That's some stonework.
Poinsettia Bowl from San Diego: BYU 23, San Diego State 6
Lookin' Back
1968 Apollo 8 is launched from Cape Kennedy on its way to man’s first orbit of the Moon.
1988 270 people are killed when a terrorist bomb explodes aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
1991 Jane Fonda marries Ted Turner. They divorced in 2001.
2006 Miss Nevada USA, Katie Rees, 22, is stripped of her title by the Miss Universe Organization, after racy photos of her appear on the Internet.
2009 The Obama administration imposed a 3-hour limit on how long airlines can keep passengers waiting inside planes delayed on the ground.
Cuttin' Cake
Phil Donahue-77; Jane Fonda-75; Samuel L. Jackson-64; Jane Kaczmarek-57; Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond)-55; Andy Dick-47; Keifer Sutherland-46
Joke of the Day
What do you call people who are afraid of Santa? ans - Claustrophobic
Smarter Than Question
Almost 20% of women said - in a recent survey - this was part of their morning ritual. What is it? Congrats to Carol Lou. She stopped "ironing" long enough to get the correct answer. Woo-hoo!
Entertainment Buzz
(Photo: FOX)
Tate Stevens, who was mentored by music exec L.A. Reid on the second season of "The X Factor," won the Fox singing competition last night. The 37 year old country singer beat runner-up Carly Rose Sonenclar and teenage girl group Fifth Harmony. Stevens wins a $5 million recording contract. More than 35 million votes were cast by viewers after Wednesday's show.
The all-star "12-12-12" concert featuring Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys has raised $50 million for the victims of Hurricane Sandy.
Boy we lost some huge Hollywood icons in 2012. Dick Clark, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, Davy Jones, Marvin Hamlish, author Ray Bradbury, Mike Wallace; Andy Griffith, Sherman Hemsley, Michael Clarke Duncan, Ernest Borgnine, Chad Everett, George Lindsey and Larry Hagman; singers Etta James and Jenni Rivera; Earl Scruggs, painter Thomas Kinkade and others.
Christina Aguilera is to perform at next month's People's Choice Awards show in Los Angeles.
Chaka Khan and Halle Berry will be recognized at the 2013 BET Honors for their outstanding contributions to African-American culture. The ceremony will be Jan 12 in Washington D.C..
The sequel to the broadcast journalism comedy "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy" with Will Ferrell will open in U.S. theaters next December 20, 2013.
Disney on Ice - Treasure Trove - continues at the Roanoke Civic Center thru Sunday. Tickets available. Again, our thanks to Nathan Miller for stopping by.
Tonight on TV
Last Man Standing (ABC) Malibu County (ABC) Back to the Beginning with Christiane Amanpour (ABC)
The Good Wife (CBS) The Good Wife (CBS) The Good Wife (CBS)
Kitchen Nightmares (FOX) Fringe (FOX)
Blake Shelton’s Not-So-Family Christmas (NBC) Michael Buble: Home For The Holidays (NBC) Dateline NBC (NBC)
News from Nashville
(Photo: Rick Diamond, Getty Images)
Keith Urban recalls Christmas as a kid, growing up in Australia. He'd get up on Christmas morning - very enthusiastic - run into his parents room and start jumping on the bed. After they were up, THEN he could tear into the presents Santa left.
(Photo: Rick Diamond, Getty Images)
What a show on ABC last night. 'CMA Country Christmas' special closed out with an all-star singalong of 'Let It Snow' that teamed host Jennifer Nettles with Lady Antebellum -- and a surprise guest appearance from none other than Santa himself.
CMA Country Christmas host Jennifer Nettles urged the holiday audience AND viewers last night to "count your blessings." Amen.
Taylor Swift may be celebrating the holidays Down Under. The 23-year-old is spending some time this month in Australia, promoting her latest album, "Red." Since Christmas is a summer holiday in Australia, Taylor plans to take advantage of the weather. "It’s gonna be non-stop sun,"
Kellie Pickler has returned to the U.S. following a seven-day, four-nation USO tour that included appearances at military installations in Afghanistan and Germany and aboard the USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier.
Apparently, those Barefoot Blue Jean Nights have paid off for Jake Owen. Jake's hometown concert in Vero Beach, Fla., raised $125,000 for local children's charities.
Miranda, the fashionista? Miranda Lambert joins Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Joan Rivers and others to be guest judges on Lifetime’s "Project Runway.
Lar's This & That
GET RID OF THAT WINTER CHILL THIS WEEKEND
A recent analysis of four separate studies published in the Journal of Consumer Research reveals, watching a romantic movie when the temperature dips will trigger warm thoughts, making you feel less cold. Not sure what to watch? The American Film Institute says the six most swoon-worthy love stories of all time are: Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, West Side Story, Roman Holiday, An Affair to Remember and The Way We Were.
DECK THE HALLS AND MORE
If this is your weekend to decorate the house, snap to it you for the jolly old elf. Putting up Christmas lights, hanging a wreath on the door and adorning the outside of the house with holiday-themed decorations doesn't just make your home feel merrier, but the Journal of Environmental Psychology finds it also makes your neighbors like you more. Researachers say, festive decor makes folks see you as friendlier and more accepting of others.
NEW RELATIONSHIP? WHAT TO BUY FOR CHRISTMAS
If you're in a new relationship, and say you've only been dating someone a few months, experts say don't PANICK over Christmas. In fact, GO CHEAP. A new survey finds, 61% of people say that it's more awkward to receive a gift that seems too expensive for that point in the relationship than a gift that seems too cheap. (PR Newswire)
LET'S JUST SAY..."IT'S THE GIFT THAT COUNTS"
Last-minute shoppers are most likely to grab a gift card (62%), give cash (27%), or a bottle of wine or liquor (15%). Other items likely to be bought in a pinch:
Lottery tickets
Candy
An IOU for a present
IT'S THAT GIVING TIME OF YEAR, BUT WE'RE NOT THE BEST
Nothing like giving...it makes you feel so good deep inside. But after the events of the year, are we - as Americans - the BEST givers? No. A recent study finds the U.S. is the FIFTH-most charitable country in the world in 2012. We only finished behind Australia, Ireland, Canada, and New Zealand. Only 57% of Americans gave money to charity this year, 42% volunteered time, and 71% helped out a stranger
IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY 
The U.N. just released the results of their yearly study on happiness around the world, and apparently it's a great time to live in Latin America. They had seven of the top 10 countries. Panama came in first, followed by Paraguay and El Salvador. Where was the good old U.S. of A? We finished 33rd. Singapore was dead last.
THE SHORT WORK WEEK
Since both Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve falls on a Monday, a new survey finds 26% of companies will close up shop the entire week. 38% of people say they'll take off Christmas Eve . . . 28% will take off New Year's Eve . . . but everyone else is going to work.
DON'T BLAME THE ALCOHOL
Careful what you eat at that holiday party because HANGOVERS don't always come from ALCOHOL. Scientists now believe you can get actual hangovers from eating TOO MUCH CHEESE, pickles, nuts, meats, or citrus fruits. The theory is that they contain an organic chemical compound called tyramine, and when you have too much, it triggers a headache.
WHERE IS SANTA NOW?
The Santa Claus Office new site is now open at www.santaclauslive.com.
Weird, But True News
School in two Michigan counties — were closed yesterday and will be - again today - thanks to the Mayans.
Officials in Lapeer and Genesee counties canceled classes yesterday and today because of "rumors about the Mayan calender predictions," the school district said in a letter to parents.
The district also said Nostradamus soon will be finalizing next year’s high-school football schedule.
**For those lying in bed wondering, the world is still here. There's no Mayan apocolypse. The appointed time of world destruction was 6:11A...that was also the start of winter. Hop to it. The shower and your Friday awaits.
Staying Healthy Today 
THE NEW LEARNING CURVE
If you're trying to master "Jingle Bell Rock" or another holiday tune on the piano, guitar or other instrument...try listening to a recording of it as you sleep. Experts say, folks who try this trick played the song better when they awoke. Turns out, hearing music as you snooze strengthens memories of your practicing, so your skills advance faster.
Good News Story 
A U.S. Marine said he is standing watch in full uniform outside his children’s Nashville elementary school because of last week’s carnage in Connecticut. Staff Sgt. Jordan Pritchard said he felt "like this is something I had to do" because Gower Elementary School does not have metal detectors or armed guards.
After 26 people, including 20 children, were shot and killed Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Pritchard said he took matters into his own hands to keep his children safe. He does not carry a weapon at the school. "What this uniform represents, the hope it brings, is larger than any weapon that I would ever need." That's a parent with a lot of love.
Wow! Words that go a long way. At 9:30 this morning, we will observe a moment of silence - along with the rest of the nation - to remember the 26 innocent lives lost last Friday morning in Newtown, CT..
Lar's Thought of the Day 
"It's when we help light the path for another that our own journey is brightened." Autumn Fulp
