Britain's 86-year-old Queen Elizabeth was discharged from the hospital. 

Veteran CBS News journalist Bob Schieffer visited the University of Virginia Monday, speaking to a political science class about the political divide in Washington.  He said in his 50 plus years in news, he's never seen such a partisan split in Congress.  He told the students "compromise was the best way to get things done."

The Better Business Bureau is warning folks about a wave of contractors going door to door in the Roanoke area.  The repairs could lead to hidden insurance costs for homeowners.

Virginia Tech will hold a statewide test of its VT Alerts system on March 20 between 8A and 12N at all of it's facilities.   The system's communication channels will be tested, including email, Twitter, phone alerts, and the outdoor sirens in Blacksburg. 

March is Red Cross month.  They launched a tornado app yesterday for iphone, ipad and antroid phones and tablets

The Grandin Theatre is close to getting its big upgrade.  The theater still needs to raise $28,000 to get digital projectors.   The upgrade costs $200,000 total.

The National Rifle Association will be the title sponsor for the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas next month.

What would be the first thing you would do if you signed a contract complete with a $29 million signing bonus and $52 million in guaranteed money like Ravens QB Joe Flacco?  Answer:   He went to the Golden Arches.

lookin' back

Today is Multiple Personality Day

1770- "The Boston Massacre" took place when British troops fired on a crowd in Boston killing five people. Two British troops were later convicted of manslaughter.

1821- James Monroe became the first President of the United States to be inaugurated on March 5th. The reason? The usual inauguration date of March 4th fell on a Sunday that year and a President cannot be inaugurated on the Sabbath. It's still the law, even though the Inauguration Day was officially moved to January 20th.

1922- Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show headliner and sharpshooter Annie Oakley (Phoebe Ann Oakley Mozee) broke all existing records for women's trap shooting when she blasted 98 out of 100 clay targets thrown at 16 yards while at a match at the Pinehurst Gun Club in North Carolina.

1946- Winston Churchill delivered his "Iron Curtain Speech."

1963- Country music singer Patsy Cline died in a plane crash near Camden, Tenn., at age 30.

cuttin' cake

Dean Stockwell (Battlestar Galactica) is 77; Comedian-magician Penn Jillette is 58; Eva Mendes (Fast Five, Hitch) is 39; Niki Taylor is 38; Jake Lloyd (Star Wars Episode 1: Phantom Menace) is 24

joke of the day

What do you get when you cross a cat, a dog, and an A+?  ans - paws-itively purr-fect 

weird news today

A Chinese woman wore a fake baby bump to trick train passengers into giving up their seat for her – then tried to complain to the manufacturer after it fell out on a crowded subway! The Beijing woman, identified only as Zhang, complained about the quality of the silicone belly and said she was left embarrassed when it came loose. She said the belly had cost her 300 yuan ($48) and was advertised as being “very realistic.” But the complaint was thrown out because she did not purchase the baby bump for its intended use. Which would be…?

Students in Grand Rapids, Michigan, were suspended after performing a version of the "Harlem Shake."

They did it in class - bad - in front of the substitute teacher - worse. The teacher was sent home, along with 9 students. Story

I don't think the principal was upset at doing a parody, but doing a parody video 4 weeks too late!   Story

smarter than question

On average, this normally lasts 14 months, but for 5% it can be streched to two years. What is it?  No winner.  The answer is "engagement".

entertainment dish

Last night on a special "Bachelor: Women Tell All" special,  Sean Lowe was caught off guard by some of the accusations.  AshLee Frazier says that he acted 'like a frat boy' and that she felt "completely deceived"  Sean adds, "it's harder than you think to date 25 women, especially when they reunite." The finale of The Bachelor airs next Monday (ABC, 8P), when he is expected to propose to either substitute teacher Lindsay Yenter, 24, or graphic designer Catherine Guidi, 26.

Regis Philbin confirmed on "The View" in New York Monday he will serve as anchor of a new Fox sports program.

Charlie Sheen has told TMZ that he believes he’s the person who can help Lindsay Lohan clean up her act. 

Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham's rep is telling "The Sun" that she has no plans to tour with the Spice Girls in 2014.

Harrison Ford has signed on for 'Anchorman 2'.  Harrison has signed on to the Will Ferrell comedy, where he will play a veteran newscaster similar to Tom Brokaw.

Season 7 of Army Wives premieres this Sunday at 9P on Lifetime. This season, Brooke Shield's joins the Army Wives.

UsMagazine.com is reporting Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's son, Jaden, 14, is dating reality TV personality Kylie Jenner, 15, - she's the half-sister of the Kardashian's.  The relationship is new, but they've been friends fovever.

Kelly  Clarkson LOVES the new craze of goats singing to popular tunes on  YouTube, that she wants one to sing her songs.  Careful what you wish for Kelly.

ABC has cancelled the show “Zero Hour” after three episodes.

Honey Boo Boo’s father Sugar Bear is going on a diet. According to TMZ, Sugar Bear was hospitalized last week after complaining of severe chest pains and was diagnosed with pancreatitis. 

So much for yesterday's birthday surprise, actor Steven Weber (52) and his wife are divorcing after 17 years. They have two sons 10 and 12.

Keith Olbermann wants to return to ESPN,  but ESPN is not interested.

TV TONIGHT 

ABC: Celebrity Wife Swap (Coolio and Mark McGrath), The Taste and Body of Proof are all new

CBS: NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles, and Golden Boy are new

NBC: Betty White's Off Their Rockers, Go On, and Smash are new

FOX: American Idol (LIVE)

CW: Hart of Dixie is new

NEW ON DVD THIS WEEK

Wreck-It Ralph - voices of John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 - Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

news from nashville

Carrie Underwood tells Glamour Magazine she wouldn't rule out the chance to be a judge on FOX's "X-Factor" with Simon Cowell.

Is Tim McGraw rubbing off on buddy Kenny Chesney?  At an impromptu show Sunday at the Hog's Breath Saloon in Key West, Fla., Kenny Chesney told the crowd he hasn't had a beer yet this year.  As for "Pirate Flag" Kenny says it is "a little bit about rebelling against anything that's mundane in your life."   Are you as excited as I am about "Life On A Rock" coming out in April?

Brad Paisley has announced he will kick off his Beat This Summer tour May 
9^th in St. Louis. Chris Young and Lee Brice will join him on the tour.   Brad will donate $1 from every ticket sold to Live Beyond, a non-profit organization that provides medical care.

Luke Bryan is on Ellen today.  His new EP "Spring Break, Here To Party" is out today.

Miranda Lambert is a bit of a Stepford Wife in her ‘Mama’s Broken Heart’ video.

Trace Adkins will surprise everyone with his newest studio album, 'Love Will,' which is set to be released this spring.   Don't expect an album full of sappiness, despite the title.

Founding member Hannah Blaylock has left Edens Edge.

Less than one month away from the release of "Pioneer" by The Band Perry.  What should we expect on the new album?  Kimberly Perry says about the new album, "There's still so much good to be done and so many songs to sing. So here we are, two years later - Marching forward. Making noise."  The album is out April 2. 

Miley Cyrus has changed her hair again.  Now it's short and blue.  **Who does she think she is Nicki Minaj?  Miley,  I don't think there's an opening on the Idol judges panel, just yet.

lar's this and that

Feel hammered today?

Did you know the average human body contains enough: iron to make a 3 inch nail, sulfur to kill all the  fleas on an average dog, carbon to make 900 pencils, potassium to fire a toy cannon, there's enough fat to make 7 bars of soap, phosphorous to make 2,200 match heads, and water to fill a ten-gallon tank.

The next best thing

A source says Samsung's next big smartphone, the Galaxy S IV, features something called "eye scrolling." It involves using your eyeballs to detect where the phone should be scrolling on its display. It will work by tracking a user's eyes. So when you get to the bottom of a page, it'll realize you need to see more and scroll down to show you more text. **Great idea, as long as you don't blink, wink, or nod.

Chore Help at Home

Researchers from the Universities of Virginia and Connecticut looked at how parents divided up 24 childcare chores, and moms did EVERY SINGLE ONE more than dads. 

Here are the five things dads were MOST likely to help with: 

#1.)  Limiting their social activities to take care of the kids.

#2.)  Taking the child to daycare.

#3.)  Taking the kids to visit people.

#4.)  Buying toys or books.

#5.)   Playing.

And here are the five things dads were LEAST likely to help with: 

#1.   Picking out clothes for their kids to wear.

#2.)  Buying clothes.  

#3.)  Washing clothes.

#4.)  Changing clothes.

#5.)   Talking to their kids.

They also asked which chores dads LIKED to do.  Here are the top five: 

#1.)  Playing with the kids.

#2.)  Talking to them.

#3.)  Taking them for walks in a stroller.

#4.)  Buying toys and books.

#5.)   Taking them to visit people.

And here are their LEAST favorite chores: 

#1.)  Getting up at night to care for them.

#2.)  Missing work to care for them.  

#3.)  Changing diapers.

#4.)  Washing clothes.

#5.)  Limiting social activities to care for their kids.  (Wall Street Journal)

Perfect Place To Find Love A First Sight

Psychology Today stumbled on something rather bizarre. It turns out the most popular place for people to find 'love at first sight' is... Walmart.

There's a section of Craigslist devoted to 'missed connections'. These are posts by people leaving a message for someone they met but didn't speak to in real life. For example, "If you were the girl looking at the spandex at Walmart, we need to hook up."

Analyzing these posts, more people thought they saw the love of their life in Walmart than anywhere else in the United States.

Story

Random Facts

In new surveys,  both men and women ranked six-pack abs as the top physical feature they're  attracted to.  More than 90% of men say their wife or girlfriend has  too many shoes . . . only 42% of women agree.  And 98% of  young couples say they've never thrown a dinner party.

Let's her it for the Fat Cat

He tips the scales at 37 pounds — which would be about the right weight for a 4-year-old human. But because Biscuit is a cat, his weight is a big problem. The tubby tabby is about three times the weight of a healthy adult cat. A St. Louis-area animal shelter is trying to find a new home for Biscuit — one whose owner won't slather gravy, butter or any other fattening foods on him.

Biscuit's weight started to rise when her first owner — a disabled woman — fed him lots of treats. She turned Biscuit over to a shelter in St. Charles about a year ago because she could no longer look after him. Like a human with a serious weight problem, Biscuit has had his trouble getting around. Shelter officials say when he arrived, he could only walk a few steps before huffing and puffing — but is much better now. His new owner will have to keep Biscuit on his diet of about a cup of food per day.

Note to my cat Tigger (above),  skip the next two stories.  They'll just make you hungry.

More fat cats...

Holly the Cat is trying to lose weight by swimming.  She was featured yesterday on Good Morning America, along with this story from WDBJ7 as it went viral.

It is quite the funny story - as WDBJ7's Susan Bahorich - explained on the air this past weekend, or at least tried to explain. 

Here's The Door

Tina Santoro Asmar had her gym membership to Planet Fitness revoked for  talking too much on her cell phone. 

She was on a treadmill  chatting away when the manager asked her to leave the workout area because she  was on her phone. Tina says the manager was "enraged" and yelled at her in front  of the other patrons violating their "no gymtimidation" philosophy. 

The  manager sees it differently: "This is a member that's had repeated issues and  incidents with cell phone use... her reaction was extremely unprofessional and  rude and dismissive." 

The manager was upset after she kept stalling.  Tina says she would have left right away if her iPad weren't  charging in the exercise equipment. I think we're getting a pretty clear picture  here. 

By the way -- there are 10, yes 10, signs around the gym telling  members not to use their phones unless they are in designated areas.