Celebrity Birthdays: CHARLIE SHEEN (45 --"Two and a Half Men"). Also, ex-MTV Guy ADAM CURRY (46); actresses EILEEN BRENNAN (78) and VALERIE PERRINE (67), and DONALD BREWER (Brewer & Shipley, 62), STEVE JONES (Sex Pistols --55); TODD LEWIS (Toadies), and AL JARDINE (68), from the Beach Boys. JOHN FUGELSANG is 41
Labor Day weekend marks the traditional end of summer and beginning of fall (even though fall doesn't begin for almost three more weeks). The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on Sept 05, 1882, in New York City. It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the federal marshals and military troops during the Pullman Strike. President GROVER CLEVELAND made reconciliation with the labor movement a top political priority and as a gesture of good faith, pushed legislation to make Labor Day a national holiday. The legislation was unanimously approved by Congress (a tradition of bipartisanship that continues even today!)
The weekend also marks the beginning of the football season. The NCAA opens with a full slate of college football games and the NFL traditionally plays their first regular season game the following Thursday.
Even though many school districts now start classes in August, the long weekend tends to be a five-star farewell to summer, usually celebrated with a big ol' family barbecue. Fire up the grill, chow down, and remember: The best thing about a 3-day weekend is that you come back to a 4-day work-week!
A husband who tried to "save" his wife from a scary spider ended up needing treatment for burns after nearly blowing up his bathroom.
The London Metro says when CHRIS ROBINSON was unable to reach the spider after it scuttled behind the toilet, the 28-year-old grabbed an aerosol can of deodorant and sprayed its highly flammable contents toward the spider, covering the surrounding floor and walls. Sure enough, the lightbulb blew, so he lit a match.
The resulting explosion blew him back into his hallway and left him with superficial burns to his arms, legs and face.
Fire department official say, "We're not entirely sure whether the spider got away or not – but there was no sign of it."
Seven Secrets of Low-Stress Families:
Life should be easy when you have a mommy, daddy, the pitter-patter of little feet and the family dog all under one roof, right? Unfortunately, that's not always the case! Redbook magazine reports researchers from UCLA went on a mission to find how families with two working parents, at least two kids and a mortgage manage to keep it all together --peacefully! 1. Low-Stress Couples Don't Divvy Up the Chores. The key word here is "we" --no keeping score, no keeping track --happy households are focused on their common goals and partners pitch in without being asked. 2. Low-Stress Families Find Small Moments of Togetherness. While "bonding" may be nice to look at on the front of a Hallmark card, the true connections don't have to made on family vacations at Disneyland. Taking time to help out with homework, brushing your little girls' hair or making everyday tasks like laundry fun can go a long way. 3. Low-Stress Parents are Role Models --Not Pals. When mom and dad are patient and supportive of one another the kids can feel it and will be more inclined to act the same. Furthermore, parents who delegated chores to children as opposed to asking which ones they'd prefer suffered through fewer tantrums. 4. Low-Stress Moms Make Dinner From Scratch. Researcher MARGARET BECK discovered that almost every family spends an hour getting supper on the table, whether or not they're using "convenience" foods. Have a picky eater in the house? Put the little ones to work --Ms. Beck found that kids who assisted in food preparation always ate what was served and the mood in the house was lighter with a little team effort. 5. Low-Stress Moms Take Five Minutes of Me Time. The working woman is under a lot of pressure, but unwinding for just a few minutes is a key to keeping mom healthy. 6. Low-Stress Families Watch TV Together. If the gang wants to kick back with some tube time, don't sweat it! Believe it or not --laughing together over a sitcom or checking out your favorite sports teams can be a great way to bond. 7. Low-stress Families Embrace Daily Rituals. Routine and continuity helps families thrive. Reading bedtime stories every night, saying what you're thankful at dinner or any "little moment" repeated daily makes life comforting.
Facebook is adding a new security feature that allows users to remotely log out of the social networking site.
According to PC World, this is a big deal because that means it allows you to see which computers and devices are logged into your account in the first place. In other words, if you signed in at the library and went home, you can log out of the library’s computer from your home P-C.
But if you happen to notice you’re also logged in from a computer in South Africa, you’ll realize someone got ahold of your login information. You can end your session and change your password immediately.
Not all Facebook users will have access to this new feature right away. The company will roll it out gradually. You can see if you’ve got access by checking your Account Settings and then looking for it in the Account Security Section.
Who sleeps with their cell phone?
A new Pew Research study finds 65-percent of adults in the U-S have slept with their cell phone on or next to the bed.
--Broken down by gender, it’s pretty even, but more men than women say they’ve had a cell phone as a bedmate.
--When it comes to parental status, more parents with younger children keep their phones close at hand at night than those without children.
--There’s a huge difference in numbers when broken down by age. Ninety-percent of those in the 18-to-29-bracket say they’ve slept with their cell phone. But just 34-percent of those over age 65 have done the same. More Blacks say they’ve slept with their phones than Hispanics and Whites.
Celebrity Birthdays: singers BARRY GIBB (64), GLORIA ESTEFAN (53), ARCHIE BELL (66), ROY HEAD ("Treat Her Right," (1963) he's 69). Also, actor SCOTT SPEEDMAN ("Felicity" --35), ESPN's KENNY MAYNE (51); lawyer ALAN DERSHOWITZ (72), comedienne LILY TOMLIN (71); Dr PHIL (real name Phillip Calvin McGraw) is 60. Infomercial great BILLY BLANKS (Tae-Bo) is 55. Radio personality PHIL HENDRIE is 58. WWF immortal BAMBAM BIGELOW is 49, The late, great "BOXCAR WILLIE" was also born on this date, along with"Munsters" actress YVONNE DE CARLO, "Superfly" RON O'NEAL and country singer CONWAY TWITTY.
It started with shock and awe, a ground invasion and the fall of SADDAM HUSSEIN.
It continued with ink-stained fingers, Abu Ghraib and years of carnage.
Seven years and five months later, America's combat mission is now over, and PRESIDENT OBAMA marked that turning point last night in only his second address from the Oval Office.
This is the very same desk where GEORGE BUSH sat seven-and-a-half years ago to declare that he had ordered the invasion into Iraq. In fact, Obama noted that he met with the former president and praised him for his unwavering support of American troops.
It's not the end of the war as the president made a pledge "to be both a friend and a partner to the Iraqi people," but President Obama wanted to bring this full circle by declaring the end of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and make demonstrably clear that he's meeting a campaign promise, and that the nation's No. 1 priority is fixing the economy.
BRISTOL PALIN is excited about shaking her stuff on "Dancing With the Stars." The young mom is just like most teenage girls and gushed to Us Weekly that she can't wait to get spray tans and wear rhinestones, but is nervous about showing her personality and moving her hips.
Keep an eye out for her famous mom in the audience --the proud daughter of SARAH PALIN says the former Alaskan governor is her biggest fan and has every intention of cheering her baby girl to victory.
Meanwhile, JOAN RIVERS isn't pleased with the new roster. The comedienne sassed to E! Online that producers have never invited her to be on the show despite the fact that she fits perfectly into the "old lady" category and is upset she didn't get picked.
The Wall Street Journal reports that investigators in Congress are questioning up to a half-dozen lawmakers --three Republicans and three Democrats-- for possibly misusing government money that's set aside to pay for overseas travel.
The paper reported this past March that some lawmakers used daily cash stipends --set aside to cover certain costs of official government travel overseas-- to cover unauthorized expenses.
Congressional rules say that any per diem travel funds must be spent on meals, cabs and other legitimate travel expenses. But when lawmakers travel, many of their meals and expenses are picked up by other people, like foreign government officials or U-S ambassadors.
The problem? Lawmakers are often left with extra money that they usually keep or spend on gifts, shopping or their spouses' travel expenses. There's currently no system in place to return that excess money.
Wow, this woman should be on trial for being criminally dumb. A Michigan juror posted the jury's verdict on Facebook...before the trial was over! How did this idiot even make it through jury selection? Hadley Jons, 20, was serving on a case about resisting arrest. On a day off from the trial, she logged on to the social networking site and updated her status with this gem: "gonna be fun to tell the defendant they're guilty." The post was discovered by the defense lawyer's son while checking juror's names on the Internet, and Jons was promptly removed from the case. The jury's still out on just what was going through this woman's head!
A former coal-mining town in Taiwan has reinvented itself --as a cat-lover's paradise.
The Metro says the village of Houtong, Taiwan used to be a thriving town. But, the decline of the coal industry caused extreme poverty there. As people moved away, stray cats moved in until the whole place was overrun.
Now, the remaining population of around 200 people is charging tourists a fee to hang out and pet the kitties. One visitor said, "It was more fun than I imagined. The cats were clean and totally unafraid of people. I'll definitely return". Check out the pictures here!
The Flashback Weekend
