Trending This Mornin
Winter Storm Warning from 12n today until 1a Friday. Things will start wet and then turn white. The NWS is forecasting 4 to 8 inches - with isolated higher amounts at higher elevations -this afternoon and evening. You may experience hazardous driving conditions due to the heavy snowfall and winds, especially tonight. Winds 5 to 15 mph with 30 mph gusts as temps drop into the 30s this afternoon.
ACCUMULATION TOTALS from media partners ABC 13 Weather
Roanoke 3" to 5"
New River Valley 4" to 8"
Mountains of southwest Virginia (and West Va) 10"
Danville 3" - 5"
Farmville and Lovingston 2 - 4"
Charlottesville 3 to 7"
Further north 1 - 3"
WEATHER PLANNER
Rain changing to snow. Hi 40. Lo 27. Sunshine returns Friday. Hi 39. Lo around 26. For the weekend: Mostly sunny. Saturday 52. Sunday around 48. Then, the start of a chilly week. Monday, Mostly sunny. Hi 42. 30% chance of snow Tuesday. Hi 32. Lows in the teens. Mostly sunny Wednesday. Hi 35. Lo 22.
President Obama unveiled gun law changes yesterday. Among them: a ban on assault weapons and universal background checks on gun buyers.
The International Olympic Committee has called on cyclist Lance
Armstrong to return the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Olympic Games. The request comes after Armstrong reportedly admitted to Oprah Winfrey that
he used performance-enhancing drugs after years of denial. His interview with
Winfrey airs tonight.
Lookin' Back
1706- Benjamin Franklin, U.S. statesman and scientist, was born.
1916- The PGA had its beginning at a luncheon in New York City attended by many top golfers.
1969- The Beatles' Yellow Submarine LP was released in the U.S. and the U.K.
Cuttin' Cake Today
Actress Betty White is 91. Actor James Earl Jones is 82. Talk-show host Maury Povich is 74. Singer Paul Young is 57. Actor-comedian Steve Harvey is 56. Singer Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles is 54. Actor Jim Carrey is 51. Musician Kid Rock is 42. Actress Zooey Deschanel is 33; First Lady Michelle Obama is 49.
Joke of the Day
What's a dogs favorite pizza? ans - puparoni
Weird News This Mornin'
You won't find many Ravens fans in Patriots country. And that includes Mark McAuliffe, who owns two Massachusetts pubs. So, he's temporarily changing their names to ax the word Raven. The Raven's Nest and The Mad Raven are now The Patriot's Nest and The Mad Patriot. One of his bars is just five miles from Gillette Stadium.
Police in Bradenton, Florida, charge Charles Ross was giving wedgies to people outside of a movie theater. A police report says the 18-year-old likes to pull pranks and post the videos on YouTube. According to authorities, Ross grabbed people by the back of their pants and yanked them up hard. Several victims said they were too embarrassed to press charges. Ross was booked into the county jail for alleged battery. **You may recognize the law firm representing the victimes. The Fruit of the Loom guys.
Smarter Than Question
The tallest one of these ever built was 12 stories high. What is it? A Thursday stumper. The answer is SNOWMAN.
Entertainment Buzz
On the kickoff of Season 12 of American Idol last night, the nice ones, the crazy ones, and the REALLY bad ones.
(Photo: FOX)
The talent pool in New York City offered up 41 promising fish, including 21-year-old music student Christina Isabelle; 23-year-old Shira Gavrielov, who had a No. 1 single in Israel; 24-year-old Brooklynite Frankie Ford, who honed his craft singing on the subway; student and blueberry farmer Sarah Restuccio, 17, who's proficient in both country and "Superbass" (above); 18-year-oldAngela Miller, who has partial hearing loss in both ears; and Ashlee Feliciano, 20, whose family fosters medically challenged children.. Night two tonight on FOX.
Kim Kardashian tells MTV News she plans to take time off to focus on family. She plans to block cameras from a 'private birth'. **There's something different for reality TV.
Former American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi and her builder husband Mike McCuddy are expecting their first child, a son, via a surrogate.
Oprah chats with Lance Armstrong tonight and again tomorrow night on her OWN network. (Finally, somebody is watching OWN. Woo-hoo!)
Kelly Ripa tells Elle Magazine, the reason she looks flawless every morning on Live is thanks to Botox. The "Live with Kelly and Michael" co-host told Elle magazine she gets injections in her face to smooth out lines and in her armpits to minimize sweating. That'll keep you looking young at 42.
Bethenny Frankel will guest star on The Neighbors. She'll play a business woman who offers to help Debbie (Jami Gertz) launch her handbag biz. The episode will air in March or April.
(Photo: Flickr/NCL CEO and Breakaway's Godmothers, The Rockettes)
If you thought the Cake Boss in Roanoke was something in December, wait until he sets sail. Norwegian Cruise Line announced today that Master Baker Buddy Valastro, star of the popular TLC television series “Cake Boss” and “Next Great Baker,” will open an extension of his family business, Carlo’s Bake Shop, on the new Norwegian Breakaway, coming to New York City in May 2013. The Deck 8 shop will feature all the treats and sweets the original bakery’s known for.
Conrad Bain, who played Philip Drummond, on the sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” died Monday, at the age of 89.
Reportedly, Tiger Woods is still devastated by his divorce from Elin Nordegren and is so desperate to win her back he's willing to sign a $200 million pre-nup with a $350 million "anti-cheating clause." The source on this is the National Enquirer, so...
TONIGHT ON TV
ABC: Last Resort, Grey's Anatomy, and Scandal are all new
CBS: All reruns tonight
NBC: All new including 3rd Rock, Parks and Rec, The Office, 1600 Penn, and Rock Center with Brian Williams
FOX: American Idol continues with more auditions
CW: The Vampire Diaries is new followed by a repeat of The Carrie Diaries
News from Nashville
No Wardrobe Malfunctions for Carrie: Carrie Underwood says underneath every skirt, every dress, she's wearing shorts,” Carrie tells Allure magazine. “So that everyone in the world knows, if I ever fell down, nobody would get a peek at anything.” Smart woman, that Carrie. **Besides if any photogs caught it, her hockey hubby Mike Fisher would come after you with a hockey stick. Just sayin'.
Radaronline.com has learned Taylor Swift wants to hook up with Bradley Cooper. And now the superstar singer has asked pal Jennifer Lawrence to introduce her to Silver Linings Playbook co-star Bradley.
Lady Antebellum will team up with rock legend Stevie Nicks for a new installment of CMT Crossroads. They'll swap stories and songs onstage together during the show taping coming up in Los Angeles. The episode will air later this year. Look for a new single from Lady Antebellum's upcoming studio album to hit the airwaves by the end of this month. Isn't it going to be a GREAT January?
Thompson Square has been rehearsing for the Dirt Road Diaries Tour with Luke Bryan andFlorida Georgia Line. They hit the road tonight with a show in Evansville, Ind..
How sad: Country singer Mindy McCready's boyfriend, David Wilson, fatally shot himself in his Arkansas home.
Tim McGraw's Two Lanes of Freedom tour launches May 2 in Birmingham, Ala., and will hit 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada through the end of July.
Lar's This & That
GUYS WILL BE GUYS
According to a new survey, guys have acted like jerks for so long, women don't expect them to be gentlemen. And if they DO try, women get suspicious.
Four in five women want to pay for their own dinner on a date . . . nine in 10 won't let a guy help them carry shopping bags . . . and 11 in 12 wouldn't take a seat if a man offered his. (The Telegraph)
WHO DOES THE MOST CHORES?
A study of working-class families found that even when women are the primary breadwinners, they still do the bulk of the housework. Experts say that unemployed men often feel emasculated, and try to make up for it by reinforcing traditional gender roles in the home. That means that even if they’re sitting around all day instead of going to work, they’ll avoid cooking, cleaning and other tasks commonly viewed as “female.” In fact, studies have shown that men do less housework after losing their jobs, not more.
DOCTOR DOCTOR, GIVE ME THE NEWS
A new Pew survey found 35% of us like to play doctor and use the Internet to self diagnose our medical issues. The main reason we turn to the Internet first is to decide whether or not to consult a doctor. A third of us just handled it on our own.
This article states the obvious two dangers here --
A serious condition could go undetected and untreated
The Internet will often lead you to think you have a serious condition than is actually the case . Duh! You think it's a cold; the internet tells you it's a brain tumor. Thank you for the heart attack, Internet!
THE DATING GAME
Has the online dating game become stale? OKCupid.com wants to freshen things up for you with a new app called Crazy Blind Date. The app aims to eliminate the waiting period involved in setting up a date with an online match.
With the app, meetups are set up with only a few hours' notice -- and you know nothing about them. You simply choose which nights you want to go on dates, select your favorite bar or coffee shop and the app selects a match based on sexual preference and geolocation.
If you enjoy your date, you can purchase credits to give your match higher priority for being assigned to future dates.
MEN'S FANTASIES
Men's Health surveyed a group of men and asked, "Which female occupation inspires the most fantasies?"
Here are the results:
• Nurse
• Teacher
• Executive
• Flight attendant
• Cowgirl
• Cop
• Dental hygienist
THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT 2013
17 days have gone by and Psychology Today has FINALLY told me what the most important things to remember are for this year... here's a sample:
The most important things for parents...
Have a good relationship with their kids. Kids pick up their life lessons by watching their parents. Set a good example.
The most important thing a man can do for his love...
...Cherish them. If your mate feels loved and knows you have their back, it creates a strong foundation.
The important thing a woman can do for her partner...
...be a great cheerleader. We all need to be the star player in the eyes of the person we love.
The most important thing to give yourself is...
...time. Wasting time, which is different from relaxing, is one of the ways we hurt ourselves. Wasting time falls under anger, resentment, feeling sorry for ourselves, and plotting revenge.
Get the rest here
JUST SO YOU KNOW...
According to a study by Dusseldorf University Hospital in Germany, the three objects adults are most likely to accidentally SWALLOW are fish bones . . . chicken bones . . . and dentures. Luckily, swallowed objects pass through without any problem 80% of the time.
Good News Story 
Do you have gently used iPods, Nanos, iTouches and Shuffles in drawer or basement...then you might want to do what Kenny Chesney is doing.
He is out lending a hand to a program called Music & Memory, which he says is a "ray of hope for a lot of people."
This charity creates music players full of songs that can help reconnect people who are suffering from Alzheimer's with good memories and to people around them. There are countless therapeutic benefits to this kind of music therapy. Right now, the group has music players in about 60 nursing homes. Just think if all us sent just ONE of our old iThings. Can you image the difference we could make?
Here's a link.
Lar's Thought of the Day 
"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Abraham Lincoln
