AMERICANS RATE TV NEWS SOURCES

This just in: Fox News is both the most and least trusted TV news source in America.  That’s according to a recent poll, which found that 34% of registered voters trust Fox the most and 39% trust it the least.  The second most trusted TV news source is PBS at 13%, followed by ABC, CNN and MSNBC.  As for the least trusted outlets, MSNBC came in second, trailed by CNN and Comedy Central.  The findings show that Democrats tend to trust any TV news source other than Fox, while Republicans only trust Fox.  

TEEN QUITS FACEBOOK FOR $200

Earlier this week, we heard about a survey that found 60% of Facebook users have taken a break from the site.  Maybe  that number would be larger if there was a cash incentive!  A Massachusetts dad has convinced his 14-year-old daughter to sign a contract saying she’ll quit Facebook for five months in exchange for $200.  According to the agreement, Paul Baier will pay his daughter, Rachel, $50 on April 15th, followed by another payment of $150 on June 26th, in exchange for her social networking abstinence.  Baier will have access to Rachel’s Facebook password to prevent her from reactivating the account without his knowledge.  He claims the contract was Rachel’s idea.

POLL EXAMINES SOCIAL MEDIA PERSONALITIES

A poll asked Facebook users about their social media personalities, and the results will probably sound pretty familiar.  For instance, nearly 40% admit to posting TV or movie spoilers online (interestingly, older people are more often guilty of this than younger users).  And almost 90% of young parents post photos of their kids or other parenting-related content once a month (more like once a day…or once an hour!).  One in ten users has been defriended over their excessive political posts.  And a quarter of men cop to stalking their ex’s Facebook profiles…though we suspect that number is larger; come on, guys, be honest.  

SINGLES SURVEY

According to a survey, all the single ladies- and single dudes- have some strict criteria for potential partners. The top two things both men and women judge about each other are teeth and grammar.  From there, men judge women’s hair, clothes and tattoos (whether they have them or not), while women rate men on their clothes, hair and hands/nails.  Other aspects both consider when sizing up the opposite sex are their cars, their shoes, their accent and their electronic devices.  The number-one thing women want from a man is respect, while men are searching for someone they can trust and confide in.  If you’re in the dating game, be warned: you will be Googled.  Many admit to checking out their dates on Facebook, and almost 40% would cancel based on information they found on the internet.  Today’s singles have a laundry list of deal-breakers- more than 40% wouldn’t date a virgin and more than 60% wouldn’t date someone with significant credit card debt.  On the other hand, half of singles would consider getting involved with someone who lived at home.  More than 40% of women and more than 60% of men have had a one-night stand, a third of which had happy endings.  No, not that kind- 33% of those hook-ups turned into relationships.

HEALTH LAW BANS BIRTHDAY TRADITION

Kids in Australia can have their birthday cake and eat it, too…but candles are a different story.  Thanks to a new national health ruling, children will no longer be allowed to blow out the candles on their birthday cakes at school because of the risk of spreading germs.

MOM SMUGGLES DRUGS TO JAILED SON WITH A KISS

Some mothers would do anything for their sons. But most wouldn’t go this far! Kimberly Margeson, 54, French-kissed her son Tuesday to pass him drugs in prison! Margeson was visiting her son, 30-year-old William Patridge, in an upstate New York lockup where he is being held following a weapons arrest. According to police, she had Oxycodone pills hidden in her mouth and she passed two pills “from her mouth to her son’s mouth when she kissed him.” Gross! Margeson was arrested and charged with a felony drug count and both mother and son were also hit with a misdemeanor count of promoting prison contraband.

MAN’S FAKE EYE POPS OUT ON WITNESS STAND

Bet no one saw that coming! An assault trial in Philadelphia ended in a mistrial Wednesday after a man’s prosthetic eye popped out on the witness stand! John Huttick was testifying about the impact of losing his left eye in an August 2011 fight in a bar parking lot. He was crying as he gave the emotional account when suddenly, the $3,000 fake blue eye fell out! Huttick caught it, but jurors were thoroughly startled. Judge Robert Coleman called it an "unfortunate, unforeseen incident" and granted a mistrial motion by defense attorney Eileen Hurley. A new trial was scheduled for March 4.

MAN BEATS UP BROTHER FOR PASSING GAS

He who smelt it, dealt the first blow.  A man in Austin, TX was arrested and charged with felony assault after he allegedly kicked his brother in the head for farting!  Cops received a call from the victim and later arrested 33-year-old Hector Alonzo Estrada at a local McDonald’s.  Estrada was charged with a felony because of prior criminal acts on his record.  

WOMAN WRONGLY ARRESTED ON HER WEDDING DAY

Well this certainly put a damper on her big day! A bride-to-be was wrongly arrested Saturday just minutes before her dream wedding was set to take place! The woman – who is originally from Malawi - had flown to England from the U.S. in order to be wed at her family’s church. But an administrative mistake got her detained by Customs. She was questioned by police and held in custody overnight before being released without charge on Sunday. It was determined to be a case of mistaken identity. The 35-year-old was finally able to get hitched on Monday afternoon, but police have yet to apologize to the woman.

WORKER PLAGUED BY NUMBER 666

Taxes are the devil’s work! A tax form stamped with the number 666 forced a Tennessee man to quit his job last week in order to save his soul! Walter Slonopas, 52, resigned as a maintenance worker at Contech Casting LLC after seeing the number, which is often used as a symbol of the devil. Slonopas said that after getting the W-2 form, he could either go to work or go to hell. “If you accept that number, you sell your soul to the devil,” he said. And apparently, the number has been plaguing him ever since he started the job in April 2011. He was initially assigned the number 666 to use when he clocked in. He complained and was given a new number. But then in July 2011, the company changed the time clock systems and Slonopas once again got 666! That time he quit, but the company apologized and he returned to work a few days later. That’s a hell of a coincidence!

KIDNAPPERS FORCE MAN TO TAKE THEM TO MCDONALD’S

Some people will do anything for a fast food fix. Three twentysomethings in New Zealand allegedly kidnapped a man and forced him to drive them to a McDonald’s. The suspects approached a 20-year-old driver for a security company at 1 am on February 2nd and demanded he chauffeur them to the burger joint. Once they got their munchies, they had the driver take them home.  The entire ordeal lasted an hour. Once the driver dropped off his kidnappers, who didn’t use any weapons or steal his money, he called the police. The three men were eventually arrested and charged with kidnapping.