Week of December 22, 2008

The average national price of gasoline fell 9 cents the past two weeks, bringing it

to its lowest point in nearly five years, according to national surveys. The average

price of regular gasoline Friday was $1.66 a gallon, oil industry analyst Trilby

Lundberg said. The price of mid-grade was $1.80 a gallon and the price of

premium was $1.92 a gallon.

Toyota - Japan’s top auto maker slashes its earnings forecast again this week,

projecting that it would report its first operating loss ever for the fiscal year

through March on waning global demand and a surging yen. "The change that

has hit the world economy is of a critical scale that comes once in a hundred

years," President Katsuaki Watanabe said at the company's Nagoya office. The

drop in vehicle sales over the last month was "far faster, wider and deeper than

expected."

Let it snow - Several thousand

travelers remained stranded Monday

after a rare weekend snowstorm

walloped Seattle. The National

Weather Service said 6 inches of

snow fell in the area Saturday and

Sunday, leaving some travelers

trapped at the airport and that

" several thousand " people were still

stranded at Sea-Tac airport. Airport

officials handed out 2,000 blankets

Sunday night, and the American Red Cross delivered 200 cots. Elsewhere,

residents and work crews dug out from what many called the worst snows in

years. The 14.5-inch snowfall Sunday in Portland, Maine, surpassed the old

record for Dec. 21 of 12.4 inches, set in 1933, according to the National Weather

Service.

Pope Benedict XVI in his Christmas message warned that the world was headed

toward ruin if selfishness prevails over solidarity during tough economic times.

Speaking from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on the day Christians

commemorate Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, Benedict declared that the "heart of the

Christian message is meant for all men and women."

Peruvian police say five nightclubbers are dead after a tear gas grenade was

detonated in the middle of a crowded disco. Police officer Jaime Munoz says

nine people including a minor have been arrested on suspicion of setting off the

canister in the "Boom" nightclub.

Week of December 22, 2008

Israeli warplanes retaliating for rocket fire from the Gaza Strip pounded dozens of

security compounds across the Hamas-ruled territory in unprecedented waves of

airstrikes Saturday, killing at least 290 and wounding more than 700 in the

bloodiest fighting in recent memory.

Wal-Mart confirmes that it will be selling Apple’s iPhone 3G beginning Sunday at

about 2,500 stores. The price, with a new two-year service agreement with AT&T

(or qualified upgrade), is $197 for the black 8GB model and $297 for the black or

white 16GB version. "We are delighted to bring customers this groundbreaking

mobile technology," Gary Severson, Wal-Mart senior vice president of

entertainment, said in a statement. "Our electronics associates have been

preparing for many weeks for the arrival of iPhone 3G."

Two-thirds of Americans think religion is losing its influence on U.S. life, a sharp

jump from just three years ago when Americans were nearly evenly split on the

question, according to a new Gallup Poll. Sixty-seven percent of Americans think

religious influence is waning while just 27% say it is increasing. That perspective

demonstrates a continuing downward trend, Gallup said. But the 27% figure is

still higher than the record low, set in a 1970 poll, when just 14% of Americans

thought religion was increasing in influence.

A football spectator pleaded not guilty to

charges of trespassing and assault and battery

for tackling New England Patriots linebacker

Junior Seau on the sidelines during the team’s

47-7 win over Arizona on Sunday. Todd Kobus,

of Attleboro, appeared in Wrentham District

Court on Monday where a pretrial hearing was

set for Feb. 17. “I’m just a big fan of Junior

Seau,” the 31-year-old Kobus said in court. “I

meant to give him a big hug. I absolutely did not

mean to tackle him or anything along those

lines. It was a stupid lapse in judgment.”

Entertainment news The most popular

Christmas song in terms of download sales is

“Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24” by the Trans-

Siberian Orchestra with 480,000 downloads.

Movie results from last week - Jim Carrey's comedy Yes Man was No. 1 with

$18.2 million, according to studio estimates from box-office trackers Nielsen EDI.

The debut was about $5 million below projections.Smith's drama Seven Pounds

also took a hit. It brought in $16 million, about $3 million below what analysts

Week of December 22, 2008

predicted. That puts in jeopardy Smith's streak of eight straight movies to take in

more than $100 million.

Movie estimates - day after Christmas… Box office takes nationally are: No. 1

Fox's Marley And Me $15M in 3,480 theaters, No. 2 Paramount's The Curious

Case Of Benjamin Button $11M from 2,988 venues, No. 3 Disney's Bedtime

Stories $10M for 3,681 runs, and No. 4 MGM/UA's Valkyrie $8M from 2,711

plays, No. 5 Warner Bros' Yes Man $5.5M for 3,434 theaters, No. 6 Sony's

Seven Pounds $4.5M in 2,758 dates, and No. 7 Lionsgate's The Spirit $3.5M

from 2,509 venues.

Passing - Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer,

dancer and actress who rose from South

Carolina cotton fields to become an

international symbol of elegance and

sensuality, has died, a family spokesman

said. She was 81. Andrew Freedman

said Kitt, who was recently treated at

Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, died

Thursday in Connecticut of colon cancer.

Kitt, a self-proclaimed "sex kitten"

famous for her catlike purr, was one of

America's most versatile performers,

winning two Emmys and nabbing a third

nomination. She also was nominated for

several Tonys and two Grammys.

Hot hits this week in 2008 - Thanks R&R..

BRITNEY SPEARS WOMANIZER

9200 +568

58.861

JIVE/ZOMBA

T.I. FEAT.

HANNA LIVE YOUR LIFE

DEF JAM/GRAND

9128 +233

60.488 1

HUSTLE/IDJMG/ATLANTIC

JASON MRAZ I'M YOURS

8189-359

45.55

ATLANTIC/RRP

58 LADY GAGA FEAT. COLBY O'DONIS JUST DANCE

STREAMLINE/KONLIVE/CHERRYTREE/INTERSCOPE 7934 +774 49.25 3

KATY PERRY HOT N COLD

7117-789

41.864 5

CAPITOL

KEVIN RUDOLF FEAT. LIL WAYNE LET

6429-507

38.922 6

IT ROCK

Week of December 22, 2008

CASH MONEY/UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC

PINK SO WHAT

5947

33.96 10

LAFACE/ZOMBA

1168

TAYLOR SWIFT LOVE STORY

5926 +628

34.286 9

BIG MACHINE/UNIVERSAL REPUBLIC

T.I. WHATEVER YOU LIKE

5847-580

38.901 7

GRAND HUSTLE/ATLANTIC

BEYONCE IF I WERE A BOY

5551-403

32.04 12

MUSIC WORLD/COLUMBIA

BEYONCE SINGLE LADIES (PUT A RING

ON IT)

5517 +1184

37.035 8

MUSIC WORLD/COLUMBIA

AKON RIGHT NOW (NA NA NA)

5356 -16

28.77 14

SRC/UNIVERSAL MOTOWN

KANYE WEST LOVE LOCKDOWN

5245 +327

32.36411

ROC-A-FELLA/DEF JAM/IDJMG

NICKELBACK GOTTA BE SOMEBODY

4781-159

22.46315

ROADRUNNER/RRP

NE-YO MISS INDEPENDENT

4680-589

31.76113

DEF JAM/IDJMG

SAVING ABEL ADDICTED

4665-464

20.69616

SKIDDCO/VIRGIN/CAPITOL

RIHANNA REHAB

3554 +171

16.38521

SRP/DEF JAM/IDJMG

LEONA LEWIS BETTER IN TIME

3262-331

19.31118

SYCO/J/RMG

Top movies this week in 2008 -

Marley and Me

Bedtime Stories

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Valkyrie

Yes Man

Seven Pounds

Tales of Despereaux

The Day The Earth Stood Still

The Spirit

Doubt

Four Christmases

Twilight