Top Stories

Phoenix Shooting

At least one person has died and two others were wounded when a man opened fire at an office complex in Phoenix yesterday, and a manhunt is continuing for the shooter.  Police do not believe it was a random shooting, and they have identified the suspect as 70 year old William Harmon – who is to be considered armed and dangerous.  The shooting reportedly came over a contract dispute.

Alabama Kidnapping Standoff Continues

Police in Alabama say the man who shot a bus driver and took a five year old boy hostage yesterday was due in court yesterday to face charges in another shooting incident.  According to neighbors, Jimmy Lee Dykes is a retired truck driver and has quite a volatile reputation since moving to the area about a year ago.  The standoff continues this morning, but by most accounts the boy is not in danger.

Chile Quake

A 6.7 magnitude earthquake hit northern Chile yesterday afternoon.  Fortunately it did not trigger a tsunami, and so far the reports are that damage has been minimal.

Giffords and Guns

Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly testified before a Senate Committee yesterday about gun violence.  Remember Giffords was shot at a Tucson mall two years ago, and the couple has since formed a gun control group called Americans for Responsible Solutions.

Boeing’s Bad Batteries

The problems that Boeing has been having with the batteries in their jets may be having a bigger impact on one corner of Family Life Nation.  Tucson is the home of the company that makes the battery charger, and the FAA has called for an investigation into why the batteries aren’t working.  No flights have been canceled, but that’s because their 787s have been grounded.  Now there’s some evidence to suggest that Boeing knew there were issues before the first batteries failed.

Toyota Recall

One million Toyotas are being recalled. Included in the list are some Corolla and Lexus models. The Corollas airbag can deploy unexpectedly. The Lexus windshield wipers don’t work when there’s a lot of snow.  To see if yours is a part of the recall, click here. 

Catch a (REALLY BIG) Wave

We don’t talk much about surfing, but have you seen the pictures of what may be the new world record for biggest wave surfed?  It still has to be confirmed, but Garrett McNamara has reportedly ridden a 100-foot wave off the coast of Portugal.  That would better his current record of 90 feet that was set back in 2011.

Faith

Does God Have a Favorite Team?

Who’s going to win the Super Bowl Sunday?  Maybe the better question is “Who does God want to win?”  A new poll from the Public Religion Institute says that 1 in 4 Americans believe God influences the outcome of sporting events.  Perhaps more interesting is the breakdown of the numbers.  White, evangelical Protestants are most likely to believe God has a hand in sporting events – almost 40-percent, compared to 29-percent of Catholics and 19-percent of folks in mainline denominations.

Top Mega-Church Cities

A new study by the Barna Group says Las Vegas is the most mega-church oriented city in America.  Nearly one in three Christians in Vegas go to a church with at least 1,000 people.  Other cities in the Top 5: Baton Rouge, Tampa/St. Pete, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston.  The least mega-church oriented city: Salt Lake City, Utah.

Work

Full Disclosure at Work?

If you work in an office, chances are you get to know some of the more intimate details of each other’s lives – like how your kids are doing in school.  Some offices are taking that to the next level, by letting employees in on things like company financial details, peer performance reviews, and in some cases even the individual pay of everybody in the office.  According to the Wall Street Journal, companies that use this “Warts-and-All” approach say it builds trust among workers and makes them more aware of how their contribution affects the whole company.

Finances & Economy

Expired Tax Reduction Affecting Spending

The hike in the payroll tax has had a bigger impact on the economy than expected.  New research shows that when the government dropped the payroll tax rate for Social Security to 4-percent, people didn’t think they’d use as much of the extra cash as they did.  Now that the rate is back up to 6-percent, people are realizing just how much they miss that cash – and they’re making more cuts to their spending as a result.  That study was done by the Federal Reserve Bank in New York and found that tax cuts spread out over time lead us to spend more than one-time lump sums.

Sundry Savings

Are you trying to eat better on a budget? Josh Elledge of Savings Angel says Use coupons. Use them on sundries and other items you don't care which brand you have. Apply that saved money toward healthier food choices. Click here for more information.

Markets

A down day on Wall Street Wednesday as the DOW JONES was off by 44 to close at 13,910.  The S-and-P 500 was down 6 and the NASDAQ fell 11 – however that was before Facebook stock tumbled by as much as 10-percent at one point after the close.  That’s when the company released their fourth quarter earnings.

Health

Deep Sleep and Your Memory

The old grey matter ain’t what it used to be.  It’s no secret that your memory skills decline as you age, even in those who don’t have issues like Alzheimer’s.  Now a new study shows one of the reasons for that – is that the older you get, the less deep sleep you get.  Researchers compared a group of 20 year olds to a group of 70 year olds and found that the older group was 50-percent less able to remember things after sleeping.

Sweet Snacks

Do you snack in between meals? Nutrition Expert Doug Ingoldsby says listen to your body.Try to snack on things that are real food.  Sweet cravings are put into the human body for a reason. The reason is because when you have a nutritional deficiency, you naturally crave sweets. Back before we started engineering food, where did God put the sweet things? He put it in the fruit. But also in the fruit, you find your antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. If you’re craving sweets, grab an apple instead of a piece of cake.