According to media expert and author Michael Levine(www.MichaelLevineMedia.com ) , the Fox News Republican debate beat out Donald Trump’s boycott event in TV viewership. Levine said, “Fox’s event was watched by roughly 8.4% of homes with television sets, while Trump’s veterans event only brought about a quarter of that audience combined on CNN and MSNBC.” The debate, however, was the second-lowest-rated of the 2016 season, edging out only the Fox Business debate from two weeks ago, according to Levine.

INSIDE JOB- Mechanic Suspected in Egypt Plane Crash

An EgyptAir mechanic with alleged ties to ISIS is being accused of planting a bomb on a Russian passenger jet that crashed in October. Egypt’s official statement remains that there is no evidence the flight was taken down by terrorism. The plane crashed in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 224 people on board. Sources told reporters that the mechanic, whose cousin has joined the terror group, that two airport police officers, and a baggage handler have all been detained in connection to the purported bombing. One of the sources said, “After learning that one of its members had a relative that worked at the airport, Islamic State delivered a bomb in a handbag to that person.”

*YIKES! – 48.9% of Union Members Worked for Government in 2015:

The percentage of American wage and salary workers who belonged to a union was only 11.1 percent in 2015, but the percentage of union members who worked for government was 48.9 percent, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. “The union membership rate–the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of unions–was 11.1 percent in 2015, unchanged from 2014,” the BLS said in press release published today.

*LBN-INVESTIGATES: In recent years, shortages of all sorts of drugs — anesthetics, painkillers, antibiotics, cancer treatments — have become the new normal in American medicine. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists currently lists inadequate supplies of more than 150 drugs and therapeutics, for reasons ranging from manufacturing problems to federal safety crackdowns to drugmakers abandoning low-profit products. But while such shortages have periodically drawn attention, the rationing that results from them has been largely hidden from patients and the public.

*SETBACK – HIV Developing Resistance to Key Drug

HIV is developing a resistance to key drug, Tenofovir. A study looking at 2,000 HIV patients worldwide found that the virus was resistant in 60 percent of cases in several African countries. In Europe, that number was 20 percent. Lead authorRavi Gupta called the results, which were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, “extremely concerning.” Officials said improper administration of the drug may be causing the difference. Gupta said, “If the right levels of the drug are not taken, as in they are too low or not regularly maintained, the virus can overcome the drug and become resistant.”

*LBN-INVESTIGATES: A person is more likely to have a heart attack on Monday morning than on any other day of the week.

Jefferson Airplane’s Paul Kantner Dies

Jefferson Airplane’s founding guitarist and singer Paul Kantnerdied Thursday of multiple organ failure and septic shock. He was 74. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that he had a heart attack earlier in the week. Kantner had been in poor health in recent years and suffered a heart attack last March, according to the Chronicle. In 1965, he formed Jefferson Airplane and scored hits such as “Somebody to Love” and “White Rabbit.” Five of the band’s seven albums went gold. Kantner recorded a solo album, Blows Against the Empire, with Jefferson Airplane singer Grace Slick in the early 1970s to begin the formation of his second band, Jefferson Starship, which went on to score platinum and gold records. Kantner left the group in 1984, but rejoined in 1992 and continued to play with them until his death.

*THINK FREELY – READ LBN:

*LBN-BUSINESS INSIDER:   ***Amazon was expected to run away with the holiday season. Instead, it merely strolled. Revenue for the fourth quarter was a bit lighter than expected, the Seattle company reported on Thursday, and profit was a whole lot skimpier. Wall Street was crushed. The $24 billion or so that investors had added to the company’s market value earlier in the day immediately vaporized, and then some.

*LBN-NOTICED:   ***Oliver Platt taking in “King Charles III” at the Music Box Theater on Thursday.   ***Kyle Richards and a blonde lunching at Serafina Meatpacking in NYC.   *** Oliver Stone and wife Sun-jung Jung taking a snowy stroll around Battery Park City’s North Cove in NYC.   ***Ryan Phillippehelping Todd English celebrate his Resident magazine cover at new development 88 & 90 Lexington in NYC.

Comedian Paul D’Angelo’s Book Wins Numerous Literary Awards In 2015

Boston Comedian Paul D’Angelo’s debut book, “Stories I Tell,” earned rave reviews and won three prestigious literary awards. D’Angelo’s collection of comedic observations was a Gold Medal winner in the 2015 e-Lit Awards, a Finalist in the 2015 International Book Awards and earned Honorable Mention in the 2015 New York Book Festival.

Paul says, “It’s just one funny story after another presented in the style of my act… stories from my childhood, my days in law school, and working as a prosecutor prior to defending criminals; stories about show business, struggling to make it in L.A. and celebrity encounters; plus social sarcasm, original comedy routines that rarely make it into my act, and material that comes across better on the page than on the stage. It’s a fast, fun read.”

*LBN-MEDIA INSIDER:   ***After nearly two decades, Esquire editor in chief David Granger is leaving the magazine. Town and Country editor in chief Jay Fielden will replace Mr. Granger.   ***Jim VandeHei, the co-founder and CEO of Politico; Mike Allen, author of the influential Politico Playbook;Kim Kingsley, the chief operating officer; Roy Schwartz, the chief revenue officer; and Danielle Jones, an executive vice president will all leave the company later this year.  Susan Glasser, Politico’s top editor, will step down after 2016 and take on a strategic role with Politico as director of editorial innovation from Jerusalem. Glasser is moving to be with her husband, a New York Times reporter who is being promoted to Jerusalem bureau chief.  John Harris, the editor-in-chief who co-founded Politico with VandeHei in 2006, will take over at Politico’s helm for the time being.

*LBN-SITE OF THE DAY:

GetHuman

“The fastest way to get customer service by phone, chat, email, or even by having the company call you back. GetHuman has millions of tricks and shortcuts to make sure you get help better and more quickly than ever before.”

*LBN-COMMENTARY by David Brooks: For a few decades, American and British conservatism marched in tandem. Thatcher was philosophically akin to Reagan. John Major was akin to George Bush. But now the two conservatisms have split. The key divide is over what to do about the slow-motion devastation being felt by the less educated, the working class and the poor. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have appealed to working-class voters mostly by blaming outsiders. If we could kick out all the immigrants there wouldn’t be lawbreakers driving down wages. If we could dismantle the Washington cartel the economy would rise. In Britain David Cameron is going down another path. This month he gave a speech called “Life Chances.” Not to give away the ending or anything, but I’d give a lung to have a Republican politician give a speech like that in this country.

Iran’s supreme leader on Wednesday once again repeated provocative assertions about the Holocaust, defying the world on a day that it paused to remember the victims of the Nazi genocide in Europe.  Ayatollah Ali Khamenei released a video in which he said America “assists the fake Zionist regime” and that when “they say in their slogans that they are opposed to terrorism and ISIS they are lying,” according to a translation by the Middle East Media Research Institute. Of the Holocaust, Khamenei remarked: “It is not clear whether the core of this matter is a reality or not. Even if it is a reality, it is not clear how it happened…This is the ignorance that exists in today’s world. We should be awake. [Muslims] should know that we can stand up against the ignorance.”

Kate del Castillo, the Mexican actress who allegedly helped actor Sean Penn arrange an interview with El Chapo for Rolling Stone magazine, says she has been exposed to life-threatening danger as a result of Penn’s actions. Castillo says she didn’t know Penn was working with Rolling Stone and that it was sprung on her just minutes before they sat down with the fugitive cartel boss, a claim that Penn disputes. The interview took place during a meeting that was supposed to be about a movie El Chapo, born Joaquín Guzmán Loera, was looking to make about his life. TMZ reports that Penn received approval to write the story for the magazine but did not inform Castillo until the last minute.

Several days after “affluenza teen” Ethan Couch dropped his deportation appeal, Mexican officials confirm they’ve put him on a U.S.-bound commercial flight to Dallas, where he will face charges. Couch fled Tarrant County after violating the terms of probation for his conviction in killing four people in a drunk-driving wreck. He and his mother were found in a Puerto Vallarta, Mexico resort in December, several weeks after they went missing.

Serena Williams charged into her 26th Grand Slam final by destroying Polish tennis star Agnieszka Radwanska on Thursday in the women’s semifinal at the Australian Open. If she wins Saturday, she would tie Steffi Graf’s all-time Slam win record of 22. Williams has won 21 of her 25 former major finals. “I’m really excited to be in another final, it kind of blows my mind right now,” the 34-year-old said. “I feel I am playing the best I can, and I can’t believe I am in the final.” She added, “I started playing aggressive again in the second set and it worked out.”

*LBN-MEDIA INSIDER:   ***A top editor at Michael Bloomberg’s media empire has left the company, citing concerns over how it will cover the former New York City mayor’s presidential aspirations. Kathy Kiely, the Washington news director at Bloomberg Politics, said she resigned from her post after growing uncomfortable with the way her outlet responded to news that Bloomberg is considering an independent White House bid.

*LBN-INVESTIGATES: Men
1. In Old English, human men were referred to as “wer,” while the term “man” was used to describe humanity as a whole. During the thirteenth century, “man” gradually replaced “wer” as the term for an adult human male while also maintaining its use as an expression for the entire human species.

2. Worldwide, there are approximately 107 baby boys born for every 100 baby girls. Scientists believe the elevated birth rate in favor of boys may be linked to the higher mortality rates of boys in infancy and childhood.

3. Globally, boy babies are 25% more likely to die in infancy than girl babies.

4. Average height today for men in the U.S. is just over 5′ 9″ (175 cm) and average weight is approximately 190 pounds (86 kg). In 1960, average height for men was about 5′ 8″ (172 cm) and average weight was just over 166 pounds (75 kg).

5. Worldwide, men have a life expectancy of 64.52 years, as compared to a life expectancy of 68.76 years for women.

6. The most common cause of death for men in the U.S. is heart disease (the same as for women), and the average age of a first heart attack for men is just 66 years.

7. In the U.S., men have higher death rates for all of the 15 leading causes of death (with the exception of Alzheimer’s disease) and die more than five years younger than women.

8. The brains of adult men are about 10% larger in total size than the brains of women. Because men generally have a larger stature and more muscle mass than women, their brains require more neurons to control the body.

9. Scientists have discovered than men’s and women’s brains actually function somewhat differently. When focused on a task, men tend to use only one side of their brain at a time, devoting all of their attention and concentration to the task at hand. Women, on the other hand, tend to use both sides of the brain at the same time, making them more adept at “multi-tasking.”

10. The word “boy” has been in recorded use since A.D. 1154 as a descriptive term for a male child. The exact etymology of the word is unclear, but it is believed to have descended from the Anglo-Saxon word “boia,” meaning “servant” or “farm worker.”

5 Arrested After California Jail Escape

Orange County officials say they have arrested five people in connection to the escape of three dangerous inmates from a maximum-security prison in Southern California last week. Sheriff-Coroner Sandra Hutchens said Wednesday that police were focusing on a Vietnamese gang, but declined to say who was arrested or on what charges. More than 250 members of law enforcement have been searching for Hossein Nayeri, 37,Jonathan Tieu, 20, and Bac Duong, 43, who rappelled from the prison’s roof to escape on Friday.

*LBN-VIDEO LINK: 

*LBN-MY REVIEW: “I love the new format of LBN. World-class design.”—–Rory W., an LBN reader from Boston, Mass.

*LBN-MUSIC INSIDER:   ***Sting will headline the 2016 NBA All-Star Game halftime show, set to take place February 14th at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.   ***Kanye West is in full-on “[I’m] the greatest artist of all time” mode, and not even his label bosses at Def Jam can control him. “Kanye drives Def Jam more off the wall than any other artist drives anyone at any other label off the wall. He tortures them!” says an industry insider.

*LBN-NOTICED:   ***Rooney Mara seeing “Fun Home” in NYC.   ***Naomi Campbell at David Grutman’s Komodo in Miami.   ***Katie Lee, Martha Stewart and Marc Murphy at The Lambs Club in NYC celebrating Geoffrey Zakarian’s100th episode of Food Network show “The Kitchen”.   ***Ivanka Trump at Il Mulino Uptown in NYC.   ***Hugh Jackman at a surprise Sundance premiere of “Eddie the Eagle”.   ***Todd English showing Herb Karlitz how to make white truffle pasta at Bluezoo in Orlando, Fla.   ***Bethenny Frankel at Ocean Prime New York.

*LBN-R.I.P.:   ***Walt Williams, a high-energy, free-swinging outfielder who played for four major league teams but who was probably best known for the unusual physique that earned him the nickname No Neck, died on Saturday in Abilene, Tex. He was 72. The cause was a heart attack, his wife, Ester, said.   ***Barney Hall, whose folksy delivery brought Nascar racing to life for radio listeners across the country for more than five decades, died on Tuesday. He was 83. The cause was complications after an operation, according to Nascar, which did not say where he died. Mr. Hall called his first Daytona 500 in 1960 and missed it just four times in 57 years.

*LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

Former New York Giants safety Tyler Sash, who died from an accidental overdose of painkillers, was found to have a high level of CTE when he died in September at age 27, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated trauma and has been found in dozens of former National Football League players. Sash’s family, who donated his brain to science, were reportedly notified by Boston University and the Concussion Legacy Foundation that he had been diagnosed with the disease, which can only be confirmed posthumously. Officials told the family that the disease had “advanced to a stage rarely seen in someone his age,” the Times reports. Sash was released by the Giants in 2013 and struggled with “confusion, memory loss, and minor fits of temper” that hindered his ability to find meaningful employment after he left the league, according to the Times.

China Detains Its Economic Data Chief:

The head of China’s economic data has been detained as part of a bribery investigation and a widespread an anti-corruption crackdown, according to state-run media. Chairman of the National Bureau of Statistics and former Deputy FinanceMinister Wang Bao’an, 52, allegedly made “severe disciplinary violations.” Several other finance leaders have been detained in the last several years as part of the nationwide effort. The move comes amid a meltdown in Chinese stock markets and its slowing economy; China’s economic statistics have been met with skepticism by Western officials.

*WHO READS LBN? CAA head Richard Lovett

*LBN-INVESTIGATES: Teens and older adults in America are shifting to virtual sex, choosing pornography “because it is less risky than actually having sex,” according to a blockbuster new survey of porn in America. In the study, “The Porn Phenomenon,” the only area of growth area of why young and older men and women age are turning to porn is because they believe a picture or a video is safer than the real thing. For those age 51-69 it is the fourth highest reason for why they watch porn. But it also one of the key reasons teens age 13-17 use porn. “‘Being less risky than actual sex’ is higher motivation among both teens and older adults — for different reasons, presumably,” said the study, portions of which were provided to Secrets from the Barna Group. The full report will be released in April.

*LBN-INVESTIGATES: White, rather than black, is the Chinese color for mourning and funerals.

*UNIQUELY, LBN: Acclaimed radio talk show host and author Rita Cosby, an LBN reader from New York City, New York

*LBN-HEALTH WATCH:   ***Young adults who spend a lot of time on social media during the day, or check it frequently throughout the week are more likely to suffer sleep disturbances according to a new study.  The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that doctors should now consider asking young adult patients about social media habits when assessing sleep issues.   ***Some people really do win the genetic lottery.  For the first time, scientists have shown that intelligence is linked to good health, so those blessed with brains are also less likely to become sick, develop disease or die early.  The reason is down to genes. An international team, led by the University of Edinburgh, have discovered that the same gene variants which make people smart, also protect them against illness.

*LBN-NOTICED:   ***Julie Bowen made an interesting style choice while working out in LA last week. A spy spotted the “Modern Family” star working out at an Equinox in West Hollywood with a “fake ponytail attached to her ball cap.” The LA insider added that Bowen was recently at the same gym several times and “her hair wasn’t that long,” and the new mane “looked like different hair than what was on her head.”   ***Lead Stories founder Alan Duke having dinner last night at the popular Izzy’s Deli in Santa Monica.

*LBN-SITE OF THE DAY:
Science World Report
“Science World Report reports, explores and interprets the results of human endeavor from the eyes of the researcher and the interested public.”

*LBN-COMMENTARY by Thomas L. Friedman: Now in his last year in office, President Obama is in legacy mode. He has much to be proud of. But if he doesn’t want his achievements muddied by foreign policy, he’ll spend his last year redoubling his efforts to contain the Middle East refugee crisis before it goes from a giant humanitarian problem to a giant geostrategic problem that shatters America’s most important ally: the European Union. I know — putting “European Union” into the lead of a column published in America is like a “Do Not Read” sign. Maybe I should call it “Trump’s European Union.” That would go viral. But for the two of you still reading, this is really important.

*LBN-A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

*LBN-OVERHEARD:   ***Robert Redford is pretty sure this is the best Sundance Film Festival they’ve ever had, and he also knows that things have to change. It’s not the films. The quality, he said, is better than ever. It’s the size. “I’m starting to hear some negative comments about how crowded it is and how difficult it is to get from venue to venue when there’s traffic and people in the streets and so forth,” Redford said. “We’re going to have to look at that.”