The Buzz Log What’s hot on Yahoo! Buzz™ (and why)...

Our crack team of editors takes a closer look at the hottest trends on Yahoo! Buzz.

  • Black Friday

    Black Friday

    Stay Safe this Friday

    by Mike Krumboltz

    3 hours ago

    A typical shopping trip doesn't result in broken bones and injuries. No need for strict safety measures 364 days a year. But on Black Friday? That's when an ounce of prevention can save you a pound of flesh at the emergency room.

    After last year's tragic death during a shopping stampede at a Wal-Mart, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued some safety tips for getting through Black Friday in once piece. The guidelines are aimed at retailers responsible for providing their employees with a safe working environment. That can be a tall order on a day when thousands of sleep-deprived shoppers are desperate to grab rare deals.

    So what are the guidelines? The OSHA recommends retailers have security personnel or police officers on site, but that's not all. Stores expecting big crowds should use barricades, make sure local emergency services are aware of the event, use bullhorns to address the crowd, and be aware of the building's maximum occupancy. This year, expect more stores to let shoppers in at a slow and steady pace rather than all at once.

    Web searches on "black friday safety" have climbed steadily over the past week. There are also numerous articles and blog posts on the risks shoppers and employees face on Black Friday. MSNBC reports that Wal-Mart for one has implemented many changes. Hopefully all retailers can keep their employees and shoppers safe and out of the ER.

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    2 Votes
  • JLo Upright

    JLo Upright

    JLo's "Louboutins," JFK's Death, Black Friday Coupons: What's the Buzz

    by Claudine Zap

    11 hours ago

    Our top picks from the day's hottest searches.

    1. Black Friday coupons (Searches increased by 3,175%). Websites are already promoting deals for the day after Thanksgiving.
    2. John F. Kennedy assassination (+1,450%). Today marks the 46th anniversary of the 35th president's untimely death.
    3. Weekend box office results (+210%). Not bad for a bunch of teen vampires and wolves: The "New Moon" saga brought in the third biggest box-office gross in history.
    4. "Louboutins" (+204%). JLo took a tumble while performing her new single — an ode to the sky-high heels.
    5. Susan Boyle news (+140%). The Internet novelty act put out her first album, which broke pre-order sales on Amazon. Critics were slightly less enthusiastic.
    4 Votes

  • Obama's Brother, Elizabeth Lambert, and a Special Delivery: Buzz Week in Review

    by Mike Krumboltz

    Nov 20, 2009

    New faces stirred the Search box this week. Folks quickly turned to the Web to learn more about the president's half-brother, a vilified soccer player, and a 2-year-old who helped deliver his baby brother. Catch up on these stories and more with the Buzz Week in Review.

    President Obama's family time
    He's still incredibly busy running the country, but President Obama found a little time this past week to catch up with his half-brother. While visiting Beijing on a diplomatic trip, Mr. Obama set aside a few minutes to talk with Mark Okoth Obama Ndesandjo, who shares the same father as the president. Mr. Ndesandjo made some headlines several months ago when he spoke about growing up with whom he called his "abusive father." He and the president have rarely seen each other in person. After their latest meeting, Mr. Ndesandjo said he felt overwhelmed and "over the moon" about getting to see his famous sibling. Details of what was discussed weren't revealed, but Searches still soared on both men's names, as well as "obama family tree."

    Foul play on the pitch
    In the Internet age, a person can become famous in the blink of an eye. Or, in Elizabeth Lambert's case, infamous. The college soccer player became the focus of intense scrutiny this week after footage surfaced of her pulling an opponent down by her ponytail. The clip has been viewed millions of times on YouTube, and Ms. Lambert has since been suspended indefinitely by her team, the University of New Mexico Lobos. For her part, Ms. Lambert has expressed intense regret for the poor sportsmanship, and is seeing a psychologist to "help her better understand her actions."

    Special delivery
    It was something out of a bad sitcom: Mom can't get to the hospital fast enough, so her toddler has to help deliver the new baby. This time it really happened, and we're happy to say that both mom, toddler, and baby are doing fine. Bobbye Favazza of Mississippi went into labor and ended up giving birth on the living-room sofa. According to a popular AP article, the woman's toddler, Jeremiha, "got her a towel and caught the baby before firefighters arrived to cut the umbilical cord." The story caught the attention of searchers. Lookups on "two year old delivers baby" experienced a miraculous surge.

    Also buzzing this week...
    • "New Moon" opened to ravenous crowds and tepid reviews.
    • Oprah will end her talk show in 2011.
    • Look out, Homer: There's a new character in Springfield.

    291 Votes

  • "New Moon" Movie Goers

    New Record for "New Moon"

    by Claudine Zap

    Nov 20, 2009

    The vampire sequel "New Moon" may not be scoring big with critics. But that sure won't be true for the box office. Hordes of Twi-hards stampeded movie theaters for a first look at a midnight viewing.

    In fact, fans helped make the teen sensation a record-breaker, with the largest audience ever for a midnight movie. The picture reportedly raked in over $26 million, and beat out similar midnight showings of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "The Dark Knight."

    Of course, we could have guessed that the Robert Pattinson vehicle would go over well: One-day lookups on the Web have soared over 100% for "new moon movie." Movie buffs have also been busy searching on "new moon movie tickets," and "pre order new moon tickets."

    All this suggests, says USA Today, a movie weekend that could be the biggest of the year. Stay tuned for further record-breaking news.

    9 Votes
  • Don't Do It: Movie Popcorn Is Calorie Bomb

    Don't Do It: Movie Popcorn Is Calorie Bomb

    Horror at the Movies: Popcorn

    by Claudine Zap

    Nov 20, 2009

    We would want to be the last ones to ruin movie night, but this just in from Center for Science in the Public Interest: Chowing down on a medium popcorn and soda is the calorie equivalent to three McDonald's quarter-pounders and 12 — yes 12 — pats of butter. And it gets worse: About 90% of this 1,600 calorie bomb comes from fat.

    We know, shocker: Movie popcorn is bad for you. But it's even worse than we thought. The killjoys who conducted this test point out that sitting through a two-hour movie isn't exactly "climbing Mt. Everest," but theaters are feeding us like we are. After all, where else do we get food in containers called tubs?

    Mainly, the blame lies with the coconut oil used to pop the corn that really packs on the pounds. The two worst offenders are the biggest movie theater chains, Regal and AMC. The theater chain Cinemark switched to the healthier canola oil, so their salty snack comes in slightly better at under 1,000 calories for a medium popcorn. But still. Not exactly diet food. And all this is before you pour on the butter-flavored topping. Not to mention sodium levels that are off the charts. Those super-sized candy boxes are pretty bad too, adding up to around 500 calories for your favorite sugary snack. (And soda — simply extra empty calories in extra-large cups, the study says.)

    The L.A. Times quoted a spokesperson for Regal defending the supersized practice by explaining that movie food is a "treat and not intended to be part of a regular diet." But heck, it's so unhealthy, should it even be part of an irregular diet? Clearly, the popcorn police think not.

    Intrepid reporters at the New York Post headed to a local movie theater for follow-up. One movie-goer suggested cut-up fruit and veggies as a better way to go. Health food at the movies — why would anyone even bother?

    This study is a follow-up to the original report that exposed the shocking truth about popcorn back in 1994. In response, some movie theaters offered — gasp — an airpopped alternative. Guess how well that went over. So successful, the study had to be done again 15 years later. The critics may whine, but the people have spoken: Feedbags with extra butter and salt, please.

    389 Votes