The following stories are brought to you by the fine folks on the News4 assignment desk.
ANOTHER DC SITCOM IN THE WORKS
ABC has a D.C.-set sitcom in the works from Friends and How I Met Your Mother alum Greg Malins and, er, Arianna Huffington. Freshmen will follow three newbie representatives — two men and a woman — who share a house. (And more! I’m guessing.) Malins told Variety that he “always knew [he] wanted to do a show” in DC, and that “once [he] discovered that members of Congress often live together,” he knew he was set. He might have “discovered” this one of the nine billion times it’s been written about in the New York Times alone, all of which mention its sitcommy potential. But okay. (PopWatch via DCist)
NO MORE WEEKENDS AT BERNIES
Bernard Madoff's Long Island beach house has a new owner. For now, the presumed millionaire who bought the ocean view Montauk home of the former financier remains a mystery. The buyer signed a contract to purchase the four-bedroom, three bath house late Wednesday night, sources said. Listed at $8.75 million, the seaside home was among the real estate and property seized by U.S. Marshals and put on sale in an ongoing effort to reimburse the thousands victimized in Madoff's massive Ponzi scheme. (NBC Washington)
PRAYING GETS YOU PREGGERS
U.S. states whose residents have more conservative religious beliefs on average tend to have higher rates of teenagers giving birth, a new study suggests. The relationship could be due to the fact that communities with such religious beliefs (a literal interpretation of the Bible, for instance) may frown upon contraception, researchers say. If that same culture isn't successfully discouraging teen sex, the pregnancy and birth rates rise. Mississippi topped the list for conservative religious beliefs and teen birth rates, according to the study results, which will be detailed in a forthcoming issue of the journal Reproductive Health. (LiveScience)
AT LEAST THE LOTTERY IS DOING WELL
The Virginia Lottery turned a profit of more than $439 million for the state's K-12 public schools. Officials say the profits for fiscal year 2009 are 3.6 percent lower than the previous year, but is still the third best year for the lottery. Sales for the year stayed relatively flat at about $1.37 billion. Players won $781 million in prizes in the lottery's Pick 3, Pick 4, Mega Millions and Scratcher games. The Lottery kept its operating expenses to 5.4 percent for the year, below the 10 percent allowed by Virginia law. (WTOP)
