Most Dangerous Holiday Traffic Day

The most dangerous holiday to drive is New Year's Eve, right? Wrong! According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the most dangerous holiday to take to the road is Thanksgiving. So be sure to drive safe this week. It seems that Thanksgiving is a perfect storm of event: long distance travel, packed roads, long days of drinking wine and beer, sleepy drivers from the turkey and general stress.

Independence Day is the second most dangerous day, followed by Memorial Day and Labor Day. New Year's Eve doesn't show up until number five. The best advice they recommend is to stay home, which isn't an option or most, or to fly. If you must drive, then wear a seatbelt, make a plan for getting home if you're going to be drinking and don't speed.

Why A Couple is Suing McDonald's

Phillip Sherman had a few naked pictures of his wife Tina on his cell phone. Phillip had just finished eating at a McDonald's in Arkansas when he realized that he left his cell phone there. He called the Fayetteville franchise to ask if they would hold the phone for him while to traveled back to pick it up. They agreed to secure the phone for him. Unfortunately, not well enough. The pictures of Tina made their way onto the internet. Now, the couple is suing the manager, the franchise owner and the corporation for $3 million in damages for suffering, embarrassment and the cost of having to move to a new home. The suit was filed on Friday.

Read the full article here. What do you think should happen?

Bad Economy = Fewer Divorces

It seems that when the screws are tightened during a bad economy, couples find a way to stay together or at least postpone divorce. Gary Nickelson, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) says, "Many individuals tend to employ a wait-and-see strategy during a troubled marriage and are very well prepared when it comes time to file for divorce. A sudden drop in net worth can effectively postpone this final decision from being made."

The AAML conducted a survey and found that 37% of AAML members said they typically see a decrease in the number of divorce cases during national economic downturns, 19% experienced an increase. I guess we'll take any bright spot we can with the awful economy.

Ann Dunwoody Becomes First Female Four-Star General

There seems to be a lot of glass ceilings being brought down right now. In this case, Army officials say the promotion of Ann Dunwoody, 55, to become the first four-star general in the history of the U.S. Army is breaking the "brass ceiling." Ann is a 33 year veteran of the Army and her husband is a 26 year veteran of the Air Force. Ann joined in her senior year in college in 1975 and remembers being amazed that they were paying her $500 per month and sending her to airborne school (learning how to jump out of planes). At the time, Ann admits she thought she was only getting into the Army for two years, but now says she knew the first time she put on the uniform that it was all she ever wanted to do.

Where's the next glass ceiling that needs to be brought down? Click here to read the full article.

Will Smith: The Secret to Marriage Is...

It's sad that it's so abnormal, but the fact that Will Smith and wife Jada have made their Hollywood marriage last 11 years is something worth noting. It seems that marriages in Hollywood are in dog years. So what's their secret? In an interview with Essence magazine, Will says it's dedication. "The secret is removing divorce as an option. Anyone who gives themselves that option will get a divorce," says Will. Jada adds in the interview that in order for any relationship to survive, you need to work at it. Will says that in life, we're all alone. "But when somebody loves you, that experience is shared," says Will. "Love is the only real connective tissue that allows you to not live and die by yourself."

What's your secret to a successful marriage?

Science: You Can't Fake Romance

The jokes of older married couples having or showing no romantic connection to one another is tired and boring. Fortunately, there's a new study that proves otherwise. Functional MRIs were taken of 10 married men and women who had been married for an average of 21 years. They were then shown pictures of their spouse and the brain waves reacted, showing a calm and attachment, with a view of their partner as central to their lives, and who they continue to want connection and engagement and maintain a sexual liveliness. It's about time we start looking at our own brain images instead of the trite marriage references we often see in TV, movies and elsewhere. Click here to read the complete article.

Are You Really Eating Worse Than You Think?

Sometimes we made food choices thinking we're doing something good for ourselves, or at least picking the less of two food evils. It may be surprising to some that some standard and popular lunchtime fare is really a pound-packing health bomb.

For example, I don't think a reasonable person would say that a Triple Whopper from Burger King is a healthy lunch, but who would expect that the fat equivalent is like like eating 10 slices of Papa John's cheese pizza! Or how about a Hardee's 2/3-lb Monster Thickburger? The saturated fat in this heart attack between two buns is the same as eating 43 strips of Oscar Mayer bacon. Or how about the Wild Buffalo Chicken Strip Basket at The Dairy Queen; that contains the same amount of sodium as 14 large orders of McDonald's French fries. Whoa! So before you place your next lunch order, be sure to read the nutrition sheet to see what you're really consuming. To read a more complete list of food items, click here.

One Couple's Cost Cutting Tips

We know times are tough...the market tumbled again a few hundred points today. If you're looking to save money here and there, check out the daily habits of this couple, which include unplugging all the electric devices in their home every morning before going to work. What have you done to save money?

Best Places to Raise Your Kids

BusinessWeek has put together a list of the best places to raise your kids in 2009 based on the towns having at least 50,000 residents and a median family income between $40,000 and $100,000. The list then took into consideration the following: school performance; number of schools; household expenditures; crime rates; air quality; job growth; family income; museums, parks, theaters, and other amenities; and diversity. These are weighted so school performance, for example, is worth the most in their ranking. The list is broken down by state and doesn't compare state to state. So in California, where Hitched is headquartered, Arcadia ranks No. 1, while Diamond Bar and Monterey Park are runners up. In Colorado, the No. 1 spot belongs to Fort Collins. In Delaware, it's Wilmington. In Nevada, Paradise ranks No. 1 (sounds good, huh?). And in South Dakota it's Sioux Falls. To read the complete list, click here.

Are you happy with the present location you're at for raising your kids?

Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Linked to Environmental Threats

A new report by the Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility and the Science and Environmental Health Network says that environmental factors such as lead, air pollution, and pesticides can lead to health risks and cognitive disease. Co-author of the repot, Jill Stein, MD says, "As we explored origins and patterns of chronic degenerative diseases, we discovered a web of conditions in the environment--including nutritional, chemical, physical and social factors--that have a direct influence on the risk of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and related chronic diseases. It is clear from these findings that our activities in the areas of food and agriculture, energy, chemical use, and social organization are key drivers in the abnormal loss of neurological function in older people throughout the modern world."

In diet, saturated fat intake was found to greatly increase the risk of dementia. What's frightening is that the report suggests these diseases are being driven by dramatic alterations over the past 50 to 100 years in the U.S. food supply, an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, and exposure to toxic chemicals.

Married Couple Never Separate More than 15 Feet Apart

Could you stay within a 15-foot range of your spouse at all times? Husband and wife journalists, David Plotz and Hanna Rosin did just that--for a day. Click on the video below to witness how the day unfolds and the lessons they learned through their new closeness.