the buzz log

Falcon Heene, AKA Balloon Boy, Perched on His Roof

A deceptive autumn lull settled on the domestic scene, partly as people tried to dodge H1N1. Amidst all the handwashing, though, tumult remained over health care discussions, Afghanistan policy, and an exciting but perplexing Nobel Peace Prize honor bestowed on a freshman president. Besides headlines and Halloween, the Buzz had time to listen to creepy confessions and flights of fancy. Below, just a bit of the stories—and searches—on Web overdrive.

The Other Kind of Swine
The tale of cheating men is as old as man itself, but yet their shenanigans never fail to rivet...especially when it involves David Letterman, who has taken jabs over the decades at cheaters, and attempted blackmail by a CBS "48 Hours" producer. The host made a "creepy" confession on his show and another apology to offended females this year. The late-night drama made the sex-addiction confession by fired ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips seem tame, although he got the boot for canoodling with a 22-year-old production assistant (one of many events that helped end his 19-year-old marriage). Philips entered sex rehab. At this rate, someone might want to start a mobile clinic.

Frolicking Flyboys
Eyes turned to the skies when it seemed an amateur storm chaser's son had accidentally taken off in a helium ballon. The media frenzy was for naught, as the now ironically named Falcon Heene had hid in the rafters, and the whole episode turned out to be a really bad reality-TV audition. No hoax but questions remain over how Northwest Flight 188 pilots overshot their destination by 150 miles and remained incommunicado for 75+ minutes. The cockpit blamed "heated" scheduling discussions and laptop distractions. The FAA called their excuses "a frolic" and suspended them. Passengers can still believe in the skies: Hudson River hero Captain Chesley Sullenberger published his biography this month.

Afghan Course
In the long conflict, October has proven the deadliest for US forces in Afghanistan. General Stanley A. McChrystal has argued for more manpower and, after much consultation with military commanders and civilian advisers, the White House will lay out "broad strategic guidelines" until the Nov. 7 election runoff between President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abudullah...even if the challenger boycotts. Reports point to a compromise which follows American history, as Newsweek details in a look back at troop requests since the Revolutionary War.

Filed under: Reality TV, Celebrities, Monthly Wrapup, Hoaxes, Military, Halloween, War, Nobel Prize, Barack Obama, David Letterman, Afghanistan, Wrap Up

This past week, folks got a chance to see a famous CEO's return to the spotlight, as well as the long hidden hair of one of daytime's biggest names. Not to mention a congressman who couldn't hold back. Take a look back at those stories and more with the Buzz Week in Review.

Back on the job
Few CEOs can be considered celebrities. Steve Jobs, the big guy at Apple, is certainly one of 'em. The visionary founder has been out of the public eye for months after undergoing a liver transplant earlier this year. This past week, the mock-turtlenecked Jobs returned to the stage to announce some new products from his company. Truth be told, the announcement didn't really create much buzz, but Jobs' appearance and his public thank you to his organ donor inspired a huge boom in search. Queries on "steve jobs cancer," "steve jobs photos," and "steve jobs liver transplant" all roared.

Releasing Tyra's locks
Tyra Banks has been keeping her hair prisoner for years. The talk show host has been wearing wigs and weaves and apparently never once let her real hair out on her TV show. This week she finally shared it with the world. In celebration of her show's fifth anniversary, Ms. Banks performed her hosting duties sans wig. The "big reveal" brought in a boatload of buzz. Searches on "tyra banks hair" and "tyra banks real hair" posted big gains. As for the hair itself, it looked perfectly ordinary to us. Kind of a letdown, really.

Say it ain't so, Joe
On Wednesday night, President Obama gave a highly anticipated speech on health care reform. Everybody knew passions would be running high. Still, it came as a bit of shock when Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina yelled, "You lie!" while the president was speaking. Rep. Wilson apologized to Obama a short time later, but by then the search engine had left the station. Queries on "joe wilson" and "who yelled you lie" both screamed to the top of the search box. And, while both Republicans and Democrats criticised Wilson's behavior, it's worth noting that he took in $200,000 in donations in the days following his outburst (his Democratic opponent for 2010 earned $750,000 in donations, thanks to the episode).

Also buzzing this week...
• The NFL season just started and Pittsburgh is already down a man.
• Tyler Perry released another Madea movie on the masses.
• GM announced a new money-back guarantee.

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Filed under: Recaps, Week in Review, Wrap Up

The hot days of August became days of mourning for political leaders (Cory Aquino, Kim Dae-Jung, Ted Kennedy). Health conversations took on an unhealthy tone, and reality TV dominated real-life crime headlines. Below, a look at searches and buzzy stories on Yahoo! this month.

The Last Days of Camelot
While June's celebrity departures seemed a turning point for Generation X, the loss of two political paladins marked an era's passing. The legacy of America's most well-known political family came under review twice with the deaths of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics, and brother Edward Kennedy. Dogged by the Chappaquidick incident, the Massachusetts senator abandoned presidential ambition but still shaped everyday American life by helping to create nearly 1,000 laws on health, civil rights, disability, immigration, education, and more. 

Health Check-Up's Negative Results
High decibel levels and superheated rhetoric complicated the already unwieldy mission to reform health care. Rifle-toting protesters and outright falsehoods made town-hall meetings look like a Jerry Springer episode. Still, online outreach—including details from the White House—and research into "obama health plan details" persisted. Meanwhile, more immediate health concerns pushed up queries for flu shots.

Reality Checks
The normally escapist fare of reality TV took an awful turn with a murder-suicide. The VH1 series "Megan Wants a Millionaire" had finished filming and aired only two episodes when news came out that a finalist, Ryan Jenkins, had allegedly killed his wife and swimsuit model, Jasmine Fiore. His suicide three days later led VH1 to cancel that show, as well as celebreality show "I Love Money 3," which Jenkins had competed and won.

Filed under: Health, Reality TV, Politics, Monthly Wrapup, Crime, Recaps, Death, Wrap Up