I've always thought it was odd that new parents weren't sent home with an instruction manual with their newborn baby. Everything comes with instructions, but not kids. But not anymore! Texas Health Resources has a new program called Oh Baby which expectant and new parents can sign up for and get a twice weekly email with tips tailor made for their week of their baby. Seven weeks old? Here's a list of things to look out for. That kind of stuff.

The folks who thought of the idea said it was a no-brainer because in the information age, email, Twitter, Facebook is how we get our information. Not to mention TV news.

We talked to a fist time mom who looks forward to her emails to give her insight on what her four month old son should be doing next. I'm not endorsing anything here, but is this a good idea or what? Now there is an instruction manual for parents. Now if they just had to pass a test.

We all remember the horror of the Andrea Yates case. The Houston mother drowned her five children in a bathtub, one by one. Her husband, Rusty knew was mentally ill, but still left her alone with the children. He was never charged and has since remarried, while she remains locked up in a mental facility.

Now, in a Tarrant County case prosecutors are holding a spouse accountable who ignored warnings not to leave his sick wife alone with their child. Michael Maxon was found guilty of abandonment, while his wife Valeria was found not guilty by reason of insanity. She drown their son in a hot tub.

It is a case that breaks new legal ground. Prosecutors have been reluctant to charge parents, who some say have suffered enough already. But no doubt, the Maxon case has changed the legal landscape for good. Maxon will be sentenced next week and could face up to 20 years in prison. Tell me what you think and check out the story link about whether to charge "sexting" teens with a crime at the33tv.com  

Millions of Americans have lost their jobs. The unemployemnt rate in Texas is at about 8%. That sounds really bad until you compare it to California's unemployment rate. We've got it pretty good but not good enough. That's why some very sharp people created PriceDoc.com. Think William Shatner and Priceline.com and you're on the right track.

PriceDoc.com is a website that allows people to shop for the best deals on healthcare, from doctors and dentists to weightloss. Just type in your zip code and up pops a list of doctors and the procedures they offer. Here's the deal: You pay in cash or credit to get the good deal. You can even name your price and if there is a doctor willing to do it for that price, you're in. I'm told most of the people who use PriceDoc.com are either uninsured or underinsured, but people with high co-pays or have limited electives with their insurance are also using the service.

Obviously, it's not for everyone, but If people use it and like, I'm all for it.

My story today was a pleasure. I got to meet a great family and one tough kid. Timothy was born with a congenital disease called "Prune Belly Syndrome." Timothy was facing some long odds. First off, the disease impacts just 1 in 50,000 kids. Timothy's mom was told at 14 weeks that he had a 3% chance of being born alive and she may want to consider terminating the pregnancy. But wait, there's more. Survival after birth was only a 50-50 proposition.

Prune Belly kids are born with little or no stomach muscles and lots of internal problems. But Timothy's dad donated his kidney and now his son is nearly three years old and is just about as normal as can be.

He runs, jumps and romps just like a little boy should. If you got to meet Timothy, I bet you would place a bet on him, regardless of the odds.

That's the promise from Toyota to its customers, the question is will people by it? Despite the recall Toyota seems to think customer loyalty will go unchanged. I visited a local dealership today and talked to Toyota manager Shannon Grape, he said most customers have been very supportive. "No one is panicking, there calling to just get information on when the cars will be fixed" said Grape.

Its a positive sign for Toyota but the hard part is still ahead. 2.3 million cars and trucks need to be fixed and not everyone is going to have a pleasant experience. Toyota has worked hard to establish its loyal following but maintaining that is certainly going to be a challenge.

Now this is music to your stomach, or possibly heart. A California study finds no clear link between saturated fat and risk of heart disease. This was my story for today so we decided to interview a cardiologist, who as you might imagine, does not agree with the study. But here's the fun part of the story, we went to the Burger House hamburger restaurant over by SMU and ran into a guy who had just broken the house record by eating a burger comprised of 26 sliced of beef and cheese. The old record was 25. We told him about the study, thinking it would make him feel better after chowing down on a massive burger. He wasn't impressed and said he was sure he was going to have a heart attack within the next three days. We'll keep you posted. If he does, he'll go down as the champ.

That is what Governor Perry is proposing. He wants to tie school performance to the ability of teens to get a driver's license. So, if a teen drops out he/she can kiss that learner's permit goodbye.

It is not without controversy. What about those teens who are forced to drop out because of a family hardship. They could be punished even more, if they can't get to a job. But, supporters see the upside of teaching teens about responsibility and success.

We should mention that about 19 other states already have similar laws and Texas does require teens to prove they "attended" school to get a license, but this goes further. This would require teens to show progress toward a diploma. Tell me what you think.

An interesting study out of Australia. New moms are often so sleep deprived that it some extremes it's like driving drunk. Being awake for seventeen hours is like having a blood alchohol level of 0.5%. In Texas the legal limit is 0.8%.

We talked to a Rockwall mom who has a two year old son and a six month old daughter. Needless to say, she gets very little sleep. Sometimes she'll take off for the grocery store and after about two miles, realizes she's going the wrong way. Sometimes she'll sit and stare at a green light before realizing it's okay for her to go.

A doctor says she see's many moms who are sleep deprived. Because of of the study, she plans on advising her sleep deprived moms to get a designated driver if they feel too tired to drive. I know that in my occupation, if I don't get enough sleep it makes it hard to concentrate during live shots. It's amazing what our bodies can do, but one thing it can't do without is enough sleep.

Debate over abortion is nothing new, but in Texas it is escalating because of the increased access to late term abortions. For the first time in nearly two years, the procedure is now again available in Dallas. Soon a Planned Parenthood facility will open in Houston that offers abortion up to the 24th week of pregnancy.

All of this puts Texas in the spotlight for what pro-life officials say is an alarming expansion of abortion services in the state. Texas now ranks 4th in abortion services, right behind California, Florida and New York. 

Tell me what you think? How do you feel about the expansion of abortion to include women who are 6 months pregnant?      

File this one under hard to believe but maybe true. Under Armour and a couple of other companies are making performance mouthpieces that promise to raise your performace on the field or whatever recreational activity you take part in. They claim the mouthpiece relaxes the jaw whice allows the athlete to relax and have better air flow. A dentist we interviewed said the Under Armour device actually reduces the amount of cortisol produced when we clench our teeth. Cortisol actaully causes fatigue.

The Vikings Adrian Peterson uses one and the Yankees Derek Jeter reportedly wears one. Oh, and then there is this: many New Orleans Saints players reportedly wear them and they won the Super Bowl. Talk about performance.

We get a lot of sports celebrities through the studios because of Inside Sports, but the guest Sunday evening was a refreshing and very polite surprise.

Dallas Maverick, Rolando Blackmon ventured to the 33 studios for a live interview. He introduced himself, like we didn't know who he was and then proceeded to be extra friendly. It isn't like most of the other athletes aren't very likable people, they are ... but, Blackmon was even more so. 

I do get a little star struck with professional athletes, maybe it is their size in real life. But, when I joked about the team's new additon, a former Kansas Jayhawk I was sure that would get a raised eyebrow from Blackmon who played for rival K-State. But, no he just smiled and laughed. 

Go Mavs. Come on tell me your "celebrity encounter" stories.

It is a serious problem, affecting tens of millions of women.  Many of those who suffer from it are in their 20's and 30's.

There are some "Venus Meets Mars" ways you can tackle this troublesome issue at home.  Medical professionals say it can be a mental or emotional.  It can also be a symptom of something physical.  Don't be afraid to seek psychiatric or medical help!  It's real and important.

Experts say:

*Try exercise.  It can have huge benefits to low sexual desire.  It improves body image and lessens stress.

*Communicate with your partner.  There isn't such a thing as too much.

*Make time for sex.  Make it a priority.  Switch up times and locations. 

Again, don't be afraid to ask for help.  Here are a few websites for more information.

www.thecenterforsexualenrichment.com

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/female-sexual-dysfunction/ds00701

Obesity is out of control in America. We all know it. Some 5 million teens are considered obese. It's such a problem that Australian researchers decided to see if surgery or study was more effective when it comes to kids losing weight.

Here is how it worked: 25 Kids 14-18 years of age had lap band surgery while 25 other kids went through lifestyle modification, you know, eat right, exercise, portion control. Not so amazingly the lap band kids did much better, in fact, it wasn't even close. Of the lap banders, 84% lost half of their excess weight or an average of 79 pounds. The lifestyle group? Not so hot. Only 12% lost half of their excess weight or an average of 7 pounds.

Researchers say the study shows that lap band surgery can be safe and effective when treating kids for obesity, but there is one problem and that is insurance companies rarely pay for the procedure. Researchers say that more studies may influence insurance companies to change their ways.

10 fires later, arson investigators still don't know who may be behind a series of church fires. Authorities do think they are dealing with a serial arsonist in East Texas, but catching the person or persons won't be easy. As officials will tell you, all the evidence gets burned up.

The series of fires has put churches on edge. I was told tonight that inside some small churches, armed security is ready and waiting just in case someone with a fire urge wants to stop by. There is a $25,000 reward and that could go a long way toward catching whoever is to blame. Let us hope the tips come in before another house of worship, burns.   

The NBA All-Star game is in Dallas and fans are going nuts. Our very own Jim Grimes gave us a sneak peak of "Fan Jam" which is a place where fans get in on the fun and maybe even rub shoulders with their favorite players. I got hooked on the NBA as a kid growing up in northern California. I remember the great Bill King doing play-by-play for the Golden State Warriors. I have no idea why, but when I saw Jim's live shot at "Fan Jam" I had a flashback of King doing his signature call.

"Jim Grimes, dribble drive baseline, fall-away jumper from twenty-five feet. Got it! Nothing but nylon. Grimes on fire."

Leave the Grimes part out and that was pretty much it. Here's the problem with being a lifelong Warriors fan: King would usually follow up the play by adding "Warriors now down by just 25."

It's the NBA, and for the most part, I still love it and my helpless, hapless Warriors.

It's the NBA All Star weekend in Dallas and some pretty brave fans made it out to the Convention Center for the Jam Session. I did a live shot outside and it felt like I was convering the winter olympics rather than the NBA. You have to love fans who are that fanatic.

As for me, I've had a very long day of being told where I can park, which door I can enter. Everyone there is very nice, but everyone there also has a different answer. I enjoyed chatting with Mark Cuban and Commissioner David Stern. Couldn't be nicer, so nice I may actually watch the All Star game on Sunday.

When was the last time you had to go a few hours without internet, TV or even a hot cup of coffee. That is what 206,000 North Texans were dealing with today. Hundreds of homes and businesses were still in the dark after the record snowfall and it is still unclear when people may be back online.

Oncor officials say they have called in extra help and are working around the clock, but it could take a while to restore power. It isn't easy dealing with heavy trees, covered in snow that have come crashing down. 

If you know someone who is still without power, be sure to tell them to call it in. Also, don't touch any downed lines.

Be sure to check out the Winter Wonderland photos I have attached. If you have the chance to enjoy the snowfall, it really is beautiful.

http://www.the33tv.com/news/kdaf-viewer-snow-pics-story,0,3717323.story

Dining out this weekend? After all it's Valentine's Day weekend which means everyone will be dining out. Keep this in mind, Dallas code compliance requires restaurants that go without power for more than two hours to be inspected before reopening. Food can go bad in a hurry and make people sick.

We talked to a restaurant owner who was clearned to reopen. The restaurant lost a lot of money during lunch, but he hopes to make up for it Friday night and through the rest of the weekend. Sanitary inspectors admit that they'll never get to all of the restaurants that had power outages because of the snowstorm, but here's the good news. It's been cold so most of the food it just fine. Really, don't even think about it, just enjoy your Valentine's Day dinner.

I really had to feel for some of the people I interviewed today. Many of them have been sitting in their cold homes, bundled up for days without electricity. They are using firewood to keep warm and candles for light. I can't even imagine keeping kids entertained for days without modern day conveniences.

Residents are beginning to complain after being without power for so long. They wonder if there is some special treatment being shown to some areas, as opposed to others. I don't know about that. I do know they are hardy people to tough it out for days. 

If you are bumping along on some highways in North Texas, you are not alone. Potholes are everywhere following last week's record snowfall.

That freeze-thaw weather left behind an awful calling card. Now, the state is trying to make repairs, but it won't be a quick fix.

We talked with the owner of a tire shop today, Jeff Wright who owns Hill Tire and Service says not to panic when you hit the bumps in the road. The best advice he has is to drive over the potholes. He says swerving to avoid the bumps can be dangerous. If at all possible, Wright says to drive slowly over the potholes. Good Luck and stay safe. 

Better known as Deep Vein Thrombosis. It doesn't get much ink, but it kills 200,000 Americans every year. You may know DVT as the ailment that passengers get while flying for hours on a plane or sitting for long periods of time in a car. It can happen to anyone, including a 30 year old mom we interviewed. She ended up with a blood clot after having back surgery, doctors tried the usual blood thinnners but nothing worked. Doctors then decided to use a new tool called the Trellis device which uses balloons to block off the clot and releases medicine. The device then shakes, mixing the medicine and breaking up the clot. Here's the nasty part: It's then sucked out. Yuk. But when death is a distinct possibility, having blood sucked out is a very good thing. We interviewed a doctor at Methodist-Dallas who is one of only about 100 or so doctors across the country using the device. DVT may not get much ink, but health officials are coming up with new ways to make sure it doesn't make the headlines.

If you drive through Colleyville you will see sprawling mansions and estates, but even in this affluent city, leaders are saying "no new taxes". Tonight, city leaders rejected a plan to slap a residential utility tax on citizens. The tax would have covered gas, electric and telephone. Many residents weren't happy with paying more, even if it was just about $30 a year.

But, in the meeting leaders were adamant. They cited being "mad at Washington" and not wanting to burden their citizens with more taxes. The tax would have funded crime-fighting measures. City leaders say Colleyville needs to tighten it belt, because that is what many of its residents are doing.

It was a beautiful day in north Texas, sweater weather and blue skies. But in Arizona and Florida, spring has sprung. It's called spring training and pitchers and catchers arrived today. I used to be a really big baseball fan, but my San Francisco Giants have been so terrible of late that I've sort of lost interest. Until today. I have spring fever. Last week at this time a monster snow storm rolled into town and I was freezing doing bad weather stories.

Today, the snow was gone, the sky was a brilliant blue and in two locations it was spring. In Texas, we still have to wait a month.

The technology has been around for years but TSA has found a new way to use it. Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) equipment, is small enough to carry around so why not do just that? According to the TSA the ETD equipment is about the size of a large suitcase. Officers can now roll the machines through terminals and randomly test passengers for traces of explosives. It's just another layer of security and unlike body scanners and pat-downs this is much less intrusive.

Athletic shoe makers must be shaking in their boots because more people are running without shoes. It's called natural running or barefoot running. Natural running requires a sock with toes and a think layer of rubber for protection. Barefoot running is exactly that, no shoes, no socks, no nothing. Both fall under the header of natural running. I interviewed two guys who are soled, I mean sold, on natural running. One ran in shoes for years but had lingering knee and hip pain but when he switched to natural running the pain went away. The other guy grew up in South Africa where all the kids ran without shoes, including Olympian Zola Budd.

It sounds odd, but a physical therapist we visited said it's actually good for you because running shoes have so much padding that runners tend to strike first on their heels. That's why the first guy had knee and hip issues. The therapist has been running barefooted for seven years. That's what I call a trailblazer. She runs in the winter, summer and on sidewalks. I think I'll wait until the weather is better and head for the park.

By now you have heard the mea cupla by golfing legend, Tiger Woods. What did you think. I watched it with a group of stylists and patrons at Pompeo Salon in Dallas. If he meant to change the opinions of women, he didn't in this gathering. Most, if not all of the women, were turned off by his scriped apology and they thought did not seem very heartfelt.

Even, some of the men int he salon couldn't get on Tiger's bandwagon. Most thought the 15 minute speech seemed like something that will be turned into a comedy routine on SNL this weekend. Many noted that Tiger's wife, Elin was not present. That many people said spoke volumes about the turmoil that remains in the marriage. This is one of those cases where only time will tell if Tiger will ever be the role model all of us once knew.

That's the message from some financial experts on this eve of new credit card rules going into place. 

They are sweeping changes designed to protect consumers from some of the more controversial credit card practices (Can you say buh-bye universal default double cycle billing?) but they won't be a catch-all for everything and everyone.

To learn more, watch me.  Just kidding.  Watch those in the know tell us what they know here at the33tv.com

It does seem like an odd twist that the two men arrested in a string of church arson cases are in fact church-goers themselves. Officials say Jason Borque and Daniel McAllister attended the same baptist church. The men were arrested and charged in one fire, but officials say they are believed to be connected to 11 fires since the first of the year.

Borque's grandfather described him as a "christian". The teary-eyed man said is grandson is a great guy. No one answered at McAllister's home. The fires put churches on edge. Many facilites had started volunteer patrols to protect the churches. Today, officials praised those efforts as instrumental in warding off even more tragedy.

It is a controversial proposal: requiring women who are considering an abortion get a sonogram and be forced to watch it. Republican primary voters will get to answer that question on the GOP ballot. Democrats can vote, if they cross over. The vote is non-binding but will send a powerful message to lawmakers. 

Already, more than a dozen state require a sonogram before an abortion. Oklahoma is embroiled in legal challenges because the law there requires a woman watch the images. In Texas, pro-life advocates say they won't go that far because it gets questionable with the courts. They do believe some measure will pass the legislature next year. But pro-choice supporters say they will fight the plan.

That is the big question floating around as congress and federal investigators dig into the Toyota troubles. Electromagnetic signals are everywhere, with cell phones and other electronic devices very prominent. But, there are questions about whether EMI could be causing interference and disrupting the sensitive systems of high-computerized cars.

Some believe there is no way EMI plays any role in the runaway car problem, but others believe it is worth looking into. The carmakers have kept much of the testing a closely guarded secret, but now may be the time to throw the door open and reveal all about whether your cell phone chat could be endangering someone elses' life. 

I like it when I do a story and I learn something. Today I did a story about baby sign language. Who knew? I mean, kids can learn to sign before they can even speak? The answer is yes. We interviewed one mother who's daughter had learned 50 signs before she was a year old. Parents and kids like it because it takes a lot of the frustration out of the parent-child relationship. Babies are less frustrated because they may not be able to talk, but they can communicate their needs while parents are less frustrated because, well, the baby is less frustrated. Parents also claim that when kids can speak, they tend to expand their vocabulary faster than kids who did not learn how to sign and therefore communicate better.

I think as a requirement to run for politcal office, you must prove that you learned sign language as an infant. Just an idea.

Move over Angelina Jolie, now everyone can have lips like yours. They're called PermaLip and they're made of silicone. Think breast stuff for the lips. Doctors numb the mouth, then make tiny incisions in the corners and slide the fillers through. They come in small, medium and large. If you go small and want big, they can be removed. If you don't like them at all, they can be removed. The doctors who invented PermaLip practice in Plano. The device is FDA approved as a facial filler and will soon likely gain approval as a permanent lip filler. I'm told it will be the only one of it's kind.

The device is already approved in Europe as a permanent lip filler and you just watch, when it gets final approval here, it will get big. Big as Angelina Jolie's lips.

Here is a great article I found from CNET News about how to protect not only your children, but youself when it comes to identity theft. I know I learned a few tips:

Enjoy Adults are increasingly aware of the risks of identity theft, but how many of us think about protecting our children's identities? This is an issue that we should be thinking about from birth, when baby registries, online birth announcements, and even the "Stork News" sign in the front yard expose kids' personal information--name gender, date of birth, and home address--to the wider world.

Children who get their identities stolen may not know for years, until they grow up and go to apply for a job, student loan, or credit card themselves. You can imagine what a mess that would be. It is important to periodically monitor our kids' credit reports to make sure there is not any strange activity going on.

The South Carolina Now website has a good article on this topic, with links to many resources.

One of the experts in the article points out that parents often use their child's identity because of their own bad credit. Strangers pilfer identifying information through mail, trash, and poorly secured forms (say, at a school or doctor's office).

Some basic precautions start with the idea of paying attention, investigating unusual occurrences such as a young child receiving loan or credit card offers in the mail, and building in precautions like investing in a home office shredder.

Everybody should review their credit reports with the three major credit bureaus, which you can do free once year.

We need to watch what others are saying about us online, and what information we are giving out. Many websites, even legitimate ones, are not in compliance with COPPA, the law that requires verifiable parental consent to collect personal information from kids under age 13. I am researching this topic in greater depth for a separate post, but in the meantime, it makes sense for us require our kids to ask permission before registering for any web site. If you feel uncomfortable sharing the information, don't. The extent of data mining, and how that information is used, is not fully known yet.

Identity theft creates yet another issue for parents to add to their list of important tasks, but this is definitely a case where an ounce of prevention is well worth the effort.