DANCING WITH THE STARS
The competition is getting tighter, and the ladies are shining brighter as the 10 remaining couples danced either the jive or tango on last night's Dancing With the Stars. There is a three-way tie for first place between Cheetah Girl Sabrina Bryan and Scary Spice Melanie Brown -- both dancing the jive -- and Jane Seymour, who was told after last week's competition that her mother had died. Jane and partner Tony Dovolani executed a riveting tango in honor of her mother. Marie Osmond and Jennie Garth, both dancing the tango, also pulled away from the boys with scores that found them tied for second. Wayne Newton's attempt at portraying a gaucho in a tango fell short and landed him solidly in last place again. But anything could happen as last year's "Crazy Swamp Bear" Billy Ray Cyrus can attest when he performs tonight with Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus. Also performing in tomorrow night's results show is Seal.
Dancing With the Stars Leaderboard
Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas- 27
Mel B and Maksim Chmerkovsky- 27
Jane Seymour and Tony Dovolani- 27
Jennie Garth and Derek Hough- 26
Marie Osmond and Jonathan Roberts- 26
Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough- 24
Cameron Mathison and Edyta Swilinska- 23
Floyd Mayweater and Karina Smirnoff- 21
Mark Cuban and Kym Johnson- 20
Wayne Newton and Cheryl Burke- 18 (our elimination prediction!)
IS YOUR CAR ON THE LIST?
Yesterday, the National Insurance Crime Bureau released its annual statistics on the most stolen vehicles in the U.S. And, in 2006, car thieves proved once again: They're REALLY not interested in a challenge.
Not a single luxury car made the top 10. Only one vehicle made THIS CENTURY is in the top 10. No, the most stolen car in the country last year was... the 1995 Honda Civic.
The rest of the top 10: '91 Honda Accord... '89 Toyota Camry... '97 Ford F-150 pickup... 2005 Dodge Ram pickup... '94 Chevy C/K 1500 pickup... '94 Nissan Sentra... '94 Dodge Caravan... '94 Saturn SL... and '90 Acura Integra.
The main reason older cars dominate the list: There are more of them on the streets, so there are higher numbers to steal. The second reason: They don't have the more modern, sophisticated security systems or ignitions.
Overall, 1,192,809 vehicles were reported stolen, which is down 42,417 from 2005. BUT... based on an average value of $6,649 per stolen vehicle, that means, in 2006, there was still more than $7.9 BILLION in losses.
Only 59% of last year's stolen vehicles were recovered... which is the lowest recovery rate in more than a decade.
For California specifically, the top five stolen cars are...
1) 1991 Honda Accord
2) 1995 Honda Civic
3) 1989 Toyota Camry
4) 1990 Acura Integra
5) 1994 Nissan Sentra
