CNN Debate Tonight, Smoking Ban in Cars, & More in Chad’s Steaming Pile

Here are just a few things in Chad’s Pile that you will hear on Lubbock’s First News this morning. Give Chad your feedback on the steaming topics.

1. CNN Debate tonight

It's time for yet another debate. This time the debate will be on CNN and on a night without football. The debate will center around national security which is a pretty big topic and one that a few of these candidates should do well in. The debate will start at 7pm our time and I hope they will stay on message and stick to national security issues.

I think we will see Newt Gingrich and even Rick Perry come out strong in this debate. Perry did well a few weeks ago in a debate on national security but that debate was seen by very few people since it was on during college football on Saturday. Sorry, but Saturday night debates aren't going to be watched by many people.

Do you plan on watching tonight's debate?

2. First class (link)

Plan on traveling overseas anytime soon? If you haven't in a while, check out what some airlines are now doing for first class customers. Of course, the price tag for a lot of these tickets is around $15,000.

Carriers on international flights are offering private suites for first-class passengers, three-star meals and personal service once found only on corporate jets. They provide massages before takeoff, whisk passengers through special customs lanes and drive them in a private limousine right to the plane. Some have bars. One airline has installed showers onboard.

The amenities in the back of the cabin? Sparse.

So as domestic travelers take to the skies for the holiday season, most will be in cramped cabins, their food is likely to be bland and they will have paid for it, along with any fees for slightly more legroom or checked bags.

But even as they have cut back on domestic service, including first-class accommodations, the airlines have been engaged in a global battle for top executives and the superwealthy on their international routes. Though only a privileged few can afford to pay $15,000 to fly first class from New York to Singapore or Sydney, the airlines are betting that the image of luxury they project for the front helps attract passengers to the rest of the plane. That includes a growing business-class section with offerings once solely the preserve of first class.

Sign me up... for Business Class at least!

3. Smoking in your car (link)

Are the British looking to ban smoking inside your own car? Probably, and don't be shocked to hear this making it's way to the U.S.

In research released on Wednesday, the British Medical Association said that the confined environment in automobiles exposes drivers and passengers to 23 times more toxins than a smoky bar. Children are especially vulnerable to second-hand smoke since their bodies absorb more pollutants.

"Smoking in enclosed spaces is especially dangerous," Dr. Jonathan Whiteson, director of the cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation and wellness center at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, told CBS News. "Outdoors, smoke gets carried away on the breeze - one puff and it goes away." But in a car, he said, the smoke is recycled.

What's more, he said, toxic residue from cigarette smoke can linger on surfaces even after the air has cleared.

In Australia, Canada, and parts of the U.S., smoking in cars is banned when kids are present. In the U.K., smoking in public vehicles like buses and trains is banned, but there is no law against smoking in private cars.

It's coming.

These and many more topics coming up on Tuesday’s edition of Lubbock’s First News with Chad Hasty. Tune in mornings 6-9am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App.