Reports television news channel 4 in Milwaukee:

He works as a clown, but what he’s accused of isn’t funny at all.

Ron Schroeder is in jail, accused of sexually assaulting a woman and taking nude pictures of her.

He’s better known as “Silly The Clown,” and he’s performed at many children’s parties.

Schroeder has a troubled history; something most parents didn’t know when they hired him for birthday parties.

That was the case for one Cudahy mother. She was disturbed when we told her of Schroeder’s recent arrest. “Very shocked,” says Renee McElwee. “We had absolutely on idea that anything like that was going on with him.”

Two years ago McElwee hired Ron Schroeder to be a magician at her twin boys’ 6th birthday party. “The kids had a ball and there were probably 20 kids there that day, they all played with him. He dressed them up and put makeup on them.”

McElwee found Schroeder’s online at sillytheclown.com. She tells us, “(There were) lots of comments on the web site about what a great job he did, and we added our own saying he was really an outstanding performer.”

What McElwee and other parents didn’t know was Schroeder has a troubled past. He’s never been convicted of a serious crime but according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Greenfield Police considered Schroeder a suspect in the 1991 death of his infant daughter. He was also served with two restraining orders.

Now - Schroeder sits in a Waukesha County jail cell. He’s charged with sexually assaulting a woman while she was unconscious at his Brookfield home. He’s also charged with taking nude photos of her …..without her consent.

Ratings for the CBS Evening News continue to head south, even below Dan Rather’s dismal numbers in his waning days.

Writes David Bauder of the The Associated Press:

It surely wasn’t what CBS dreamed about when Katie Couric was hired: the “CBS Evening News” last week recorded its smallest audience since 1987, and probably many years before that.

It also didn’t help that the average of 6.05 million viewers came at the beginning of the important May ratings “sweeps.”

Meanwhile, ABC’s “World News” recorded its widest advantage in viewership over NBC’s “Nightly News” since the week Peter Jennings died in August 2005. The victory, ABC’s ninth in 13 weeks over NBC, adds to the sense that Charles Gibson is eclipsing Brian Williams as the nation’s favorite network news anchor.

“World News” averaged 8.1 million viewers last week (5.7 rating, 12 share). NBC’s “Nightly News” had 7.5 million viewers, its fourth-lowest figure since at least 1987 (5.3, 12), and CBS had a 4.3 rating and 9 share. The year 1987 is a benchmark because that’s when Nielsen began using its “people meter” technology.

Those are worrisome numbers for networks heading forward, since news viewership normally drops off in the summer. Major news events, of course, could dramatically change things.

Reports Jan Jarvis of The Fort Worth (TX) Star-Telegram:

Most teenagers use Web sites to chat, instant message and disclose their most personal thoughts through blogs. But many do so without a second thought about who might see what they say.

Some don’t even hesitate to send nude pictures of themselves over the Internet.

Though they may be emboldened by technology, the reasons for such behavior have been consistent through generations, experts say.

“They believe they are bulletproof,” said David Welsh, a Fort Worth psychologist. “They’re really technologically sophisticated, but they may be socially naive.”

That could explain why more than two dozen teenage girls might have become part of a computer pornography collection police say was assembled by John Randolph Burk, 50, of southwest Arlington. Burk, who is out of jail on bail, faces multiple charges, including indecency with a child, sexual performance by a child and possession of child pornography.

Police say Burk persuaded at least two teenagers to pose for pornographic photos at his home and sexually assaulted one of them, a 14-year-old.

Why would young victims comply?

It’s for the same reason that teens often believe that they can use narcotics without becoming addicted or have sex without getting pregnant, other psychologists said.

Teens don’t fully understand the implications or risks of their behavior because their brains are still developing, said Thomas Van Hoose, a clinical psychologist with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

“The part of the brain that governs judgment is the last to develop and may not until they’re 17- or 18-years-old, maybe even later,” he said. “They’re just not mature neurologically yet.”

In American society, Paris Hilton can become famous for making an amateur sex video, and pop star Britney Spears can grab top headlines for being photographed without underwear. So it is not surprising that some teens think that there’s nothing wrong with sending nude photos of themselves over the Internet, psychologists said.

“A lot of girls in this age group are very impressed with their growing bodies and the way they look,” said Mary Lynn Crow, a Fort Worth psychologist. Sending nude photos of themselves is a way to show off their maturing bodies from a distance, she said.

“They think it’s a mark of being cool and gives them bragging rights,” she said. “It’s daring, exciting and, they think, kind of safe.”

Having decided on a ballerina theme for her daughter’s sixth birthday party, Michelle West drove all over to find little dancers for the cake. Then she put 50 little beefeater guards around the edges. And she gave it beautiful white icing with peppermint trim.

And what happened? The kids wouldn’t eat it.

It wasn’t long afterward that she joined a group of St. Paul parents determined to end the birthday party arms race.

Birthdays Without Pressure is taking aim at the oneupsmanship that drives moms and dads to throw parties that will really, really impress the kids and the other parents, too.

“We feel there’s a kind of cultural runaway going on right now around the birthday parties of kids,” said William Doherty, a University of Minnesota professor of family social science who had a hand in organizing the group, launched publicly earlier this month.

Birthdays Without Pressure has started a Web site and launched a media campaign.

Except drive.

Reports Reuters:

Talk on the phone while you’re driving? Fix your makeup? Check e-mail? You’re not alone.

A survey released on Monday shows 81 percent of Americans do more than drive when they’re behind the wheel.

More than eight of 10 people surveyed by Nationwide Mutual Insurance said they adjust the radio or music while they drive, while 73 percent talk on the phone, 68 percent eat, 19 percent send text messages and 5 percent checked their e-mail.

Personal hygiene was also a big driver distraction, with 19 percent fixing their hair, 12 percent putting on makeup and 2 percent shaving while at the controls of a car.

“Clearly Americans have much to do and little time to do it, so to cope with that we’ve become multi-taskers,” said Bill Windsor, associate vice president of Safety at Nationwide.

“The problem with that is driving requires focus, and multi-tasking while driving puts you and your fellow drivers at risk.”

Drivers in the survey also admitted to changing seats with passengers, watching a movie, painting their toenails, nursing a baby and putting in contact lenses while driving.

Younger drivers multi-task the most, the survey found, with 35 percent of 18-to-27 year olds saying they always multi-task in the car, compared to 21 percent of baby boomers.

Windsor said the consequences for young drivers are severe, with car accidents being the number one cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 27.

“The bottom line is if it can be done in the kitchen, bathroom, office or bedroom, it should not be done in the car,” Windsor said.

Looks like our lust is too big for most people’s pocketbook.

A rare, 800-hp “Super Snake” Cobra that Shelby drove as his personal transportation for years went on the auction block — and sold for $5.5 million.

The pilot of a Continental Airlines flight became ill after takeoff and was later pronounced dead after the plane made an emergency landing Saturday, a company spokeswoman said.

The 210 passengers on the flight, which departed from Houston, were never in danger and the co-pilot landed the plane safely, Continental spokeswoman Macky Osorio said.

The airline said only that the pilot suffered a “serious medical problem.” Continental believes the pilot died of natural causes, Osorio said. The pilot’s name was not released.

The flight, bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, took off from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and was diverted to McAllen-Miller International Airport. The flight continued to Mexico with a new crew, Osorio said.

Reports The Associated Press:

Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed early Monday when his white stretch Hummer was sprayed by bullets after a nightclub dispute following a New Year’s Eve party.

Police have no motive and no indication the 24-year-old player was targeted in the drive-by shooting of the limousine. The burst of violence occurred hours after the Broncos were eliminated from playoff contention.

“All of us are devastated by this tragedy,” Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said in a statement. “To lose a young player, and more important, a great young man such as Darrent Williams, is incomprehensible. To lose him in such a senseless manner as this is beyond words.”

A little after 2 a.m., the limousine was fired on from a vehicle that pulled up along its side, hitting three people, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said. As many as a dozen bullet holes were visible on the driver’s side of the vehicle. One window was blown out.

A man and a woman, Brandon Flowers and Nicole Reindl, were wounded. They were taken to St. Anthony Central Hospital.

Coach Mike Shanahan said the killing left him “speechless with sadness.”

Reports The Associated Press:

Britney Spears finally appears to be acting like a new mom. The pop princess, who recently made headlines for a rash of less-than-motherly hard partying, fell asleep in a Las Vegas nightclub early Monday shortly after leading the New Year’s Eve countdown, her manager said.

“By about one o’clock, she was just done, so we took her out,” Spears’ manager, Larry Rudolph, told The Associated Press Monday. “She was not drunk. She was just tired and falling asleep.”

Wonder if she was wearing underwear?

Reports the Ledger:

There are always the usual suspects surrounding the Hollywood party girls. There were nude flashes, DUI busts, drug accusations and drug admissions from the jet set gals that treat Hollywood as their own personal playground all year long.

Business as usual in Los Angeles.

But somewhere along the way, last year was no longer ‘normal’ for Hollywood and 2006 became the year of the bad girl. Even the beauty queens chimed in. Tara Conner is still Miss USA but she was slammed with charges of drug abuse and a sex scandal that even included Miss Teen USA Katie Blair.

Reminds us of an old saying: “When she was good, she was very, very good. When she was bad, she was even better.”