Rain Still Falling in California After Major Storm Breaks Records

A major Pacific storm that broke records across Southern California and delivered a small measure of relief to the drought-stricken state brought more rain on Wednesday but the danger of major mudslides in wildfire-scarred areas appeared to have passed, officials said.

The sub-tropical storm, which originated in the Pacific Ocean south of Hawaii, was the strongest to hit Southern California since at least February and poured at least an inch (2.5 cm) of rain across a wide swath of the region, and up to four inches (10 cm) in some mountain and foothill areas.

Rainfall records for Dec. 2 dating to the 1960s were broken in downtown Los Angeles, Los Angeles International Airport, Long Beach Airport and communities such as Antelope Valley, Palmdale and Camarillo, National Weather Service meteorologist Eric Boldt said.

The storm also brought much-needed snow to area mountains.

Residents walk past sandbags as rain begins to fall in Glendora, California on Dec. 2, 2014. /Reuters

Boldt said mudslides and flash floods that officials feared in areas where wildfires had left hillsides nearly barren did not materialize because rainfall rates generally remained below the half-inch-per-hour threshold that usually triggers them.

Evacuation orders that were issued for the wildfire areas were largely lifted by early on Wednesday.

California has been in the grip of a record-shattering, multi-year drought that has forced officials to sharply reduce water supplies to farms and prompted drastic conservation measures statewide.

Prior to Tuesday's storm, downtown Los Angeles had recorded a total of only 5.89 inches of rain for 2014, compared to the 15 inches the region receives in a typical year.

Boldt said the storm, the first of California's winter season that typically begins in December, was of some help in long-parched areas but would not be nearly enough on its own to ameliorate the drought.

"Every storm is going to help us but one storm is not going to get us out of the drought," Boldt said. "If we have 10-20 more storms like this one we're going to be looking much better on the drought."

The National Weather Service said the storm was expected to move out of Southern California to the east by the end of Wednesday, although a second, smaller system might bring showers to parts of the state on Thursday.

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TV Still Favorite Medium to Watch Shows

Television is still the favorite medium to watch TV shows for the vast majority of Koreans.

Some Eight out of 10 people watch terrestrial broadcasts only via TV sets, according to the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation.

In the age group of 20s to 40s, 78 percent said television is their preferred medium to watch TV programs rather than smartphones or computers.

The study suggests broadcasters to make use of social media as 40 percent of respondents said their interest in a TV program increased after they saw clips or heard about them on social media.

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Many Long-Married Couples Still Don't Own Their Home

Less than half of all couples who have been married for a decade can afford to buy their own home, according to a study based on the latest census data.

Statistics Korea on Tuesday said only 48.3 percent of couples who have been married for 10 years have their own homes.

Only 26.1 percent of couples married less than a year bought their own home, and the proportion was still a mere 66.7 percent even for couples who have been married for over 30 years.

The proportion of couples who live in "jeonse" or Korean-style deposit lease homes stands at 50.1 percent for those who have been married for less than a year, 29.3 percent for those who have been married for 10 years and 14.8 percent for those who have been married for 30 years.

Couples in Seoul, which has the most expensive real estate in the nation, have a particularly tough time buying a home. Only 29.2 percent of couples in Seoul who have been married for less than 10 years own their homes, the lowest in the country, while 52.8 percent were living in jeonse homes, the highest.

Gwangju boasted the highest proportion (52.3 percent) of couples who have been married for 10 years with their own homes, followed by Ulsan (51.3 percent).

Meanwhile, as more and more couples live apart due to work or get divorced, the proportion of single-parent households rose from 7.4 percent in 1995 to 9.2 percent in 2010.

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Paula Deen Coming To D.C. (Yes, Still!)

WASHINGTON -- Embattled celebrity cook Paula Deen may be losing sponsors and TV shows, but she still has at least one major backer: The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show.

In a statement on its website, MetroCooking said Deen, who admitted in a recent court deposition that she had used the N-word, is still scheduled to attend its upcoming shows in Washington, Houston and Dallas:

Paula Deen has been a friend of The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show for many years. She has apologized and we are taking her apology at her word and moving forward accordingly. The Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show does not condone or believe in the use of derogatory slurs by anyone. This is a nation of forgiveness and second chances. In that spirit we intend to go forward with the MetroCooking Shows in Houston, Dallas and Washington, DC as planned with Paula as a presenter. At this time we have no plans to do otherwise.

A spokesperson for the Annandale-based MetroCooking told The Huffington Post that the show "has received scores of positive emails, Facebook posts and calls regarding the decision to keep Paula in the show line-ups. Paula has legions of fans."

Of the 25,000 tickets typically sold for each of the Dallas, Houston and D.C. shows, three people have asked for their money back since Friday, the rep told HuffPost.

Deen will appear at MetroCooking D.C. on Saturday, November 2, as a "Celebrity Theater Presenter"; meet-and-greet options include a Paula Photo Op & Brunch and a Paula VIP Platinum ticket, which comes with an autographed copy of Deen's upcoming cookbook, New Testament.

The soon-to-be-former Food Network star also attended at MetroCooking D.C. in 2011.

Don't be surprised if Deen's sessions sell out. Many Food Network fans are sticking by the Southern star:

A day after announcing that it's dropping Deen from its roster of celebrity cooks, the cable network was served heaping portions of Southern fried outrage by her fans.

Angry messages piled up Saturday on the network's Facebook page, with many Deen fans threatening to change the channel for good. "So good-bye Food Network," one viewer wrote. "I hope you fold like an accordion!!!"

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On the heels of Paula Deen's finishing butters announcement, the National Enquirer claims that it has obtained video of Paula Deen making racist statements.

And confirms remarks.

Mixing recipes with racism.

And releases a statement.

Is her career doomed?

Type II racism, y'all.

The program was supposed to have the exclusive.

Nor was Al Roker.

Things got a little messy, and sad.

Her contract was set to expire.

They are not happy.

It's not over yet.

Other companies still mulling their future with Deen.

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