"Dooce" Scores TV Development Deal • Drew Peterson's Stepbrother Testifies

• Original “mommy blogger” Heather Armstrong has scored a deal with HGTV. “I could not be more over the moon. I’m all the way to Jupiter. The air is very thin and dry up here,” she says. Deep. Breaths. •

• Martha Coakley spoke to the Boston Globe about her Senate race loss, and Scott Brown’s win. She explains, “the truth is that, over that time period, with several major holidays, you don’t have the luxury of a 18-month campaign.” She continued: “The strategy was, we got to focus on going after our base, and getting our message out. [Brown’s] campaign was frankly the one that got a lot of attention. His campaign was the one that people followed, that resonated… He was able to catch a mood, he was able to catch an anger, and got inspired.” • Thomas Morphey, stepbrother of accused murderer Drew Peterson, testified in court today that he helped Peterson dispose of a 150-pound barrel, which he believes may have held the body of his fourth wife, Stacy Peterson. Even though Morphey suspected something at the time, he decided not to report it: “He was a police officer,” Morphey said. “I thought, ‘What would be the point of calling 911?'” • Michelle Obama is the more popular half of the presidential couple, according to a new poll. 71% of respondents had a favorable view of Michelle, with only 16% expressing an unfavorable view. President Obama, however, has seen a 14% drop in his ratings, from 79% in January to 65% in November. • A woman from Georgia has been jailed for forcing her son to kill his pet hamster with a hammer. Police say Lynn Middlebrooks Geter was punishing her 12-year-old son for bad grades. • An Egyptian-based security company has begun offering aikido-trained female body guards to provide protection for high-powered Arab women, who are often not comfortable relying on the protection of a strange man. Although they are ready to fight, the guards have been taught to diffuse a situation through diplomatic means first, and only rely on brute force as a last resort. • In the past two decades, the average birth weight of full term babies born in the US has fallen 2 ounces. While not necessarily cause for alarm, researchers are confused as to what has prompted the turnaround. Abnormally small babies face certain long-term health risks, including a greater risk of developing diabetes. • A recent study found that gender disparities are narrowing, albeit rather slowly. Unfortunately: “The most serious aspect of gender discrimination that confronts us is violence against women, one manifestation of which is the alarmingly low female-male sex ratio. Special cognizance needs to be taken of this problem and actions taken to be put a stop to violence against women and girl child,” the report said. •