Daylight Saving Time starts this weekend, so that means we lose one hour of sleep Saturday night as we "spring ahead" in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 14.

Fire departments across the country also urge you to change the batteries in all of your smoke detectors this weekend. The time change is just a convenient reminder to do that.

What's the purpose of changing the clocks anyway?

Daylight Saving Time (or summer time, as it is called in many countries) is a way of getting more light out of the day by advancing clocks by one hour during the summer.

During Daylight Saving Time, the sun appears to rise one hour later in the morning, when people are usually asleep anyway, and sets one hour later in the evening, seeming to stretch the day longer.

Due to travel delays, the Iyaz performance has been postponed.

A singer named John Daker, forgets the words to the popular Italian song, "That's Amore."

Is this what you were going for, John? Dean Martin sings it the right way!

Constance McMillen, an 18-year-old senior at Itawamba Agricultural High School contacted the ACLU, after she was told by school administrators she could not bring her girlfriend to the dance. McMillen, 18, also was prohibited from wearing a tuxedo.

In a statement Wednesday, the school board said the controversy over the ban caused "distractions to the educational process" and it was calling off the dance "after taking into consideration the education, safety and well-being of our students." In the statement, school board members said they hoped a private group would host the event.

Jennifer Chamblee, who lives in nearby Guntown, sides with the school board. "What about the rights of the other students that do not share her lifestyle or the way that she wants to live it?" she said. "If you don't agree with it, stay away from it."

The federal suit alleges district officials have violated McMillen's First Amendment rights of free expression. Christine Sun, an attorney with the ACLU national LGBT Project, condemned the board's action. "It's shameful and cowardly of the school district to have canceled the prom and to try to blame Constance, who's only standing up for herself," she said.

McMillen attended school Thursday but left early. The atmosphere at school was "tense," she said. "I had someone say, 'Thanks for ruining my senior year,' " she said.

At the same time, McMillen said she has received a lot of support from her friends and other gay students at the school, both "in the closet and out of the closet."

Other supporters offered to help McMillen and her fellow students with an alternate prom. New Orleans hotel owner Sean Cummings said he was so disappointed with the school board's decision he offered to transport the students in buses to the city and host a prom free of charge at one of his properties. "New Orleans, we're a joyful culture and a creative culture here and, if the school doesn't change its mind, we'd be delighted to offer them a prom in New Orleans," he said. "Concluding your high school experience should be a joyful one. One shouldn't conclude that experience with all their friends on a negative note."

Kristy Bennett, legal director of the Mississippi ACLU, said there has been federal case law since 1980 supporting gay students' rights to bring whomever they want to their high school proms. "A prom is a public forum and the gay couple is making a statement about their sexual orientation and thus it is protected under the First Amendment," she said.

The lawsuit asks the court to immediately reinstate the prom and prohibit the district from banning same-sex couples. The suit asks for $1 in damages, plus legal fees and court costs.

A bill that aims to outlaw texting behind the wheel passed a key House committee today in Tallahassee.

The Roads, Bridges and Ports Committee voted unanimously today in favor of House Bill 41, which would ban Florida motorists from text-messaging while driving. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota, is one of no less than a dozen such proposals up for discussion during the current legislative session.

Florida is one of 23 states considering legislation to ban texting behind the wheel.

In a news release, Holder said he is thrilled the issue is finally getting attention. A similar bill introduced in the House last year stalled and died.

House Bill 41 now moves to the Public Safety and Domestic Security Policy Committee for consideration.