Here's an update from the N&O's .biz blog on the latest in the Time Warner Cable vs. Sinclair Broadcasting dispute.

Time Warner Cable this morning characterized its business partner, Sinclair Broadcasting, as a liar and scoundrel in an escalating public brawl over programming fees.

The show-stopper behind the nasty rhetoric is a contract dispute over how much Time Warner should pay to carry Sinclair's CW22 and MyRDC signals in 2011. Popular shows include "Gossip Girl," "Nikita" and "Vampire Diaries."

Sinclair has threatened to pull its programs at midnight tonight if it can't renew its contract with Time Warner. For its part, Time Warner says that it would be forced to raise its customers' rates to cover Sinclair's proposed price hikes.

"Sinclair is threatening to take its stations off the air if Time Warner Cable does not agree to its demands for larger fees," the cable company said in a press release.

You may have already read about this in the N&O's .biz blog, but if not, take a minute to familiarize yourself with the latest Pay-TV carrier fight: Time Warner Cable vs. Sinclair Broadcasting.

This fight puts The CW channel in jeopardy for TWC viewers (and also MyRDC, which I'm not sure I have ever actually watched). The CW, known locally as CW22, airs shows like "The Vampire Diaries," "Gossip Girls," "One Tree Hill," "Smallville," and "Supernatural."

The deadline for the two companies to reach an agreement is tomorrow, December 31. If there's no agreement right away, know that many full episodes of those CW shows can be viewed on the CW website.

Get all of the details over at .biz.

Time Warner Cable rejected the latest offer from Sinclair Broadcasting, and is refusing further negotiations, Sinclair officials said today.

The escalating feud over programming fees will mean that Time Warner Cable customers could lose the CW22 and MyRDC signals as of midnight Friday. Popular CW shows include "Gossip Girl," "Nikita" and "Vampire Diaries."

Sinclair proposed a fee increase that averaged about 10 cents per subscriber, but officials said today that Time Warner "refused to provide a financial counter-proposal, effectively ending negotiations."

Time Warner responded that Sinclair's statement is false.

"Time Warner Cable has at no time told Sinclair that we were terminating negotiations," Time Warner wrote in its own statement today. "We remain open and willing to negotiate a reasonable agreement for our customers and have no intention of declaring negotiations to be at an end, even in the event that Sinclair decides to pull their signals from Time Warner Cable on December 31st."

Among the signs of a new year: a ball (or acorn) dropping, champagne popping and TV titans fighting.

Television broadcasters and pay-TV providers are increasingly at odds over programming fees. With many contracts tied to the calendar year, those disputes tend to flare up as Jan. 1 approaches.

This year's edition pits Time Warner Cable, the Triangle's dominant pay-TV provider, against Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns WLFL, or CW22, and WRDC, or MyRDC. Both sides are warning customers of blackouts when their contract expires at midnight on Dec. 31.

An extended blackout could disrupt fans of popular CW shows such as the Vampire Diaries, Nikita, 90210 and Gossip Girl, left.

Last week, Happiness decided to get out of the office and go to the local search for "America's Next Top Model," at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.

Want to feel old and plump? Head over to a model audition!

We arrived early so the line wasn't long, but there were some lovely, leggy ladies waiting.

Looks like CW fans with Time Warner Cable dodged another bullet -- for now. Read about the deal the cable company reached with Sinclair Broadcast Group over at  the N&O .biz blog.

Social the Magazine is launching a new TV show tonight called "Social in the City." The show hopes to put a spotlight on the local fashion, nightlife and entertainment scene.

For the show, a TV crew follows the local magazine staff and special guests around the area on a specially-designed tour bus. They film at various local hot spots and big local events, and will conduct interviews with people on-site. The goal of the show, according to magazine publisher Chris London, is to show off the fun stuff the area has to offer, and to get people out after dark to enjoy it.

Each "Social In The City" episode will air three times a month at 7:30pm on CW22 starting tonight. In the spring of 2010, a new episode will air each week.

If you want to be a part of the filming of the next episode, visit the magazine website for details on where they'll be.

CW22 is holding auditions this weekend for someone to represent "the new face of CW22."

The local station is seeking a TV personality who can reach out to the youth market through social media networks and also through appearances at special events and on television.

Could that be you? Auditions will be held in the music recital hall at Peace College from 10am to 4pm Saturday, November 21. For eligibility rules and more info, check out their website.

It's been more than two years (June 14, 2007) since Raleigh's Jennifer Nielsen was murdered as she restocked papers for USA Today in the early morning at a gas station in Raleigh. The case is yet to be solved.

Her family has not given up on finding who killed Jennifer and her 8 and 1/2 month unborn child.

On Monday, Jennifer's father Kevin Blaine appears on The Steve Wilkos Show (CW22 at 10 a.m.) to tell his tragic story and ask the public for any help or tips to solve this case. Blaine's son-in-law and two grandsons will also be on the show.

If you're not familiar with Steve Wilkos, he's a shiny-domed, tough-talking ex-Marine and Chicago cop who started his TV career as the director of security on The Jerry Springer Show. (That included separating the sluggers.) He's had his own hit show since 2007.