CONNECT SELECT A wide selection of interesting and trending stories – rip ‘em, read ‘em and post ‘em! FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2020
TODAY IS… FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18…
ROSH HASHANA – At sundown tonight, Jews around the world celebrate Rosh Hashanah (rosh ha-SHAH-na), the Jewish New Year (5781). The holiday is traditionally celebrated with religious services and special foods like apples and honey, which represent a “sweet” new year. AIR FORCE DAY – The Air Force became its own branch of the US military on September 18, 1947 (Yes, they had planes back then, smart ass!) NATIONAL CHEESEBURGER DAY – What’s better than a burger?…A burger with some cheese! They think the cheeseburger was invented back in 1926, at a sandwich shop in Pasadena, California, but a trademark for the name was awarded to Louis Ballast of the Humpty Dumpty Drive-In in 1935. NATIONAL HIV/AIDS AND AGING AWARENESS DAY – Highlighting the medical breakthroughs that allow more people with HIV to live longer. Today, an estimated 24 percent of HIV/AIDS patients are over 55, something doctors didn’t think was even possible a couple of decades ago. NATIONAL HUG YOUR BOSS DAY: (NOTE: DATE CHANGES ANNUALLY) – If you can get close enough to your boss without wanting to strangle them, today’s the day you’re encouraged to give them a hug - a virtual one, at least. 60 percent of American’s say they like their job because of the boss (that means 40 percent of bosses must really suck?!) NATIONAL FIRST LOVE DAY – This day was created to remind us of the butterflies we got the first time we fell in love, and where we are now (hopefully not bitter and divorced). NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY (marked on the Third Friday in September) – On the third Friday of September, we honor the members of the US Armed Forces who remain missing in action or prisoners of war. ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF CBS NEWS (1927) – CBS News launched 93 years ago today! By 1929, CBS started regular hourly radio broadcasts, and ‘Breaking News’ was born.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19… INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY – Shiver me timbers! Today you can talk like a pirate at work without someone threatening to make you walk the plank (maybe ask first if you’re a judge or a funeral director, or something). At the drive-thru, be sure to ask if they have change for a gold doubloon. Ahoy, matey! WORLD CLEANUP DAY – Activities traditionally include cleaning up local parks, waterways and forests in a bid to restore and protect nature. It’s estimated that 35 million volunteers in 130 countries will take part, making it one of the largest community based environmental campaigns in the world. NATIONAL GYMNASTICS DAY – Gymnastics has been a competitive sport for more than 2-thousand years. It started with the ancient Greeks - and back then, they did it naked (which didn’t allow for much in the way of…’jiggle suppression’). START OF OKTOBERFEST – Cue the Oompah-pah band! The German festival celebrates the autumn harvest …and beer. Lots and lots of beer. NATIONAL DANCE DAY – Throw on a beat, break out your best moves and dance like nobody’s watching! The day was created to promote body movement and a healthy lifestyle (but also ‘rump shaking’). LE MANS 24 HOURS – It’s billed as the 'the greatest endurance race in the world.’ The Le Mans 24 Hours begins without fans this morning due to the pandemic. It is considered to be one of the most prestigious automobile motorsport races in the world, and along with the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix, forms the unofficial 'Triple Crown of Motorsport.’ ANNIVERSARY OF THE HOLLYWOOD SIGN (1923) – The Hollywood Sign turns 97 today! It was built in 1923, but back then it said ‘Hollywoodland,’ and was actually an ad for a new housing development. Each letter is 45 feet tall. In the 30s, an actress famously killed herself by jumping off the ‘H’. By the 1970s, the sign was crumbling until Playboy publisher (and silk pajama-enthusiast) Hugh Hefner raised 250-thousand bucks to fix it. It’s been a beloved LA landmark ever since.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20… NATIONAL PEPPERONI PIZZA DAY – The most popular pizza topping in America deserves its own day! NATIONAL STRING CHEESE DAY – It’s the cheese with a-peel (get it?!). String cheese is usually made with mozzarella, and yes - it’s actually cheese (we hope). NATIONAL PUNCH DAY – Take your pick! You can celebrate all the tools used to poke holes. Maybe you just wanna hit something (or someone - but we don’t encourage that). Or perhaps you’ll most enjoy this day with a glass of your favorite punch (alcohol is optional, but highly recommended). o FUN FACT: Punch was created in the early 16-hundreds. It’s believed it was invented by English sailors traveling to India. Punch comes from the Hindi word ‘Panch,’ which means ‘five’. Originally, it was made with 5 ingredients: booze, sugar, lemon, water and tea. WIFE APPRECIATION DAY (celebrated on the Third Sunday in September) – ‘Happy wife, happy life’, right?! NATIONAL FRIED RICE DAY – It started as one of those meals made from leftovers, but has become a take-out favorite. Made with a combination of long grain rice, peas, carrots and onions, fried rice also requires eggs to bring it all together. Mix some with more veggies or proteins for a delicious meal. PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS – The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC (8pm ET). The virtual show takes place at LA’s Staples Center, which is a total waste because there won’t be an audience. No red carpet either, but ABC is planning some kind of virtual red carpet where celebs walk around their living rooms completely overdressed. TOUR DE FRANCE FINAL – The 107th Tour de France cycling race finishes on the Champs-Elysees in Paris today as part of the 21st and final stage. Colombia's Egan Bernal is the defending champion. The event was postponed from July due to the coronavirus pandemic.
BIRTHDAYS:
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18:
JADA PINKETT SMITH, 49 – Actress/married to WILL SMITH. Broke out on TVs “A Different World” and has gone on to roles in “The Nutty Professor,” “The Matrix,” and “Gotham.” Hosts the Facebook Watch series “Red Table Talk” with her mother and her daughter. JAMES MARSDEN, 47 – Actor. Played Cyclops in the “X-Men” films. Also stars in HBOs WestWorld and appeared in “The Notebook,” “Superman Returns” and “Hairspray. LANCE ARMSTRONG, 49 – Seven-time Tour de France champion who was banned from cycling competitions for life by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in 2012. JASON SUDEIKAS (soo-DAY-kis), 45 – Comic actor and director who broke out on SNL, and has starred in “We’re the Millers,” Horrible Bosses,” and “Hall Pass.” Voiced the lead character in the “Angry Birds” films. BEN CARSON, 69 – The neurosurgeon-turned-politician now serves as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19:
JIMMY FALLON, 46 – Host of the Tonight Show: The stand-up comedian broke out on SNL and hosted “Late Night” before taking over “The Tonight Show” on NBC. TRISHA YEARWOOD, 56 – Country singer and TV chef, who is also Mrs. Garth Brooks. JEREMY IRONS, 78 – British actor known for playing Alfred in “Justice League” and Simon in “Die Hard with a Vengeance.” Also voiced Scar in the animated movie “The Lion King.” TWIGGY, 71 – Model/Actress: She was the face of swinging sixties fashion and is considered one of the world’s first supermodels, way before anyone had even heard that term. KIM RICHARDS, 56 – Actress. Raise a glass of chardonnay…and then throw it in someone's face! She was a main cast member for five seasons on 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.” She’s also a former child actress known for roles in “Nanny and the Professor” and “Escape to Witch Mountain.”
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20:
SOPHIA LOREN (luh-REN), 86 – Oscar-winning Italian actress and sex symbol. Voiced Mama Topolino in “Cars 2.” GEORGE R.R. MARTIN, 72 – Sci-fi novelist known for writing and producing “Game of Thrones.” ALANNAH CURRIE, 63 – Singer for the 80s pop band The Thompson Twins. KRISTEN JOHNSTON, 53 – Emmy-winning actress who starred in “Third Rock from the Sun,” and now plays Tammy on the CBS sitcom “Mom.” JON BERNTHAL, 44 – Actor who stars as Marvel’s “The Punisher.” Played Shane on “The Walking Dead.” PHILLIP PHILLIPS, 30 – Singer who won 11th season of “American Idol.” Had a hit with the song “Home.” JOHN TAVARES, 30 – Hockey player. The first overall draft pick in 2009 made a name for himself with the Islanders, before heading off to play for his favorite childhood team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. His new team and former team squared off in the Eastern Conference Finals. And Tavares and his new team are headed to the Stanley Cup Finals.
TRENDING/ODD:
TIKTOK USERS ARE STRAIGHTENING THEIR TEETH WITH NAIL FILES (00:20) You can always count on TikTok users to come up with the latest dumb thing: now they're using nail files to straighten their teeth! The amateur orthodontists are sanding down their uneven smiles, and real dentists are flipping out! They warn filing-down your teeth like that causes permanent damage to the enamel, and will probably end up making your teeth fall out.
FLORIDA KID FORCED TO REMOVE HOOTERS MASK (00:21) An elementary school principal in Florida forced an 11 year-old-boy to take off his face mask because it said ‘Hooters’ all over it. The principal, in Orlando, made the kid swap out the 'hooters' mask because some of his teachers found it offensive. But the kid's dad is standing by his son, saying there's nothing offensive about Hooters. He says 'we just like their wings'.
CONCERT PROMOTER TURNING ICONIC VENUES INTO POLLING STATIONS (00:16) The country's biggest concert promoter, Live Nation, is looking to turn about a hundred concert venues into polling stations. Places like: The Hollywood Palladium, Atlanta's Buckhead Theater and The Fillmore in Philadelphia. They're also giving employees paid time off to go vote.
CHEIFS’ FAN TESTS POSITIVE AFTER ATTENDING GAME (00:22) A fan at last Thursday's NFL opener in Kansas City, between the Chiefs and Texans, has tested positive for COVID. The Chiefs have tracked down where they parked, came in and sat. The person was wearing a mask, and sat in the lower level as part of the Chiefs single seating system. The team says any staff who may have come in contact were and are required to wear personal protective equipment.
CARNIVAL IS SELLING SOME OF THEIR CRUISE SHIPS (00:14) In the market for a boat? Carnival is selling 18 cruise ships. That's about 12 percent of Carnival's total fleet. They're not gonna need 'em after the pandemic pretty much sunk the cruise industry. They sold 4 other huge ships over the summer.
ELECTRIC FENCE PUT AROUND TRUMP 2020 LAWN SIGN (00:17) A guy in New Bedford, Massachusetts got so sick of people stealing his front lawn Trump campaign sign, he decided to put an electric fence around it. That'll show 'em! He says it's gone untouched for two weeks. To be fair, he does have a "caution: electric fence" warning posted in English, French and Spanish.
BIKER RALLY IN MISSOURI - CROWDS & FEW MASKS (00:26) Could another biker rally spread the coronavirus the way Sturgis did? Tens of thousands are expected for Bikefest in Lake of the Ozarks. Already it's another round of beards, brews and no masks! Missouri is a state with some of the highest rates of new virus cases. Critics say while many schools are closed, the governor is allowing the 5 day fest with few restrictions. Last month's Sturgis rally is being blamed for the spike in COVID rates in the Dakotas.
CRIME
FLEEING SUSPECT FORGETS WINNING LOTTO TICKET (00:20) A guy who took off running from the cops near Atlanta left behind a winning scratcher ticket. The Sheriff's office in Georgia posted a Facebook message with the winning ticket the guy left in his car, telling him where he could pick it up. They found him nearby, and say he will get his ticket back. But they're keeping all the meth they found in his car.
SALT LAKE CITY COP CHARGED OVER K9'S BITE (00:23) A Salt Lake City cop faces a felony charge for telling his K-9 to attack a black man in his back yard. The police were responding to a domestic disturbance call. On the body cam video, you can hear the officer say "good boy!" to the dog as it bit the black man; his hands up as he kneeled to the ground. Now the D-A says the man was not resisting officers and the cop has been charged with aggravated assault.
HEALTH/SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
STUDY: WEARING GLASSES MAY LOWER RISK OF COVID (00:21) So there really might be something to this theory that people who wear glasses don't get COVID. Researchers in China tracked hundreds of patients that were hospitalized with the virus and found just 16 of them wore glasses. The thinking is wearing glasses might protect you because it blocks the virus from sticking onto your eyes and eventually traveling to your respiratory system.
AMERICAN COVIDIOT STARTED OUTBREAK IN GERMANY (00:26) A 26 year old woman from Florida has been identified as the source of a huge COVID outbreak in Germany. She was told to quarantine at her hotel, and even though she had a sore throat, she went out bar-hopping anyway and spread COVID to 24 coworkers, and exposed at least 700 others. The woman works in a lodge for US forces in Germany, and there's word her job was to set up a conference for the top brass on how to prevent the spread of COVID. She could face jail time.
YOUR MONEY/SHOPPING
STUDY: PLUG IN HYBRIDS AREN’T AS ‘GREEN’ AFTER ALL (00:21) Looks like all those plug-in hybrids aren't that 'green' after all. Tests by Greenpeace found that plug- in hybrids pump out 3 times more carbon emissions than the car companies claim. The problem is that carmakers’ tests are done on a track, and not in 'real world' settings. They also find most owners don't actually plug their cars in at night, and rely on gas instead.
US GOVERNMENT SAYS PINE SOL KILLS COVID (00:16) Good luck finding any Pine-Sol at the store now that it's been added to the Environmental Protection Agency's list of products that are effective against COVID. US government testing found the stuff can pretty much kill the virus within about 10 minutes of contact on hard surfaces (no, that doesn't include your head!).
TRUMP CHARGES TAXPAYERS $1 MIL FOR GOLF CLUB SECRET SERVICE ROOMS (00:18) You just paid a million bucks for a fancy country club and didn't even get to go! Receipts from the government show the Secret Service was charged 1-point-1 million dollars for every time the President chilled at his New Jersey golf club. That includes 17-thousand bucks-a-month just to rent a cottage for his agents. (What? No presidential discount?)
YELP STUDY FINDS MANY BUSINESSES THAT CLOSED FOR COVID STAY CLOSED (00:17) Hope you enjoy shopping and "living" online, because a lot of companies won't recover after this pandemic. Sixty-percent of businesses that closed are now gone for good. The data comes from Yelp. They say the most impacted are states with high coronavirus numbers like California, Texas, Florida and New York.
PRE-ORDER NEW PLAYSTATION 5 (00:14) Sony is following Xbox and announcing a new PlayStation. You can preorder the new PS5. There'll be two versions: one with a Blu-ray drive and one without. That one will have digital downloads only. And just so you know, Christmas is 98 days away!
LIFE/FAMILY
ARUBA IS OFFERING AMERICANS VISA-FREE QUARANTINE (00:18) If you're worried about being cooped up for the winter amid another stay-at-home order, you can always quarantine in Aruba. The Caribbean island is now letting US citizens relocate there, without a visa, for 3 months and work remotely (or not). Barbados and Bermuda are also pitching Americans on long-term working vacations.
STUDY: PARTNER & KIDS DON'T MAKE US AS HAPPY AS FRIENDS (00:27) The people you love: your partner, your kids, do they make you happy? Turns out it's our friends we prefer. A new study finds we're happiest when we're out with our friends. We're least happy when with our romantic partner. Why? Because it's your partner you're doing the housework with. Doctors say it isn't who, but what activity we're doing that elevates our well-being. They suggest creating positive experiences with your family outside of chores and schlepping the kids around.
ENTERTAINMENT
STAR OF NETFLIX’S ‘CHEER’ FACING CHILD PORN CHARGES (00:18) One of the stars of Netflix's cheerleading docu-series 'Cheer' has been busted for child porn. Jerry Harris had been under FBI investigation since last spring. Two teens claimed he tried getting them to send him pictures and hook up with him. He was arrested in Illinois, and charged with production of child pornography. Netflix says they're shocked by the news, but haven't said whether they'll pull the series.
WEEKEND / "ICYMI"
STUDY: GOOGLE SEARCHES HELP PREDICT NEXT COVID HOTSPOT (00:21) Researchers think they've figured out how to predict the next COVID hotspot; they just look for all the places Googling G-I symptoms. Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital geo-tracked searches for stuff like 'loss of appetite', 'no sense of taste' and 'diarrhea', and were able to predict where the next outbreak would be 3 weeks before public health officials reported one.
CDC RELEASES DINING OUT DATA (00:29) Is dining out safe? New data released Friday from the CDC shows that people who tested positive for COVID-19 were about twice as likely to have dined out in the 14 days leading up to their diagnosis, compared with those who tested negative. The study didn’t ask whether the dining was indoor or outside. Yet the news comes just as some states are easing restrictions and allowing indoor dining again. The current CDC guidelines still say that takeout, drive-through, and delivery pose the lowest risk of contracting the coronavirus from a restaurant.
PLASTIC FOOD WRAPPERS TOP POLLUTER IN WATERWAYS (00:27) What’s causing the most litter on our beaches and waterways? Plastic food wrappers. For the first time in 30 years, food wrappers have taken over cigarette butts as the number one polluter, according to new data from the environmental group Ocean Conservancy. In a single day of litter- picking around the world, nearly five million food wrappers were collected, including candy wrappers, chips bags, and drink pouches. Experts estimate that eleven million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean each year.
LOUIS VUITTON TO SELL GOLD-STUDDED FACE SHIELDS (00:23) Looking to add PPE to your Louis Vuitton (louie vi-TONN) collection? The luxury designer is introducing a gold-studded, monogrammed face shield to protect from the sun and coronavirus. The L.V. shield transitions from clear to dark in sunlight and has a visor that can be worn like a cap. No word yet on the cost, but we guarantee it won’t be cheap. The face shield will be sold online and at Louis Vuitton stores starting October 30th.
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