CONNECT SELECT A wide selection of interesting and trending stories – rip ‘em, read ‘em and post ‘em! THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19th, 2020

TODAY IS…

 WORLD TOILET DAY – Let’s give it up for the most important seat in the house! World Toilet Day is marked by the United Nations to promote sustainable sanitation around the world - because, without toilets, life would be crap .  INTERNATIONAL MEN’S DAY – (See ‘World Toilet Day’. All us fellas will take a few extra minutes for ourselves in the bathroom today, thank you very much!)  NATIONAL CARBONATED BEVERAGE WITH CAFFEINE DAY – Wake up and smell the soda! In case you’re wondering, ‘Pepsi One’ has the most caffeine of any soda out there (57 milligrams per can). That’s about 1-and-a-half times more than a typical cup of coffee)  WORLD PANCREATIC CANCER DAY (THIRD THURSDAY IN NOVEMBER) – Raising awareness for one of the deadliest forms of cancer out there. It’s got extra meaning this year, after ‘Jeopardy’ host Alex Trebek lost his battle with pancreatic cancer (on November 8th)  NATIONAL PLAY MONOPOLY DAY – Celebrating the only board game that makes you pay income tax. The iconic game was invented in 1935 - and, ever since, families have been fighting over who will be the ‘thimble.’  GREAT AMERICAN SMOKEOUT DAY – Don’t smoke if you got ‘em! Today is Great American Smokeout Day, created by the American Cancer Society to get smokers to quit, or at least make plans to stop smoking.  (8PM ET, Univision) – The 21st annual Latin GRAMMY Awards, celebrating Latin music, are at 8PM ET tonight on the Univision Network. Carlos Rivera and Roselyn Sanchez host the show ‘live’ from Miami, with performances by Bad Bunny, Marc Anthony and Nathy Peluso. leads nominations with 13, followed by Bad Bunny with 9 and Ozuna with 8.

BIRTHDAYS:

 ADAM DRIVER. Actor. 37 – After 9/11, the ‘Star Wars’ actor joined the Marine Corps.  JODIE FOSTER. Actress. 58 – She’s not just brilliant onscreen. She graduated from Yale!  MEG RYAN. Actress. 59 – We'll have what she's having...birthday cake! Before becoming the princess of rom-coms, she was in Burger King commercials.  CALVIN KLEIN. Designer. 78 – He launched his first line of jeans back in 1974 and they raked in $200,000 in their first week of sales. The rest was denim history.  TYGA. Rapper. 31 – He and Kylie Jenner may be dunzo, but this rapper's "Still Got It." Tyga says his nickname came from his mom who called him Tiger Woods.  LARRY KING. TV and Radio Icon. 87 – Broadcasting wouldn't be the same without this TV and radio icon. He got his start with a live audience show at a restaurant in Miami.

TRENDING/ODD:

OWL FOUND IN ROCKEFELLER PLAZA CHRISTMAS TREE (00:20) If you're cutting down a Christmas tree, what's the first thing you do? Check for critters, right? The folks who chopped down the 75-foot-tall Norway spruce for New York's Rockefeller Plaza didn't. Now they found a baby owl living inside of it. Real estate is expensive in New York, so the owl is crashing at a wildlife center before it's released into the wild (hopefully not Brooklyn) HERE’S A LINK TO SOME OWL SOUNDS

AIRLINE OFFERS SPEED DATING ‘FLIGHT TO NOWHERE’ (00:20) There's an airline in Taiwan that's figured out a new way to get people back on planes…they're offering 'speed dating' on flights. For 300 bucks, Taiwan's EVA Air will try to match 20 men and 20 women. The flights circle Taiwan for a few hours - hopefully enough time to make a love connection. The packages include dinner-for-2, for those lucky enough to pair-up. HERE’S A LINK TO THE SONG ‘LOVE IS IN THE AIR’

METEORITE THAT CRASHED INTO GUY’S HOUSE IS WORTH MILLIONS! (00:19) The good news is: a guy found a meteorite worth 2 million dollars. The bad news? It crashed through his roof. At least now, he can afford to move. The Indonesian coffin-maker was working outside when the thing crashed onto his property. The thing is extremely rare, even for a meteorite. He got a lump sum worth 30 years of his salary.

COVID CLAIMS 250-THOUSAND LIVES IN THE U.S. (00:14) A quarter of a million people in the U.S. have now died of COVID, according to the official count from Johns Hopkins University…and health officials say death rates are rising in most states. On average, we're losing a thousand people to the virus every day.

NORTH CAROLINA TOWN OFFERING EVERYONE NAMED ‘ELIZABETH’ FREE STUFF (00:27) Calling all Elizabeths! There's a town in North Carolina that's inviting anyone named 'Elizabeth' to come to Elizabeth. Elizabeth City is about an hour south of Virginia Beach. It's celebrating its own namesake by giving people named 'Elizabeth' free stuff like beer and discounts at local shops and museums. Not sure if the offer applies to 'Lizzes' and 'Beths,' but considering Elizabeth is the fifth most popular name in America, they better have a lot of free stuff ready.

WIN 'PEPSI APPLE PIE' FOR BAKING FAILS (00:16) Sweet as apple pie! How about a Pepsi? Just in time for Thanksgiving! Pepsi has a contest going where you could win a 2-liter bottle of Apple Pie-flavored Pepsi. You have to submit a photo of a baked goodie that did not turn out so well (Failed it!). The soda has cinnamon and apple flavor. Yum? Yuck?

GIANT ASTEROID CAME WITHIN 300 MILES OF HITTING EARTH LAST WEEK (00:20) PHEW! That was close. NASA says they tracked an asteroid that came within just 300 miles of Earth. That's the closest a hunk of space rock has ever come without hitting us. The asteroid was about the size of a pickup truck and skimmed by last Friday. It was picked up by NASA's asteroid alert system that's supposed to spot asteroids before they hit us (woulda been nice if it spotted it sooner)

LAW & DISORDER

GUY KILLS WOMAN OVER DOG POOP (00:17) In Denver, some dude is accused of killing a 21-year-old woman over a spat about her dog. Allegedly, he didn't like that her dog pooped in a rock garden outside of his apartment so, cops say, he pointed a semi-automatic rifle out his window and shot 24 rounds, killing her and wounding her boyfriend.

SOMEONE WROTE ‘TRUMP’ ON LAWN OF BIDEN SUPPORTERS (00:18) They're Black Lives Matter and Biden supporters with the signs out front to prove it. But someone used weed killer to write TRUMP on their front lawn. The police in Delaware are now investigating. The homeowners say the crime is the equivalent of cross-burning. The cops so far don’t consider it a hate crime case.

WEIRD SCIENCE & TECH

PFIZER VACCINE 95% EFFECTIVE NEEDS FDA OKAY (00:17) A COVID-19 vaccine is around the corner. Pfizer now says its new coronavirus vaccine is 95% effective, and the company is applying for emergency authorization in the U-S. So far there are no major side effects. Health care workers likely will get first priority. A larger scale roll out could take months.

AT HOME COVID TEST APPROVED (00:12) Perfect stocking stuffer? An at home coronavirus test, where you can see the results in half an hour, has been approved by the FDA. Some experts think it could be a game changer in controlling the spread.

WALKING A DOG PUTS YOU AT HIGHER RISK OF COVID (00:17) A new study claims that walking your dog makes you nearly 80 percent more likely to get COVID. Researchers from the University of Grenada don't think it's the dogs that are spreading it. Instead, it might have something to do with how social dogs are, and that usually means chatting with other dog owners. HERE’S A LINK TO ‘DOG BARKING’ SOUND EFFECTS (THAT’LL DRIVE YOUR OWN DOG NUTS)

STUDY: A NICE WINDOW VIEW CAN HELP MENTAL HEALTH (00:18) Being stuck in the house is a real bummer, especially during the pandemic. But seeing nature outside your window helps. A new study finds adults who see the beauty of Mother Nature around their home and have access to green space do better mentally. They report higher levels of self- esteem, satisfaction and happiness.

STUDY: FAT & YOUNG IN DANGER OF SERIOUS CORONAVIRUS COMPLICATIONS (00:17) Younger adults who are overweight are at a higher risk of getting a severe case of the coronavirus. A new study looked at thousands of patients. The ones who were obese and under the age of 50 were more likely to be hospitalized and need a ventilator. And the fatter the person, the higher the risk of death.

YOUR MONEY/SHOPPING

BIDEN WANTS TO ERASE STUDENT LOANS (00:15) Joe Biden wants to erase your student debt. The presumptive president-elect wants the new congress to wipe out at least 10-thousand dollars of personal student debt immediately. He may also do it as an executive order if going through congress proves too much of a headache.

SUPERMARKET APOLOGIZES OVER STUPID 'SUPER SPREAD' CAMPAIGN (00:21) The Giant Food supermarket chain is apologizing for a magazine ad. It tells people: "Hosting? Plan a super spread." It may be a little too soon for jokes about the coronavirus. The term "super spreader" has been used to describe events that have caused virus numbers to explode. The ad may be tongue in cheek, but Giant now says it was a poor choice of words. Ya think?

ONSTAR AUTO - INSURANCE BASED ON HOW YOU DRIVE (00:26) Would you let your insurance company observe how you drive if it meant cheaper insurance? OnStar offers auto coverage. Now through General Motors, there is an option to allow them to collect data on your driving, and then price your insurance. It may not be your thing if you have a heavy foot. OnStar collects information on acceleration, braking and driving patterns. It's very different from the old days of insurance based on age, gender and neighborhood.

RETAIL THERAPY? YES PLEASE! (00:16) Retail therapy; it's what we've got, and we can do it on our phones from anywhere. Target reports online sales jumped over 150 percent in the last few months. For Walmart it was 80 percent. We're doing more projects around the house too. Lowes and Home Depot both saw major earnings growth.

LIFE/SURVEY SAYS…

SURVEY: TEENAGERS STILL WANT TO GO TO THE MALL TO HOLIDAY SHOP (00:14) More of us will be doing our Christmas shopping online. But teenagers, say they still wanna go to the mall. A new survey finds two-thirds plan to do in-store shopping. Top gifts according to teens? Gift cards, accessories like hats and shoes, and video games.

NEW ORLEANS CANCELS MARDI GRAS PARADES (00:15) What's Mardi Gras without a parade? Because of the pandemic, New Orleans has cancelled all parades next year. Guess they're having enough trouble keeping masks on, let alone shirts! The mayor wants folks to submit their ideas for safer celebrations in the city.

ENTERTAINMENT

NBA DRAFT: MINNESOTA SHOCKS EVERYONE BY PICKING ANTHONY EDWARDS 1ST OVERALL (00:19) At last night's NBA Draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves shocked everyone by picking 19-year old shooting guard Anthony Edwards first overall. Most people expected LaMelo Ball to be chosen first - instead he went third (to the Hornets). Ball's older brother, Lonzo, was picked second overall in 2017, making them the first brothers to be selected in the top 3.

POSSIBLE PARDON FOR THE TIGER KING (00:19) Could a presidential pardon be coming for the Tiger King? Joe Exotic is serving 20-plus years in prison. He was convicted in a murder-for-hire scheme. But now Team Tiger reports they've received calls from Washington saying Joe could be pardoned soon. They're so confident, they've got a Dodge Ram pickup stretch limo on standby to go get him!

RUMOR IS TRUE! CLOONEY DID GIFT FRIENDS A MILLION BUCKS IN A BRIEFCASE (00:20) It pays to be friends with George Clooney. He gave each of his 14 closest friends a briefcase filled with a million dollars cash. He says over the years they've been there for him. They let him sleep on the couch and gave him money when he was broke. Clooney says he didn't want to wait until he was dead to show his friends how much he appreciates them.

WEEKEND / "ICYMI"

POOR DIET CAN AFFECT ERECTILE FUNCTION (00:26) A bad, fatty diet can do more than screw up your heart, it can also screw up your manhood. New research has linked fatty diets to erectile dysfunction. Men who suffer from E-D have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, and diets full of red meat and processed foods aren't helping. The researchers suggest following the Mediterranean diet, which is rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts and olive oil. They say it's much better for your heart and your -- part.

LEGO CREATES ITS LARGEST TOY EVER – THE COLOSSEUM (00:22) Well, this will keep you busy during lockdown. Lego is making history with the release of its largest toy of all time – a 9-thousand-36 piece version of the Roman Colosseum. Once built, the historic structure stands 10 and a ½ inches high and 20 inches wide. The Lego Colosseum will be out on Black Friday and will only cost $550 bucks.

COSTCO SELLING PRIVATE JET MEMBERSHIPS (00:27) Wouldn't it be nice to fly on private jets during a pandemic? For 17-thousand dollars, Costco will sell you an annual subscription to Wheels Up, a private aviation service. That 17-grand also includes perks like a 35-hundred dollar Costco gift card, a four-thousand dollar flight credit, and a year's membership to a luxury rental company. Too rich for your blood? For only two grand you can buy the jet membership without all the perks. Catch is, you still have to pay for the actual flights.

EBAY SELLERS WANT $10K OR MORE FOR NEW XBOX, PLAYSTATION (00:22) Now that all those new Xbox and PlayStation consoles are sold out in stores, some guys are selling them on eBay...for 10 grand or more! One seller claims 90 percent of the proceeds will fund a 'higher education' for 3 children (he means his own kids). Another dude posted his new PlayStation with a starting bid of 28-thousand bucks, even though you can still find a bunch of those new consoles for about a grand (they retail for $500) Can’t find the email? It’s all there on CBSConnectFeed.com Go to Notifications for your daily Prep and Select, click the green “i" it’s easy!