CONNECT SELECT A wide selection of interesting and trending stories – rip ‘em, read ‘em & post ‘em! TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2021

TODAY IS…

• NATIONAL MATCHMAKER DAY -- Celebrate the matchmaker in your life. Because, after today, they go back to just being your meddling aunt.

• NATIONAL EAT OUTSIDE DAY -- Summer’s over in 3 weeks - sounds like a good enough reason to eat outside. Besides, it’s hard to do when the snow comes.

• NATIONAL TRAIL MIX DAY -- Remember: If it’s got cigarette butts in it, it’s technically not trail mix. DID YOU KNOW?… Trail Mix was invented back in the 60s by a couple of California surfers; they mixed peanuts and raisins for a high-energy snack they could easily stuff into their pockets.

BIRTHDAYS

• SIR VAN MORRISON, 76: Singer/songwriter. The legendary Van “the Man” has been performing for seven decades and was inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1993. CLICK HERE FOR HIS CLASSIC HIT “MOONDANCE”

• RICHARD GERE, 72: Actor. He was the leading man and heartthrob who starred in “An Officer and a Gentleman,” “Pretty Woman,” “Chicago” and “Runaway Bride.”

• DEBBIE GIBSON, 51: Singer/Actress. The 80s teen pop star’s debut album went triple platinum and she had several big hits like “Foolish Beat” and “ in Your Eyes.” CLICK HERE FOR “LOST IN YOUR EYES”

• SARA RAMIREZ, 46: Actress. They starred as on “Grey’s Anatomy” and will now be appearing in the new “” reboot.

• LARRY FITZGERALD, 38: NFL Player. The Arizona Cardinals’ all-time leading receiver was a ball boy for the Vikings when he was a kid.

• CHRIS TUCKER, 50: Actor. The actor and comedian starred in the “Rush Hour” film franchise with Jackie Chan after breaking out in “House Party 3.”

• , 44: Wrestler. Former Hardcore Champion who rose to fame in the WWE after wrestling with the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts. CLICK FOR JEFF HARDY ENTRANCE THEME

• RYAN KELLEY, 35: Actor. He’s most known for his role as police officer turned Hellhound Jordan Parrish on MTV’s “.”

• MICKIE JAMES, 42: Wrestler. The five-time Wrestlemania champion is a two-time winner of the TNA Women's Knockout Championship. CLICK FOR JAMES’ ENTRANCE THEME

TRENDING/ODD

U.S. MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN ENDS AFTER 20 YEARS (00:24) After 20 years, America’s longest war is finally over. The U.S. mission in Afghanistan ended yesterday afternoon with the last military airlift out of Kabul (KAH-bol) airport. The Taliban celebrated (‘Taliban-style') by shooting rounds off into the air. The Pentagon believes several hundred Americans are still stranded there, unable to get out. 2,461 Americans were killed during the war in Afghanistan, which started shortly after the 9/11 attacks.

WOMAN SMEARS DOG POOP IN KIDNAPPER’S FACE (00:25) If you don’t have pepper spray, just do what a Tennessee women did and smear some dog poop in an attackers face. Police say someone tried kidnapping the 30-year-old while she was walking her dog. As he tried dragging her into the woods, she fought back with all she hand handy: a bag of her doggy's 'do-do,' which she smeared all over his face. Police arrested a suspect who's now facing aggravated kidnapping charges and can probably use a bath.

COW SPOTTED INSIDE A CAR AT MCDONALDS DRIVE THRU (00:17) Someone in Wisconsin stuffed a live cow into the back seat of their Buick and then went to a McDonalds Drive-Thru. It had other customers in line freaking out (some thinking the cow was coming for revenge). A woman posted the video on Facebook. Turns out, someone bought the young cow at a livestock auction and had no other way to bring it home (So those Shaq Buick commercials weren’t fake after all, they really do have a lot of leg room!). WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

FAST FOOD CHAINS CLOSING INDOOR SEATING (AGAIN) (00:24) Whether you like it or not, you’re gonna have to take your McNuggets ‘to-go’. More fast food chains, including McDonalds, are shutting down in-restaurant dining again. Franchises have been told to close their indoor seating areas in places where the Delta strain is spreading the fastest. Some KFC and Taco Bell locations Georgia and Alabama are cutting hours or shutting down because so much of their staff has called out sick.

VIRAL: GUY LIVE-STREAMS THROUGH OPEN WINDOW IN THE MIDDLE OF HURRICANE ‘IDA’ (00:20) NOTE TO SELF: don’t open the window if you’re in the middle of a category 4 hurricane. A guy in Louisiana pried open the cover of his window air conditioner to take a peek outside, and live- streamed the whole thing on Facebook. His followers said it looked and sounded like he opened a window on an airplane. Eventually his whole window blew out, but he’s OK. WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

HURRICANE ‘IDA’ WAS SO POWERFUL IT REVERSED THE FLOW OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER (00:22) Hurricane ‘Ida’ was so powerful, for a while it actually reversed the flow of the Mississippi River. 172-mile an hour winds pushed water back up the mighty Mississippi. There’s severe flooding in Louisiana; in some places the water is up to 16 feet! Nearly 2 million people around New Orleans don’t have electricity and it could be a week or more before the lights are back on.

CALIFORNIA MOM PUNCHES MOUNTAIN LION TO SAVE SON (00:25) Nothing can come between a mother and her child, not even a mountain lion. In Calabasas, California, when a mom heard her young son screaming she jumped into action. A mountain lion had grabbed and dragged the 5-year-old some 40 yards from his home. The mother went on the attack, hitting and punching the big cat. It ran off. The boy was left with traumatic head, neck and chest injuries. Wildlife officials later caught the animal and shot and killed it.

COVID FIELD HOSPITAL IN THAILAND TURNS INTO SEX PARTY (00:15) In Thailand the men had to be separated from the women at a coronavirus field hospital. Think hedonism without the resort. They were having a little too much hanky-panky (orgies were reported). Fights and hard drug use were a problem too. Cops have been brought in to maintain order.

LAW & DISORDER

ROBBERS USED DRONES, HOSTAGES IN ELABORATE BANK HEIST (00:22) An elaborate bank heist in Brazil put 'Oceans 11' to shame. 20 robbers used drones and planted sensor-equipped bombs around the city to distract police. And when they were done taking all the money, they strapped hostages to the roofs of their getaway cars as human shields. They even set a bus on fire. Cops say the robbers used drones to keep tabs on police while they made their getaway. WATCH THE CRAZY VIDEO HERE

TESLA CRASHES INTO STATE TROOPER WHILE ON AUTOPILOT (00:24) Here's what you don't want your car to do -- crash into a state trooper while in autopilot. A Florida state trooper had his emergency lights on when a Tesla slammed into his cruiser's left side. The trooper was checking on a disabled vehicle. Thanks to the Tesla, all three cars were wrecked. The government has opened a formal investigation into Tesla's autopilot system after a series of accidents involving parked emergency vehicles.

INVESTIGATION INTO CHICAGO COP WHO TACKLED FEMALE DOG WALKER (00:24) Going viral is video of a dog walker tussling with a Chicago police officer after midnight in a park. The footage taken by a bystander shows the black woman trying to walk away from the white police officer after he approached her. She asked him for space because he wasn't wearing a mask. He tried to tackle her. The dog walker's attorney calls it racial profiling for no good reason. Chicago’s police oversight agency is now investigating.

WEIRD SCIENCE & TECH

CHINA BANS VIDEO GAMES DURING SCHOOL WEEK (00:20) If you have a kid who is a gamer, let them know how lucky they are to be American. China has come out with new rules because of the growing number of children with gaming addictions. No video games during the school week, and only one hour a day on Fridays and weekends. Technology could allow for players to be booted off after a certain period of time.

PHARMACIES RUN LOW ON HORSE PILLS BEING USED FOR COVID (00:26) Pharmacists say they're filling more prescriptions for a medication meant for livestock. People are using it to fight the coronavirus. Ivermectin (ai-vr-mek-tn) prescriptions jumped this month --- to 88-thousand in one week alone. Pharmacies are running out of the drug. There's no evidence it works against COVID. In fact, it could do damage in humans because the capsule is usually meant for larger animals at a higher dose. The FDA has tweeted a reminder--- "you are not a horse”.

YOUR MONEY/SHOPPING

U.S. TAKEN OFF EU TRAVEL LIST (00:17) So much for that overseas vacation. The European Union has recommended banning American tourists because of our rising COVID cases. That doesn’t mean you can’t travel there, it’s up to each individual European country whether to allow American travelers. Europe just lifted the ban on U.S. tourists in June.

‘IDA’ WILL BRING SLIGHTLY HIGHER GAS PRICES (00:24) Hurricane Ida left hundreds of thousands without power along the Gulf Coast. That includes oil and natural gas refineries. The longer their systems are down the more likely gas prices will increase. The nation's average sits at $3.15 a gallon for unleaded. Compared to last year, it's already 90-cents more. Oil experts say that we can likely expect gas to go up a few cents by mid-week so you may wanna fill up when you get a chance.

PELOTON'S REVAMPED TREADMILL FOR SALE (00:17) Peloton says their revamped treadmill is safer and now on sale. The company was forced to recall their original version after a child died. Peloton's new model has more safety features including a four-digit passcode to activate the machine. The Peloton Tread basics runs just under 25-hundred bucks.

LIFE/SURVEY SAYS...

STUDY: PANDEMIC MADE AMERICAN KIDS FATTER THAN BEFORE (00:18) The pandemic didn’t just make us fatter, our kids packed on the pounds too. A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association says kids “gained more weight during the pandemic than before it.” 5-to-11-year-olds gained the most weight, increasing the number of obese children in the U.S. by about 10 percent.

STUDY: ONLINE TROLLS ARE ALSO JERKS IN REAL LIFE (00:20) A new study finds internet trolls suck in real life too. Researchers say their data debunks the theory that some people are only mean when they're anonymous online. That's not the case. They say political discussions are more hostile on the internet, but the frequency of bullying behavior was about the same whether using a keyboard or face-to-face.

SURVEY: A THIRD OF US HAVEN'T RELAXED ALONE IN MONTHS (00:16) Find that you're never alone? A new survey says nearly a third of us have been so caught up with work and life, that we haven't had a day to relax alone in months. Most said if they had more free time they'd spend it listening to music, taking a bath or going for a long drive.

ENTERTAINMENT

JON STEWART GETS NEW SHOW (00:15) It’s been 6 years since Jon Stewart has been on TV, but the former ‘Daily Show’ host is returning with a new series on Apple +. “The Problem With Jon Stewart” goes deep on big news stories and current affairs (we’re guessing kinda like Jon Oliver, Samantha Bee and the rest of them). The show starts streaming on September 30th. CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TEASER

ONLY VACCINATED FANS ALLOWED INSIDE U.S. OPEN TENNIS TOURNAMENT (00:19) There was trouble at the first day of the The US Open Tennis tournament in New York. Fans had to wait in line for almost 2 hours while officials check vaccination records. Only vaccinated fans are being allowed in this year. It gets worse: fan-favorites Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams are injured and will sit out.

JOE EXOTIC'S OKLAHOMA ZOO SOLD (00:22) Hey all you cool cats and kittens! Joe Exotic's former Oklahoma zoo has been sold by Carole Baskin. She initially won the property in a lawsuit. Don't expect any tiger cub photo opportunities though. Baskin has said that, per the terms of the sale, the property is not to be used as a zoo or anything relating to the Tiger King. The land was purchased by a couple who flip properties for a living.

TV GUIDE • Watch the drama unfold on “Bachelor in Paradise” tonight at 8pm ET on ABC. • “America’s Got Talent” the semi-finals starts tonight at 8pm ET on NBC. • An all-new “LEGO Masters” is tonight at 8pm ET on FOX.

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