sign in sign up
<<
Home , CMT Music Awards

CONNECT SELECT A wide selection of interesting and trending stories – rip ‘em, read ‘em and post ‘em! WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21st, 2020

Good morning! We’re looking for your opinion. How was your dining experience? Just kidding, take our Connect Survey instead! TODAY IS…

 NATIONAL PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE DAY – Why not, huh? Everyone else is doing something ‘pumpkin spiced’ these days. It’s basically a regular New York Cheesecake with pumpkin pie filling mixed in. Or you can get fancy and layer it. Either way, you better have a lot of time to kill. The average pumpkin cheesecake takes about 5 hours to make (and then you have to cool the damn thing). Here’s a recipe, if you’re feeling ambitious.  NATIONAL REPTILE AWARENESS DAY – Ask most people and the only reptile awareness they care about is knowing whether there’s a snake in their sleeping bag. Maybe spend a few minutes Googling a few of the 10-thousand different species of reptiles. By the way, a reptile isn’t just a snake or a lizard; it’s any cold-blooded creature that has scales and lays eggs (So, no! Technically not your boss)  BRA DAY USA (third Wednesday in October) – In this case, BRA stands for Breast Reconstruction Awareness; supporting breast cancer survivors and women who have undergone a mastectomy or a lump-removal.  MEDICAL ASSISTANTS RECOGNITION DAY (third week in October) – Give some props to all the administrative assistants, medical secretaries and clinicians who help keep your doctor’s office from looking like a war zone.  NATIONAL BACK TO THE FUTURE DAY – In honor of the 1985 movie "Back to the Future”. It was first celebrated in 2015, the year that Marty McFly and Doc Brown visited in "Back to the Future Part II." So dig up some old, embarrassing pictures, create a time capsule, or try to right some past wrongs. o Here’s the main theme from ‘Back to the Future II.’ o Here’s Marty McFly freaking out about seeing his mom in the future.  INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE NACHO – You had us at Nacho. Fill your day and your plate with gooey, cheesy nachos - one of America's favorite Tex-Mex treats. o FUN FACT: Nachos were invented in 1943 in a tiny Mexican town, right across the border from Fort Duncan, in Texas. They were a huge hit with US soldiers before they became your game-day go-to.  NATIONAL APPLE DAY – Today we celebrate the shiny, healthy apple in all its forms – or maybe just an excuse to eat apple pie, apple crisp, or applesauce. o FUN FACT: There are more varieties of apples than any other fruit.  BILLBOARD LATIN MUSIC AWARDS – The Billboard Latin Music Awards take place tonight in Sunrise, Florida. Bad Bunny and Ozuna are tied for the most nominations, with 14 each. The show starts at 8pm (Eastern Time) on Telemundo.  CMT MUSIC AWARDS – The best in will gather in and around Nashville tonight for the 19th annual CMT Music Awards. It’s Country's only fan-voted awards. The show will be broadcast as a virtual event on CMT, MTV, MTV2, Logo, , Pop TV and TV Land. Ashley McBryde, Dan + Shay, , , and lead the nominations with three each.  EARLY VOTING BEGINS IN THESE STATES – With just 13 days before the election, early voting begins in West Virginia today.

BIRTHDAYS:

 KIM KARDASHIAN, 40 – Reality TV Star. There’s word she’s chartered a jet and is flying a few dozen of her family and friends to a private island to celebrate the big 4-O.  "JUDGE JUDY" SCHEINDLIN (SHINED-lin), 78 – Reality TV star. She’s one of the highest paid TV personalities, raking in about 50 million bucks a year! She announced she’s quitting her show next year.  AMBER ROSE, 37 – Model and Actress. Few models can rock a shaved head like she can.  , 27 – Country Singer. Best known for his 2017 hits ‘What Ifs’ and ‘Heaven’.  MATT DALLAS, 38 – Actor. He’s best known as the star on "Kyle XY."  STEVE LUKATHER (LUKE-a-ther), 63– Singer. The lead singer of the 80s band ‘Toto’. We 'bless the rains down in Africa' in his honor.  ELVIN BISHOP, 78 – Musician. The Rock Hall of Fame singer and blues guitarist best known for his 1975 hit ‘Fooled Around and Fell in Love.'

TRENDING/ODD:

TOWN CALLED ‘ASBESTOS’ FINALLY CHANGES ITS NAME (00:19) A Canadian town is finally ridding itself of its very unfortunate name: Asbestos. The town near Montreal was named for a giant Asbestos chemical mine, but no one wanted to move there because the stuff causes cancer. So, the town finally voted to change its name to Val-des-Sources, or Valley of the Springs - which sounds way less toxic!

NASA ORBITER LANDS ON ASTEROID (00:21) While you still have trouble parallel parking, NASA just landed a spaceship on an asteroid 300- million miles from us! The orbiter - called 'OSIRIS-REx' (because NASA is terrible at naming stuff) - spent two years circling the asteroid. Once it landed, it dug into its surface and collected a bunch of dirt and rocks that it will return to Earth so scientists can study them. It'll take a few years for it to return to Earth.

ONTARIO CONSIDERING DIGITAL DRIVER’S LICENSE (00:19) The Canadian province of Ontario is looking into issuing a digital driver's license, eliminating the need to carry an ID. Instead, all that stuff can be kept on your phone. It makes sense now since so many people already pay for stuff with their phone. It'll also keep underage kids from using their older brother's ID to buy beer.

UNIVERSITY ISSUES EMERGENCY STAY-IN-PLACE ORDER BECAUSE OF COVID (00:18) The University of Michigan has issued an emergency stay-in-place order because COVID is spreading so quickly on campus. They're forcing all students to stay inside their dorms, except to go to class or eat. The order runs for 2 weeks. If students don't like it, the university says they can go home until it's over.

NO BIG BIRD AT THANKSGIVING? NO NEED FOR A TRADITIONAL TURKEY (00:19) How big of a turkey will you need this Thanksgiving? Fifteen pounds seems like a lot of bird if we're not having extended family over because of the pandemic. Turkey farmers are worried there will be a rush for smaller birds. They could be in short supply with processing plants doing less with smaller crews because of virus outbreaks.

CRIME

GUN BUSTS AT AIRPORTS (00:21) COVID must be driving us nuts. How else is it we're traveling way less, but airport security is still finding the same number of guns as they did last year? At Newark airport in New Jersey, TSA agents discovered 11 people trying to fly 'packing heat'. That's the same number they caught last year, despite 90 percent fewer travelers -- and the year isn't even over yet!

FBI INVESTIGATES BALLOT DROP BOX FIRE (00:22) Wow, someone in Los Angeles County really does NOT want votes to count. The FBI and police are investigating a fire at a ballot drop off box. Firefighters did what they could to save ballots. A couple hundred were inside the box in Baldwin Park. Many were burned. They're hoping some of them can be saved. The mayor says the drop box is on a dark street. He wants it moved to a well-lit area.

THE FEDS GO AFTER GOOGLE FOR BEING TOO POWERFUL (00:27) You use it to dig up dirt on your ex, now the government is suing Google. The Justice Department says Google is too big and controls too much. About 90-percent of global web searches go through Google. The government says the company's dominance is unfair to rivals and consumers. Really? Have you ever used Bing? Tech experts wonder what kind of action will be taken against Google. Fines? Not allowing the app to come standard with phones and tablets? Google says it'll fight the (antitrust) charges.

HEALTH/SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

STUDY: THE AGE OUR BRAIN POWER PEAKS (00:21) New science has pinpointed the age when we're at our smartest. German researchers have determined our brain-power peaks at age 35. They analyzed more than a hundred years of professional chess matches to plot out when the average human brain is at its cognitive best. They say it keeps humming at peak capacity for about a decade, before it starts declining by the time we're 45.

SCIENTISTS DISCOVER NEW ORGAN IN HUMAN BODY (00:22) For the first time in 300 years, scientists think they've discovered a new organ in the human body. And it was literally right under their noses the whole time. Researchers in The Netherlands say they've found another set of glands, right where the nasal cavity meets the throat. The organ produces saliva (spit). Weird part is…the researchers were trying to find new ways to treat prostate cancer (um, you're looking in the wrong end).

STUDY: MOUTHWASH CAN DEACTIVATE CORONAVIRUS (00:22) Penn State researchers have discovered that simple, drugstore mouthwash can deactivate the coronavirus. But that doesn't make it a cure. The study found that common mouthwashes and dental rinses can kill more than 99 percent of the virus in about 30 seconds. They think gargling with it can help prevent the spread. They also tested a solution with a tiny amount of baby shampoo, and that worked too.

STUDY: BEST VIRUS ANTIBODIES COME FROM OLDER MEN (00:19) Not the young and virile, but old guys who survive the coronavirus may be key in treating other virus patients. A new study finds older men who were hospitalized and recovered have higher levels of the antibodies. Researchers say they make for good plasma donors in treating others. Doctors are even hopeful the plasma could help prevent COVID-19.

NEW CDC GUIDELINES DOUBLE DOWN ON MASKS WHILE TRAVELING (00:17) The CDC says the airline industry is right on this one -- if someone refuses to wear a mask on a plane, they should be removed from the flight. The agency's new guidelines say masks should be worn on all public transit. We're talking trains, planes and automobiles, especially ride shares like Uber.

YOUR MONEY/SHOPPING

LG IS NOW SELLING A ROLLABLE TV SCREEN (00:15) LG is finally selling its rollable TV screen. The thing can spool up and be hidden in a floor or its own snazzy aluminum TV stand. And if you're thinking it must be expensive, you're wrong: it's FREAKIN' expensive. The flexible 65-inch screen sells for 87-thousand dollars!

GUN OWNERSHIP UP IN CALIFORNIA BECAUSE OF PANDEMIC FEARS (00:20) In California, the pandemic has people making sure they're locked and loaded. New stats find 47- thousand became first time gun owners. Nearly 7 percent say they keep bullets in their pistol and don't lock it up just in case. The worry for some is the possibility of lawlessness or the government collapsing. That would be some Wild West action for sure.

WE PLAN ON GOING TO FEWER STORES FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS (00:26) Remember when you'd go to the mall and hit a dozen stores to get your holiday shopping done? Looks like those days are over. A new survey finds we have fewer stores in mind for our gift list of people. About 5; that's down from last year's seven stores. Part of the reason may be us wanting to stay healthy during the pandemic. The survey also found nearly a third report their financial situation is worse off this year. Nearly 40 percent plan on spending less.

LIFE/FAMILY

STUDY: LULLABIES WORK BEST TO CALM BABIES (00:14) The trick to putting a baby to bed seems to be a lullaby - no matter the language! Harvard researchers compared lullabies to other forms of songs. There's something about the universal sound of a lullaby that calms a baby more than other music.

ENTERTAINMENT

HUGE HOLLYWOOD PROP AUCTION (00:17) LA's ‘Prop Store’ is auctioning off a whole bunch of their memorabilia…stuff like: Maverick's bomber jacket from 'Top Gun', the boots Julia Roberts wore in 'Pretty Woman,' and Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber from Star Wars (not the original - the one from 'Revenge of the Sith'). The 2-day auction starts next month, and could rake in more than 6 million bucks!

FLEETWOOD MAC BACK ON TOP OF BILLBOARD CHART (00:17) All it took was a TikTok of a dad on his skateboard and drinking cranberry juice. He was singing along to "Dreams" from Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" album. Now "Rumors" has hit Billboard's top ten album chart for the first time in over 40 years. The TikTok video has been viewed more than 60- million times.

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!