On Today’s Show

A couple in Arkansas adopted seven siblings earlier this month, just in time for Christmas.

They were in a bad situation, then bounced around different foster homes.

Now they’re all together for good.  They range in age from 8 to 15 years old.

One of the younger girls got emotional and said this is going to be the best Christmas she’s ever had.

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Not everyone feels holly and jolly this time of year, and new research finds the odds of a heart attack jump nearly 40 percent on Christmas Eve. The risk overall during Christmas [Day] /New Year’s [Day] was 15 percent higher than a regular December day.”

After looking at data of more than 300,000 heart attack patients, researchers determined that the risk was highest at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve. So what

is it about Christmas Eve? Researchers say it could be emotional distress, anger, anxiety, sadness, grief, and stress coupled with excessive food intake, alcohol, and distance travel.

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ENTERTAINMENT

Movies Opening Over the Holidays

John C. Reilly and Nicole Kidman both have two big movies coming out this week.

John has “Holmes & Watson”opening Christmas Day and he’s also Oliver Hardy in “Stan & Ollie”.   While Nicole is playing a deeply disturbed cop in “Destroyer”, in addition to hitting theaters today as Jason Momoa’s mom in “Aquaman”.

1. Opening Christmas Day . . . DESTROYER  (R). . . Nicole Kidman is a cop who’s haunted by the death of her partner in an old undercover assignment, but forces herself to reconnect with their old gang members after she recognizes a fresh murder victim.

2. Opening Christmas Day . . . VICE  (R). . . Christian Bale plays Dick Cheney in a movie about how he became one of the most influential vice presidents of all time.  The rest of the cast includes Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush, Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, and Steve Carrell as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

3. Opening Christmas Day . . .HOLMES and WATSON“(PG-13) . . . Will Farrell is Sherlock Holmes and John C. Reilly is Doctor Watson in a comedy where they have to solve a murder

Hugh Laurie is in it as Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft Holmes, and Moriarty is played by Voldemort himself, Ralph Fiennes.

4. Opening December 28th . . . STAN & OLLIE“(PG) . . . John C. Reilly is comedy legend Oliver Hardy and Steve Coogan is his partner Stan Laurel.

TODAY IS……………….

• “Christmas Eve”, a family gift-giving occasion in many countries.

• “Egg Nog Day”, celebrating the seasonal rum or brandy drink that has nothing good for you in it but sure tastes good. A coffee spiked with egg nog and brandy is called a ‘tom-tom’.

TOMORROW –
• “Christmas Day”, a holiday in at least 105 nations.

WEDNESDAY –
• “Boxing Day”, a legal holiday in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the UK, which takes its name from the old English tradition of boxing up gifts & food for the less fortunate.

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COUNTRY MUSIC NOTE

DECEMBER 24^TH,  2010  Rascal Flatts were at #1  with “Why Wait” which became the group’s eleventh #1 hit.

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TODAY’S GOOD NEWS

Wedding gifts are one of the best parts of getting married.  However, some of them can also be pointless and wasteful.

But a couple in Florida recently turned the whole gift-giving tradition on its ear . . .

Brad and Jessica Bond got married in Orlando last Saturday.  Then they took their entire wedding party of 100 people to Target . . . gave each of them a $10 gift card . . . and asked them to buy a Toys for Tots gift with it.

A lot of the guests ended up spending more than that.  So they walked out with a LOT of gifts to give away.  And Jessica did the whole thing in her wedding gown.

It wasn’t just a random idea they had.  It’s a tradition for them.

Brad took Jessica to Target on their FIRST DATE seven years ago, and they picked out Toys for Tots gifts together.

Now they do it every year on their anniversary.  So they thought it was fitting to get their friends and family in on the action.

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BIRTHDAYS

[44] Ryan Seacrest, TV host

CHRISTMAS DAY –
Singer Jimmy Buffett is 72; Movie actress Sissy Spacek (“Coal Miner’s Daughter”) is 69

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Amazing Christmas Video Out of Great Britain

This video has gone viral in Great Britain, and when you see it you’ll understand why.

It’s a two-and-a-half-minute Christmas short film that a guy made back in 2014, and he posted it to his Facebook page recently.

It’s called “Love Is a Gift” and it shows a man counting down the days to Christmas . . . and when the big day arrives you find out why this year is so special.

He pops in the last in a series of 10 Christmas audiotapes that his late mother recorded for him.  She wishes him a Merry Christmas and thanks him for taking the time to remember her.

She asks him to never forget how much she loves him, and as the video fades out she starts telling him the story about the happiest day of her life . . . the day he was born.

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60-Second Breathing Trick for When the Holidays Are Driving You Nuts

You’ll probably hit your breaking point at least once over the holidays.  Family, shopping, screaming kids.  It’s all stressful.  So when you think you’re about to LOSE IT, here’s a 60-second breathing trick you can try.

It works by calming down your nervous system and forcing you out of “fight or flight” mode.  And there’s actual science behind this that proves it works.  Here are the two steps you need to remember . . .

Step One:  Breathe in through your nose.  Then with your lips pursed, do 10 to 15 SHARP half-second exhales through your mouth.

You should make a “shhh” or “ffff” sound with each one, like the sound a boxer makes when they throw a jab.  Push from your diaphragm, and flex your abs with each breath.  It should almost feel like a light ab workout if you do it right.

Step Two:  Close your eyes, and take a series of SLOW breaths.  Breathe in deep through your nose and out through your mouth.  But don’t let your shoulders move up and down with each breath.  Let your stomach expand instead.

Do that a few times . . . try to slow your breathing down a little more with each breath . . . and you’re done.

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RANDOM REPORT

1. 20th Century Fox scheduled “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel”to come out one week after “Avatar” . . . because they were worried “Avatar” would bomb, so they needed a safer bet for insurance.

2. Irish is only the third most spoken language in Ireland.  English is number one, and Polish is number two.

3. The Dakota territory split into North Dakota and South Dakota when it became a state, because people disagreed on which city should be the capital . . . the northerners wanted Bismarck, the southerners wanted Pierre.

4. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”has been in theaters longer than any other movie.  It’s been playing nonstop since it was released in 1975 . . . that’s 43 straight years.

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MONDAY DECEMBER 24^TH                                          

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

BIRTHDAYS

[44] Ryan Seacrest, TV host

CHRISTMAS DAY –
Singer Jimmy Buffett is 72; Movie actress Sissy Spacek (“Coal Miner’s Daughter”) is 69

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1. A tsunami ravaged the coast of Indonesia Saturday night killed at least 222 people, striking without any warning and leaving hundreds more injured.

As the massive waves crashed against the shore, men and women ran to safety as entire homes washed away. A crowd watching the Indonesian pop band “Seventeen” was hit head-on by the tsunami, killing the band’s bass player, manager, and leaving three members and the lead singer’s wife missing. As of Sunday, 843 people were injured and 28 have not been accounted for. The death toll is expected to rise, however, and there is a pressing need for basic household items, clean water, and proper equipment to clear the debris left behind.

2. NHL

Toronto 5        Detroit 4  (OT)

The NHL is now off until Thursday.

NFL:

New Orleans Saints 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 28

Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 9

Cleveland Browns 26, Cincinnati Bengals 18

Tonight’s Monday Night Football game on ESPN:

Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders (8:15 p.m. ET)

3. As expected, Aquamanemerged victorious at the box office this weekend, taking an estimated $72 million.

Mary Poppins Returns, was second bringing in $31 million, Bumblebee rounds out the top 3 with $21 million.

4. Ontario players check your tickets! The $60 millionLOTTO MAX jackpot winning ticket from the Friday, December 21, 2018 draw was sold in Guelph.

Eight MAXMILLIONS tickets, worth $1,000,000 each, were sold in Georgetown, Hamilton, London (2), Ottawa, Toronto (2) and Woodbridge.

Six MAXMILLIONS tickets, worth $250,000 each, were sold in London, Niagara Falls, North Bay, the Sault Ste Marie Area, the Timmins area and Toronto.

Two ENCORE tickets, worth $100,000 each, were sold in Chatham and theKitchener area.

The next LOTTO MAX jackpot is estimated at $38 million.

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MICHAEL RAY PROPOSES TO CARLY PEARCE

It’s official …Michael Ray proposed to Carly Pearce and she said yes! Carly tweeted the news on Saturday: “The man of my dreams got down on one knee earlier this week and asked me to be his wife.”

Her photos show Michael down on one knee, with the with the ring box in his hand. You can see the ocean in the background, as the two were vacationing in the Caribbean. According to his post, he proposed on Wednesday (Dec. 19) but waited to make the official announcement through People.com on Saturday evening (Dec. 22.)

The couple is now celebrating Christmas in Florida with his family.

LUKE BRYAN LOVES WATCHING HIS BOYS OPEN THEIR PRESENTS

When Luke Bryan was 12, he got his first motorcycle. It was a Honda 50 and it was under the tree on Christmas morning. He now understands what his parents might have felt, because he says the best part of Christmas is watching his boys open gifts.

Luke’s first show next year will be January 14 in Nashville

His annual Crash My Playa in Mexico is January 23.

Categorised in: Mornings

This post was written by Dave Palmer